OK this is ask the cuemaker ... so ...

WilleeCue

WilleeCue

The Barefoot Cuemaker
Silver Member
I want to ask how many cue makers think that UltraSkin tips are a better value than the more expensive tips?
You know the ones I am talking about.
$4 ver $20 to $60 tips.
I have been promoting them to my customers as a fantastic value for a replacement tip.
And as a side note I have been putting clear and colored tip pads on cue shafts for many years.
Long before the other tip makers caught on.
There are a few brands that I think might be a better tip for more advanced players.
But for a bar league player to pay $40 or more for a layer tip is a bit much.
Just my opinion so take it for what it is worth --- two cents!
 
WilleeCue said:
I want to ask how many cue makers think that UltraSkin tips are a better value than the more expensive tips?
You know the ones I am talking about.
$4 ver $20 to $60 tips.
I have been promoting them to my customers as a fantastic value for a replacement tip.
And as a side note I have been putting clear and colored tip pads on cue shafts for many years.
Long before the other tip makers caught on.
There are a few brands that I think might be a better tip for more advanced players.
But for a bar league player to pay $40 or more for a layer tip is a bit much.
Just my opinion so take it for what it is worth --- two cents!
Click to expand...

Why buy a Ferrari when you can buy a Fiat, still Italian right?
 
WilleeCue said:
I want to ask how many cue makers think that UltraSkin tips are a better value than the more expensive tips?
You know the ones I am talking about.
$4 ver $20 to $60 tips.
I have been promoting them to my customers as a fantastic value for a replacement tip.
And as a side note I have been putting clear and colored tip pads on cue shafts for many years.
Long before the other tip makers caught on.
There are a few brands that I think might be a better tip for more advanced players.
But for a bar league player to pay $40 or more for a layer tip is a bit much.
Just my opinion so take it for what it is worth --- two cents!
Click to expand...
Not a builder but US's are great tips for any level of player. I've tried a bunch of highly touted hi-dollar tips that didn't play/last any better. I'm a fan of Thoroughbred's also. More than a 'skin at 10bux but still a helluva nice tip at a reasonable price.
 
For $5, they’re a good value. However, not one top player has ever asked me to install an US tip on their cue. I once asked the late Royce Bunnell (OB Cues) what he thought the most important part of a cue was. Without hesitation, he said the tip was easily the most important cue component. Ironically, the tip was the only part of the cue that he didn’t make. To me, tip selection is NOT the best place to save $20. I install 10 Brand X tips for every US.
 
I have only had 1 cue with an US tip. Tip is supposed to be a medium, hits like a hard and mushrooms worse than any tip I have owned. Opinions are like ***holes, but it's the only tip that I have experience with and strongly dislike.
 
WilleeCue said:
I want to ask how many cue makers think that UltraSkin tips are a better value than the more expensive tips?
You know the ones I am talking about.
$4 ver $20 to $60 tips.
I have been promoting them to my customers as a fantastic value for a replacement tip.
And as a side note I have been putting clear and colored tip pads on cue shafts for many years.
Long before the other tip makers caught on.
There are a few brands that I think might be a better tip for more advanced players.
But for a bar league player to pay $40 or more for a layer tip is a bit much.
Just my opinion so take it for what it is worth --- two cents!
Click to expand...
Pick up some "Duds" on here and be done with it.👍🏻😁
 
WilleeCue said:
I want to ask how many cue makers think that UltraSkin tips are a better value than the more expensive tips?
You know the ones I am talking about.
$4 ver $20 to $60 tips.
I have been promoting them to my customers as a fantastic value for a replacement tip.
And as a side note I have been putting clear and colored tip pads on cue shafts for many years.
Long before the other tip makers caught on.
There are a few brands that I think might be a better tip for more advanced players.
But for a bar league player to pay $40 or more for a layer tip is a bit much.
Just my opinion so take it for what it is worth --- two cents!
Click to expand...
Meucci is using them exclusively on all their shafts. My 'The Pro' shaft has a black medium Ultra Skin that plays as good, if not better, than dozens of boutique brand layered tips that I have used/installed over the years. And, I'm one of those guys that don't mind spending money if I think the product is worth it. (e.g. Taom V10). So, you can call me a convert.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Good tips but Thoroughbred and Precision are better value imo .
Click to expand...

I agree on the Precision tips, I don’t really like how Thoroughbred tips play at all. Anyway… that is why there are so many different tips so we can all pick our favorite ones.
 
