Custom and High End Cues on the Decline?

SSP said:
That is gorgeous cue, I'd be scared to take that out on league night
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A better cue to take out on a league night is something like this that doesn't draw a lot of attention.

An ugly duckling.

A Frankenstein.

A sneaky bastard cue.

A "Dennis Tucker." (Dennis Searing shaft on a Murray Tucker butt)

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cueaddicts said:
The high-end custom cue market is alive and well. It has always been a niche market, and it has definitely changed some over that last handful of years with the recent popularity of CF shafts. I suspect it will change some more before it’s all said and done.

Change or go extinct, and all of us involved with the ICCS now don’t want to see that latter option come to be, lol.

A lot of good things happened at our Chattanooga show recently and we hope to implement some new things these next few years to help grow collecting and introduce custom cues to the younger generation of players and fans.

Stay tuned for our next show in Sept ‘27 in Savannah GA. It will be by far the biggest and boldest endeavor yet for the International Cue Collectors Show!!!!!
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who's cues are in pic 2 and who is the cuemaker in pic 4?
 
I'm still sticking with age being the deciding factor here. If you were to poll every hi-end cue buyer as to their age i'd bet pretty good that VERY few are younger than 50. As that age group gets older/dies off you'll see fewer and fewer custom cues. Younger players don't give a crap about fancy one-off cues.
 
garczar said:
I'm still sticking with age being the deciding factor here. If you were to poll every hi-end cue buyer as to their age i'd bet pretty good that VERY few are younger than 50. As that age group gets older/dies off you'll see fewer and fewer custom cues. Younger players don't give a crap about fancy one-off cues.
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I agree ,but to Sean's point about the ICCS there is a tremendous missed opportunity from an education standpoint about the art and science of cue making that ACA/ICA has dropped the ball on and ICCS can fill.

When you take the time to learn some of the history around the evolution of cue making, no matter who or when it creates curiosity. You want to see, hold, and yes even hit with one of these cues to really understand what all the fuss is about. And that is the gateway drug.

It's real easy to shit talk custom cues when you really don't have any sense of what that means but once your exposed, and I mean really and thoroughly introduced to this space you want one.

And like any good addiction it always just starts with one and then the next thing you know....
 
Benelli said:
I agree ,but to Sean's point about the ICCS there is a tremendous missed opportunity from an education standpoint about the art and science of cue making that ACA/ICA has dropped the ball on and ICCS can fill.

When you take the time to learn some of the history around the evolution of cue making, no matter who or when it creates curiosity. You want to see, hold, and yes even hit with one of these cues to really understand what all the fuss is about. And that is the gateway drug.

It's real easy to shit talk custom cues when you really don't have any sense of what that means but once your exposed, and I mean really and thoroughly introduced to this space you want one.

And like any good addiction it always just starts with one and then the next thing you know....
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pardon my ignorance but are there people that shit talks custom cues? I believe the shit talk was more towards over-valuing custom cues.
 
Or if you were in a western state a root cellar for extra storage or in the case of my grandparents a shaft dug into the hill to get coal out of for heat and cooking or so my dad always told stories about things like that .
 
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garczar said:
I'm still sticking with age being the deciding factor here. If you were to poll every hi-end cue buyer as to their age i'd bet pretty good that VERY few are younger than 50. As that age group gets older/dies off you'll see fewer and fewer custom cues. Younger players don't give a crap about fancy one-off cues.
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you're right of course, but i wouldn't be the wood hugging luddite i am if i didn't bring up the fact that two young world champions this year used custom cues: seo seoa and ko ping chung
 
skogstokig said:
you're right of course, but i wouldn't be the wood hugging luddite i am if i didn't bring up the fact that two young world champions this year used custom cues: seo seoa and ko ping chung
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i don't really count touring pros that get their shit gratis. what i'm talking about is the overall market for custom cues. its not expanding. they'll always be around but the customer base is aging/dwindling by the year.
 
garczar said:
I'm still sticking with age being the deciding factor here. If you were to poll every hi-end cue buyer as to their age i'd bet pretty good that VERY few are younger than 50. As that age group gets older/dies off you'll see fewer and fewer custom cues. Younger players don't give a crap about fancy one-off cues.
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Most of the cues I sell are in the $1500 to $3500 USD range. Almost half of my buyers are under 50. Well made/ artisinal cues are here to stay so long as enough people can afford to buy them.

For someone shopping for a new or used cue there’s a tremendous selection available at all price points in today’s market. I started out in 1969 with a $9 Sears cue with raminwood shaft. Upgraded a year later to a Gandy rosewood merry widow for $32.50. I loved that cue until someone stole it. In the early 70s I played with a dozen or so cheap Meucci and Huebler cues. My game is much better with a cue that works for me than one that doesn’t, cost aside.
 
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