Case prices

Where are you seeing these cases at? Cue gallery? If in the wanted/for sale section, then they should have a price. I would much rather spend money on a cue, because you actually play with it. A case is just something to hold cues. Of course I like a nice looking case, but I do not see myself spending more then $300 for a case at this time.

The JB Flower tribute cases go for around $300-$500, I think. Justis cases go from $500-$1000+ mostly. I am guessing that the nice cases you have seen lately might be one of these two casemakers.

I have been looking at maybe getting a Dennis Swift case. They seem well made, look nice, and very reasonably priced.

I was looking at a justis tube case the other day for just over $400. I wanted it, but couldn't pull the trigger. In my current financial situation, I couldn't see spending that much on a case unless I could trade for something I already have. So I guess $400 is too much for me.

A few years ago, I bought my Instroke 3x7 Leather Cowboy case for about $300.

i have a real problem buying any new case for this reason. i have an instroke 3x5 black cowboy. it's not tooled at all and most places sell them for around $320. i payed $225. that is right about the dealer cost. a friend of mine was managing a pool hall and gave me just about his direct dealer's cost. now i know he's not supposed to do that so i am not naming names or where he worked. i am not opposed to someone making money but a hundred bucks over what they pay for the case seems a bit much. to me that also means that instroke is producing them for a lot less than $225. now a custom case is like a custom cue. you pay for the name and the perfection of getting exactly what you want. you can't really put a price on that. it's worth what you are willing to pay. but i will have a hard time next time i need to buy a new case and have to pay for an off the shelf one.

i got robbed on a case once, no twice. But thats cool live and learn-short sighted biz men got me in 2 cases LOL a pun. God bless them they out moved me. I wont out them as I better things to do.

The best cases for the $$$ IMO are ibcuecases.com they are very expensive yet less than the 2 cases I got robbed on. IB uses shiny dark pony hair the braded leather handles and other leather smells like a $1000 pair of gentalmans gloves, I have a few leather jackets made by Zilli its almost that quality.

I bought my case because I wanted the best protection I could get at a reasonable price. I simply cannot justify paying hundreds or thounds of $'s for a case, maybe I'm just a tight arse! Thats why I went out and bought the new Sterling Wave and paid $140 and believe it's as good at protection as anything out there. I could not be more pleased, they did a fantastic job on the interior and the outside looks great too.

Like anything else, cases have a wide range of prices. I bought a no-name case years ago (2x4) that stood up very well for all of $150 at Dufferin (when they were still around). I used it for ten years so that works out to all of $15/year. Granted it wasn't the fanciest thing ever but I still use it for travel as I'm not terribly concerned if it gets banged up a bit.

My new 3x5 Instroke Buffalo was ~$450 shipped + exchange rate which is probably worth more than most pool players (AZBers aside because we're all supporting the industry) would even think of spending on a cue. I could have spent about $250 instead on an Instroke Cowboy but I'd rather have something a little more unique.

It all depends on the case itself, the maker, the materials, and any tooling or decoration that goes into it.

I looked at an IB case, but he wanted $2000+ for the model I liked. I said as much on this site and John Barton emailed me saying he could make what I wanted for 25% or so. Anyway, the case JB made was way better than I expected and he really put some thought into the protection of the cues and what he came up with was perfect. It is a soft sided case and not a tube case.

I stay under $500 for cases. Not that some of the real expensive stuff isn't absolutely amazing, but just out of my price range for something I can't play with.

metallicane said:

I looked at an IB case, but he wanted $2000+ for the model I liked. I said as much on this site and John Barton emailed me saying he could make what I wanted for 25% or so. Anyway, the case JB made was way better than I expected and he really put some thought into the protection of the cues and what he came up with was perfect. It is a soft sided case and not a tube case.

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he is negoatiable on his prices. I'm sure John could build a case thats comparable for less, the only thing is the quality of the pony hair, IB has a connection for some top shelf material it is soft-not like mink, but it aint horse hair. As far as the build quality John could equal IB i'm pretty sure. When ever you buy something from Europe its gonna cost more. I got a great price on mine-probably what John would charge me. It was a favor, infact I actually felt bad and offered IB(Ivan) more $$$ this year after I owned it for a year I felt bad that he gave me such a discount. He didnt take the $$$. I'm having him build Kelly a purse and am going to over pay him on it.

yep, me too...

Georgia Boy said:

I bought my case because I wanted the best protection I could get at a reasonable price. I simply cannot justify paying hundreds or thounds of $'s for a case, maybe I'm just a tight arse! Thats why I went out and bought the new Sterling Wave and paid $140 and believe it's as good at protection as anything out there. I could not be more pleased, they did a fantastic job on the interior and the outside looks great too.