My experience is that you get what you pay for and I have found more inconsistencies in cheap brands than premium brands. Been years since I gave Ultraskin a try, so they might have changed. I do about 500-1000 tip changes in a year and get to try about every tip/shaft combination. Precision tips are fine, very limited experience with Thoroughbred, so I can't comment on those.
Right now Zan and KO brothers is the most popular tips in my shop
 
Kim Bye said:
My experience is that you get what you pay for and I have found more inconsistencies in cheap brands than premium brands. Been years since I gave Ultraskin a try, so they might have changed. I do about 500-1000 tip changes in a year and get to try about every tip/shaft combination. Precision tips are fine, very limited experience with Thoroughbred, so I can't comment on those.
Right now Zan and KO brothers is the most popular tips in my shop
Click to expand...
Tried KO.
They're softer than their label.
 
Kim Bye said:
My experience is that you get what you pay for and I have found more inconsistencies in cheap brands than premium brands. Been years since I gave Ultraskin a try, so they might have changed. I do about 500-1000 tip changes in a year and get to try about every tip/shaft combination. Precision tips are fine, very limited experience with Thoroughbred, so I can't comment on those.
Right now Zan and KO brothers is the most popular tips in my shop
Click to expand...
Kim to a degree your statement is correct but not absolute.

I see the Chalk industry is learning from the Tip industry and starting to sell $20 custom chalk cubes.
Yeah ... a cube of chalk is worth $20 because it is so much better.
Think how much better a $100 cube of chalk would be.
Wish I was smart enough to pull that one off.
 
WilleeCue said:
Kim to a degree your statement is correct but not absolute.

I see the Chalk industry is learning from the Tip industry and starting to sell $20 custom chalk cubes.
Yeah ... a cube of chalk is worth $20 because it is so much better.
Think how much better a $100 cube of chalk would be.
Wish I was smart enough to pull that one off.
Click to expand...
I think just have to accept that glossy marketing also exists in pool and that a lot of players are looking for that little extra and are willing to pay for it. Not that many years ago the billiard industry was miles behind other sports in terms of marketing, premium products and so on. The change happened pretty fast and prices skyrocketed. You could argue that maybe billiard products where a bit underpriced, it's not that long ago a high performance shaft was about $200, now that price is about $600. Billiards is a business too and if people find ways to get the consumers to part with their cash, there's nothing wrong with that and we all know that marketing claims, be it cars, billiard products, cosmetics or any other business allways are inflated and made to look as inticing as possible.
 
WilleeCue said:
Kim to a degree your statement is correct but not absolute.

I see the Chalk industry is learning from the Tip industry and starting to sell $20 custom chalk cubes.
Yeah ... a cube of chalk is worth $20 because it is so much better.
Think how much better a $100 cube of chalk would be.
Wish I was smart enough to pull that one off.
Click to expand...
Well, if we all think that way, Moori tips would have never been invented.
 
Kim Bye said:
I think just have to accept that glossy marketing also exists in pool and that a lot of players are looking for that little extra and are willing to pay for it. Not that many years ago the billiard industry was miles behind other sports in terms of marketing, premium products and so on. The change happened pretty fast and prices skyrocketed. You could argue that maybe billiard products where a bit underpriced, it's not that long ago a high performance shaft was about $200, now that price is about $600. Billiards is a business too and if people find ways to get the consumers to part with their cash, there's nothing wrong with that and we all know that marketing claims, be it cars, billiard products, cosmetics or any other business allways are inflated and made to look as inticing as possible.
Click to expand...
The golf equipment industry is a good example of your explanation.
 
I would really like to know what the true wholesale cost of some of these high-end tips are. By the time the cuemaker gets his tips it has already passed through the middlemen. I wish the tip manufacturers would allow you to buy direct from them based on volume. Too many people trying to make a profit off a single tip. By the time the end user has purchased the tip it no longer reflects the true cost of manufacturing.
 
Canadian cue said:
I would really like to know what the true wholesale cost of some of these high-end tips are. By the time the cuemaker gets his tips it has already passed through the middlemen. I wish the tip manufacturers would allow you to buy direct from them based on volume. Too many people trying to make a profit off a single tip. By the time the end user has purchased the tip it no longer reflects the true cost of manufacturing.
Click to expand...
Wholesale prices on tips is probably much higher than you think, margins in tips can be lower than cues and shafts. Also remember that many brands have minimum quantities you need to order, so stocking up on a brand can quickly be a few grand. Generally I buy all my tips straight from the maker, so no middleman. Selling cue tips is not a get rich scheme..
 
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