This Is How I See Things.......You May Not Agree.
Gotta disagree with lakeman77 about losing 40-50% on a new cue........maybe if it's a run of the mill ho-hum production cue.
You get a new Tascarella, Mobley, JMW, Searing, Szamboti, Ginacue, Hercek, Prewitt, Tibbits, Manzino, etc.......the elite cue-makers......you aren't likely to get dinged like lakeman77 describes.
Now the question becomes whom is in the "elite" category and naturally everyone has their opinion. Personally, I think Steve Klein is a cue-maker that comes to mind......you might not agree? I also have seen some cues from Kenny Murrell that make me think he also deserves consideration. My point is it's important to recognize that there are pool cues and there are "cue-makers" and the the demand and value of the cues depends largely on the cue-maker. You aren't going to lose 40-50% selling a new cue you had made by any of the aforementioned cue-makers.
Then there are the retired and deceased cue-makers.....like Verl Horn, Tad Kohara, Mike Cochran, Tim Scruggs, Bill Stroud, Paul Mottey, etc.........if you've acquired a cue made by a esteemed cue-maker that no longer makes cues, rest assured you also aren't going to lose 40-50%........the funny thing is depending upon the cue-maker, and when you acquired the cue and the price yu paid, you can also turn a tidy profit like I did with a Mottey cue.
My point is the resale market is fickle, undervalued and very selective. The top name cue-makers seem to always be in demand but there are lots of other cue-makers that don't fall into the 40-50% risk/loss category.....Thomas Wayne, Dzuricky, Leon Sly, Eddie Cohen, Bob Frey, Bob Owen, Jerry Rauenzahn, Bob Runde, Richard Black are some examples and there are other names that can be added to this list.
When you order a cue straight from a catalog or a website equivalent, you can and should expect that your possible resale will suffer and 40-50% isn't out of line as lakeman77 forewarned. I've seen some Schon cues suffer that fate, although personally I think it's probably one of the most solid hitting cues made. Nonetheless, as long as you buy the right cue-maker and the design isn't an ugly duckling.....although sometimes that might not even matter.......you should do okay when you resell your cue.
I am not implying you'd net a profit like I did on the cues I've previously sold that which included the Mottey cue and three Joss West cues I've owned. What I am saying is if you buy right, you don't have to worry about a big loss when you look to sell the cue. Even in this awful resale market, cues from top name cue-makers still seem to sell, albeit sometimes requiring a little more time than in the past.......if the seller prices the cue right, it will sell reasonably quickly........everyone has seen threads like that.......as well a few sale threads that struggle finding a new owner........Hey, that's the screwy resale market for pool cues.
Matt B.
