Cues as investments given the state of the game???

victorl said:

I don't know about being an investment but there are few games/sports where you can buy equipment, use it for years and the resell/trade at near or even more than you paid for it.

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Firearms and cues are the ones that come to my mind.

But most people buy the wrong ones of those.

If you are buying anything but a Gus, or George cue, I really don't think you are going to do well.

Southwest cues IMO, WERE, about the best to buy, play and resell for near value, but they seem to have moved up to the $3k range and I think they are pricing themselves out of that market. Southwest are production cues and far from rare.

Ken

Cues as investments?
Value may go or down over the years.
I have only one saying.....
Never spend more than you can afford to lose....

Investments

Woof Biscuit said:

I have a small collection of higher end cues. I try to buy cues that will hold their value. Given the declining number of players and interest in the game, do you think cues will continue to rise in value like they have for years? I'm thinking of buying more but have been hesitant. If the game is dieing a slow death, who will be around to buy your long term investments?

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Woof Biscuit,

I don't think pool will ever be dead completely but I would think that a prudent investor would be picking up used pieces rather than paying for new models at top price and only if that we but a portion of the portfolio.

Few cues if any hold value like commodities. Production stuff will only be as valuable as the demand/supply requires. As you and others have noted, pool may be waning at this time...and that will affect the "equipment" used to play the game. I wouldn't invest in Predator shafts for full retail expecting them to pay back dividends later...

But highly collectable cues are not necessarily linked to how many players are in the sport, or how well massive cue producers are doing financially. To predict custom (investment grade) cue trends, one must look to other indicators for signs of investment quality. Factors that will affect cue availability, name recognition of a given maker and rarity of materials used are all important considerations.

Joel Hercek, Barry Szamboti, Dennis Searing, Ron Haley...these builders have such a strong following and are so careful to execute top quality no matter how this reduces their output of product, their market will be stable for years to come...there is also the possibility of big surges in demand should any one of them choose to stop building cues for any reason...those are investment cues.

Southwest cues have had a consistent track record of high demand and the cost of such cues is well understood. To escape the 10+ year wait, most are willing to pay a premium. While these cues are not going to make anyone a big profit, they are more stable investments. If you want profit, selling a place on the waiting list may be more lucrative than selling the cue after you get it...but in either case, you will not take a loss.

Cues like those of Mike Cochran or Art Cantando are highly limited in availability and will likely always be prized. Acquaint yourself with the correct collector values then compare them to the asking price of the cue and you can make a sound investment. Buy on a name alone, however, and you could own the right cue for the wrong money and never profit...

I suspect cue collecting of fine artistic or rare collectable cues will be a solid means of owning special cues, then selling them for the initial investment or more for a long time to come, but cues are not and have not been a means to easy money for anyone in a long time.

Be clever and buy right or pay for the education with investment losses as you go. It is not for everyone, but I have no regrets for the many thousand I have spent following this passion.

Southwest cues are sought after not just as collectible but as playing cues for many players all over the world. The consistency in their play-ability and craftsmanship make them one of the best choice among many amateurs and pro players (especially in Asia).

As for investing in cues, not sure if it's really an investment in $$ term but definitely a positive experience as you can try just about every custom cues in the market and fine tune your taste. Can you make money flipping or buying cues directly from the builder...Yes but the ROI is not really worth the trouble and wait if you after the $$.

BR,
Duc.

demand does seem to have gone down, Jim Oswald of Billiards and Bagels talked about the good old days of selling high end cues, made tons of money, never had cues collecting dust in his store, when i started going there he said cue sales were very poor now and the only ones that sell, are the ones that are truly unique. So many cues have such similar styling, how will it stand out? he had some cues by the maker Bob Thompson who made only a handful a year and quit making them some years ago, they were 750-1000 a piece range but they were unlike anything you typically see, and those cues flew off the shelf and will likely at LEAST hold their value because they scratch an itch for certain crowd. a crowd im part of...but i wont sell mine ,anyways Jim closed down shop and retired because sales were slowing down every year, and my older bro used to buy and sell cues a lot said recently, overrall the local market is pretty much dead for typical mid-high end cues

Investment aspect aside, because I think there are many many better investment opportunities long before cue buying.

I'm not seeing any indication that there is a lack of demand. Every time we turn around its yet another cue maker that's months to years behind and can't fulfill his orders. There's a thread here asking what your next cue will be and there's wait periods from cuemakers I've never even heard of.

I'm sure there are a few newcomer cue makers that are slow or looking for business but really...how many marginally known cue makers aren't backed up? What cue makers are turning cues without buyers already lined up? What cue makers aren't backed up? Who doesn't have a wait period? Can't be many unless its by choice.

Seems to me the demand is higher than the supply.

My logic is that art will always be collectible, and pool isn't going any where in my life time.

rayjay said:

There are only a few cuemakers whose work will appreciate. It is really hard, if not now impossible, for newer cuemakers to crack into that tight circle of investment cues.

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Unfortunately, some price their cues as if they were born in that inner circle. I remember the good old days when you earned your reputation rather than priced yourself into that reputation.

two words for 98% of today's new cues


Fir Bys!