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Yep, same here! I bought the Sterling wave also and couldn't be more pleased with the protection and they do look nice as well. Learned about it on a review done in one our threads here. A couple of helpful advice from John, and that was my next target! The only difference is, I paid around 70 shipped from the scratch and dent section of cuesight! small gouge on the side for 45% off! heck, I would've probably put that in myself in a week or two!:grin:

I don't mind spending 300 - 500 for a good case. The way I look at it is, I have spent almost 1500 for the cues I'm carrying, i want to make sure they are protected. It seems silly to me to spend good money for a cue and put it in a soft case or a poor quality hard case where the cues rattle around.

my thoughs...

some people collect cases just as much as people collect cues....if you can afford it then why wouldnt you buy it....cases also grow in value just as cues do...i dont mind spending 1000 to 1500 for a case because i like the way it looks and the way it protects my collection of cues...if you want to buy a high end cue and keep it in a 50 dollar case that is your priority but for me protection and looks are just as important in a case as well as a cue plays..anyway it aint the arrow it is the indian...its kinda like buying a highend sportscar and when it is time to get new tires you buy the cheapest tires you can...sure it will work but it might not preforme to the standards of the car...a case holds your cue safe and tires hold your car to the ground...my thoughs mickey

Jason Robichaud said:

How much did or would you pay for a case. I have seen some great looking cases here lately and wonder how much they cost. It seems like some would be more than cues.

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You can get a well made protective case for as little as $20 or you can spend up to $5000.

People have been decorating the cases for their objects for thousands of years. You can find quite elaborate cases for knives, swords, bibles, journals, crowns, etc.......from the 14th century onward.

The past several years have seen some great new artists coming on the scene in cue cases, Rex Goulet, Jay Paranich, Ritch Remo, Marc Turcasso, Del W, and others are all pushing the envelope and bringing us some great great art in cue cases.

One thing that is different in cue cases is that there is so much choice. In almost no other sport do you have as much choice in both price range and design as in cue cases. Believe me I study this a lot. Try and find a maker of custom golf bags. Good luck if you find two.

Fly fishing rod cases probably comes closest with the range of commercial brands complimented by many custom makers, but even there you would be hard pressed to find nearly as many custom makers as in the billiard sports.

I think that taking a case beyond it's simple utility is a source of joy for a lot of people. Taking the care to wrap something precious with something well made and highly decorated gives a person a really good feeling.

Also people like to have what they want and not have to compromise. That's where custom makers come in because they can build the pocket a little longer, little higher, do the handle on this side or the other.

Cue Cases are really one area where the consumer has it good.

jrt30004 said:

i have a real problem buying any new case for this reason. i have an instroke 3x5 black cowboy. it's not tooled at all and most places sell them for around $320. i payed $225. that is right about the dealer cost. a friend of mine was managing a pool hall and gave me just about his direct dealer's cost. now i know he's not supposed to do that so i am not naming names or where he worked. i am not opposed to someone making money but a hundred bucks over what they pay for the case seems a bit much. to me that also means that instroke is producing them for a lot less than $225. now a custom case is like a custom cue. you pay for the name and the perfection of getting exactly what you want. you can't really put a price on that. it's worth what you are willing to pay. but i will have a hard time next time i need to buy a new case and have to pay for an off the shelf one.

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Retail prices reflect the markup that each business in the chain needs to charge in order to handle all of their overhead and make some profit to reinvest.

Certainly you can understand that your friend wouldn't stay in business very long if he gives all of his goods away at cost. Doing that leaves no margin for error or expansion.

In fact, when you consider the retail price of a Cowboy 2x4 in leather at $339 Instroke has made the least in potential profit on the case when you see it on the shelf. But from the time it was conceived until the time the end consumer pays for it the money it generates has kept more than a dozen people fed for a little while. That's how the economy works these days.

Now you can always go looking for your local leather worker and have him make you a case, just like when you used to go to Gepetto the cobbler and have him make you some shoes. And maybe you will get an awesome case for not much money or maybe you will find that the local leather work will charge a whole bunch more. Maybe your choices will be limited to what he feels like and is capable of or maybe it will be unlimited.

But the fact is that with globalization you are not restricted to what is locally available. You can choose from cases made all over the world and pay whatever price you can find that works best for you. I am sure that if you had worked harder and looked longer you might have found someone to sell it to you for less than your friend sold it to you. Happens all the time with consumer goods.

Your friend is allowed to sell at whatever price he chooses to. It's really not fair though to condemn anyone else for taking the profit because without profits there can be no growth, only subsistence.

If I told you that you were only allowed to earn enough to break even and no more then you would rightly tell me to go somewhere. So since there is no cap on how much you can earn personally don't seek to put any on someone else. If you paint houses for a living and you normally charge 2k and you give me a friendship price of 1k which is barely above the cost of materials then I will feel thankful for the savings and indebted to you. I won't go tell your competitor that he is charging too much when he charges 2k.