What makes a custom cue expensive?

cuesblues · Sep 18, 2020

I've always said it's the arrow, not the Indian.
The better the arrow, the better I play.
It gets down to how much you want to spend in order to pocket balls.

Justin, after years of collecting cues with hundreds of cues going through my hands, this is why cues are expensive:
$10,000+ cues never miss
$7500-$9999 cues occasionally miss
$4500-$7499 cues require a little concentration
$2500-$4499 cues require practice
$0-$2499 cues are hit & miss, good luck

and that's no shit

9ball5032 · Sep 19, 2020

1. Labor
2. Materials
3. Reputation (Playability, Workmanship)
4. Current Demand

helmstetterlove · Sep 19, 2020

CocoboloCowboy said:
Name, Famous Maker, Supply & Demand, Last Bling like P{pints, Inlays, Exotic Wood, Fancy JP's, you got the list.

Skill is better then Equiptment, but equiptment will get you more attention.

Espiritu, for example, is a very well known cue maker, and his cues look amazing, in my opinion, with sharp points and veneers, and very beautiful woods, and yet, for some reason, the resale value on his cues is horrible, and the cues are hard to sell, from what I have seen.

Brookeland Bill · Sep 19, 2020

I can’t believe I opened this thread. It’s a slow day on the forum.

CocoboloCowboy · Sep 19, 2020

helmstetterlove said:
Espiritu, for example, is a very well known cue maker, and his cues look amazing, in my opinion, with sharp points and veneers, and very beautiful woods, and yet, for some reason, the resale value on his cues is horrible, and the cues are hard to sell, from what I have seen.

Well the other thing is cost of equiptment, time to build. Everyone on their job is entitled to make a living backed upon skill, education, and demands for worker skill. Go to a Cardioligist Office for a Visit. $500.00 to walk in door.

Cuemakers have to eat also, plus have tool, and skill.

Johnny Deped get paid what per movie to dress like someone else, read line he did not write, and pretend to be someone he is not.

garczar · Sep 19, 2020

helmstetterlove said:
Espiritu, for example, is a very well known cue maker, and his cues look amazing, in my opinion, with sharp points and veneers, and very beautiful woods, and yet, for some reason, the resale value on his cues is horrible, and the cues are hard to sell, from what I have seen.

Great cues. If you can snag one at a good price then do so.

Maxx · Sep 19, 2020

helmstetterlove said:
Espiritu, for example, is a very well known cue maker, and his cues look amazing, in my opinion, with sharp points and veneers, and very beautiful woods, and yet, for some reason, the resale value on his cues is horrible, and the cues are hard to sell, from what I have seen.

Justin, I’m too lazy to search, but I believe you have made this post before, just swap out Espirtu for another make.

You’re getting stale, you need some fresh material!

cueman · Sep 19, 2020

ShootingArts said:
Having ran small shops I can tell you a major time sink is the telephone. If I ever run a business again I will deal with the phone at a set time twice a day. Everything will go to voice mail any other time.

You are having a custom made. Surely it is no big deal to call every week or a couple times a month to check how things are going. Guess what, that fifteen to thirty minutes he spends with you is multiplied by a dozen or two people that feel the same way!

Then you have the daydreamers. They will never have a cue made but they will call you and talk about it for thirty minutes or an hour at a time until they find someone else to pester.

I used to think that people that were short on the phone were rude. I found out they might or might not be rude but they were smart!

Hu

Many years ago I had a customer who called me a lot and would ask the same questions over and over without doing much cue work to practice and forget what I had already told him. I once mentioned to him that being on the phone costs money. He replied that it doesn't cost any money because he has unlimited long distance.
I eventually set 2 til 6pm as phone hours.

ShootingArts · Sep 19, 2020

cueman said:
Many years ago I had a customer who called me a lot and would ask the same questions over and over without doing much cue work to practice and forget what I had already told him. I once mentioned to him that being on the phone costs money. He replied that it doesn't cost any money because he has unlimited long distance.
I eventually set 2 til 6pm as phone hours.

I once claimed I was going to start charging for all phone calls that went over five minutes. Even put a sign in my office. I didn't, but it did make people stop a lot of the butter and flattery trying to get a better deal and get to the point!

Hu

3kushn · Sep 19, 2020

Black-Balled said:
Can you please elaborate on the deek-a-mon's mentors?

I've got one of his too, a pool cue, sadly:shrug:.

Gotta dig into my bankrupt memory banks but Burt Schrager was one.

couldnthinkof01 · Sep 19, 2020

A friend of mine has a repair shop.
He started charging $2 per inquiry/ call.

Made all the difference.

measureman · Sep 19, 2020

HNTFSH said:
At least from a McDermott perspective it depends on the cue. it's not just grab-n-go on them all.

I know McDermott makes some high end models that they choose the wood more carefully.
I was just giving an example of mass production makers.

skins · Sep 20, 2020

Ted is right on the money, I play best with my BIG$ Gus.

HNTFSH · Sep 20, 2020

measureman said:
I know McDermott makes some high end models that they choose the wood more carefully.
I was just giving an example of mass production makers.

No harm or foul...it's just given the nature of the post, comparing the lowest end production cues to the customs didn't seem a fair comparison.

classiccues · Sep 20, 2020

After people order them they think they have non tethered access to the cue maker and call him at all hours of the day. Therefore driving the price of the cues up...

Just a theory.,...

JV

garczar · Sep 20, 2020

The cuemaker's car-n-house payments.

CocoboloCowboy · Sep 20, 2020

Cuemaker can go from being hotter then a FREE HUNDRAD DOLLAR BILL, to undesirable if your customer service is crap.

Zinzola come to mind, he had world in his palm, until he screw over Tikkler. DUMBA** Business Plan.

Kickin' Chicken · Sep 20, 2020

materials used, supply, demand, quality, rarity.

Steve748 · Sep 23, 2020

I friend of mine in England had a Ducati repair & service shop and he would complain about people phoning him up and picking his brains.
I suggested to him you make them pay if they want information and the calls soon dried up. Now if you need to contact him you email him and wait for the reply.

I have bought my cue from Mike Wooldridge handmadecues.com and years ago he would phone you if a conversation was needed otherwise you could only contact him by email.

Now he has a retail shop and his assistants will answer phone calls.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Push · Sep 23, 2020

custom cues

50 years ago I worked at the U of Delaware pool room and Jimmy Caras gave an exhibition. I asked him if I needed a custom cue cue to be a better pool player. His response on a 4 1/2 x 9 Brunswick GC was to pull several house cues off the rack and machine gun balls of the table as Willie Mosconi and he could. He said does that answer your question? Those guys grew up playing 5 x 10 tables in tournaments.

What makes a custom cue expensive?

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