9 ft anniversary

nine o nine

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There's a 9' anniversary table in Kansas on E-bay..bid is $1500.......auction closes in 2 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope someone sees this post in time to bid since I can't use it. Mitch
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
They have them in Nebraska for a grand.

Don't know the quantity or condition, but have been listed for quite awhile.

Anniversary's and Centennial's are like piggy banks, they're not worth much, until you invest YOUR money into them first! Even then, they're again only going to be worth about 50% of your investment should you ever decide to sell.
 

joelpope

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Anniversary's and Centennial's are like piggy banks, they're not worth much, until you invest YOUR money into them first! Even then, they're again only going to be worth about 50% of your investment should you ever decide to sell.
predictable response

and of course Diamond Tables are worth twice as much used as new, great investments
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
predictable response

and of course Diamond Tables are worth twice as much used as new, great investments

No, Diamonds are not worth double, but 10 years down the road, a ProAm is still worth what you bought it for. Don't think so....try finding them used, if you even DO find one used for sale....chances are it's already SOLD!
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Naw...buying any used table is 50% timing, 50%luck and the last 50% w crapshoot.

Buy an Anniversary used, invest the money to have it rebuilt to like new....then try selling it for what you have invested!! The ONLY people getting top dollar for Centennials and Anniversaries....IS the people who make a living fixing them up then selling them to buyers who DON'T know how to fix them up, AND are buying their dream table. But when THEY ever sell that same table....they can't get any where near what they paid for it!!

It's called buy high, sell low....that's the market. If you think I'm wrong, then ask yourself how much do you think the people SELLING those same table for at a premium....BUY them for!!
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
predictable response

and of course Diamond Tables are worth twice as much used as new, great investments

I'm IN the business, I know what I'm talking about! You're NOT in the business, and it's no secret you don't like Diamond tables, or would even spend a dime on a quality table in the first place.🤣
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
Buy an Anniversary used, invest the money to have it rebuilt to like new....then try selling it for what you have invested!! The ONLY people getting top dollar for Centennials and Anniversaries....IS the people who make a living fixing them up then selling them to buyers who DON'T know how to fix them up, AND are buying their dream table. But when THEY ever sell that same table....they can't get any where near what they paid for it!!

It's called buy high, sell low....that's the market. If you think I'm wrong, then ask yourself how much do you think the people SELLING those same table for at a premium....BUY them for!!

Glen, tell me something please. I'm no table expert by any means but I do know what playing on a good table feels like. IMO the Anniversary's and Centennials were built like tanks. Am I wrong about that? I've played on them off and on for over fifty years now and consider them among the best pool tables I've had the pleasure to play on.

I don't hold it against you or anyone else who finds one in need of restoration, who then puts in the time and effort to bring it up to speed and then sells it for a handsome profit. More power to them and congrats to the person who bought themselves a fine pool table, restored by an expert. I don't think they are necessarily thinking about the resale value when they buy that table. My experience has been that most of the people who buy (invest) in a table like that, keep it for life or for a very long period of time.

If the day comes when they decide to sell the table and they are unable to recoup their investment, I seriously doubt that matters so much considering the years of enjoyment it gave to them. My opinion (again) is that a well restored Anniv/Cent still has a good resale value on the secondary market. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Glen, tell me something please. I'm no table expert by any means but I do know what playing on a good table feels like. IMO the Anniversary's and Centennials were built like tanks. Am I wrong about that? I've played on them off and on for over fifty years now and consider them among the best pool tables I've had the pleasure to play on.

I don't hold it against you or anyone else who finds one in need of restoration, who then puts in the time and effort to bring it up to speed and then sells it for a handsome profit. More power to them and congrats to the person who bought themselves a fine pool table, restored by an expert. I don't think they are necessarily thinking about the resale value when they buy that table. My experience has been that most of the people who buy (invest) in a table like that, keep it for life or for a very long period of time.

If the day comes when they decide to sell the table and they are unable to recoup their investment, I seriously doubt that matters so much, especially when you consider the years of enjoyment it gave them. My opinion (again) is that a well restored Anniv/Cent still has good resale value on the secondary market. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Not disagreeing with you Jay, but they're no better built than any GC1 that was built following them. They share the exact same frame, slate, rail design, and cushions. My problem is those who go out of their way to rebuild them, a d those that simply refinish them, who get a higher price than they should get, buy simply selling them for a little less than one that has been completely rebuilt. The rail bolt anchors in them were a joke, a round nut plate that the rail bolt screwed into, held in place on the rail with 2 wood screws.....most of them, like the GC1s with the fig 8 nut plates....pulled out! That creates loose rails, how good can a table play when the rails can't even be tightened down to the slate. The tables had flaws, part of restoring them should be to improve on the flaws, not call the flaws original value, because the person restoring and intending to sell the table....don't know how to fix the flaws, and actually improve the table!!
 
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jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
Not disagreeing with you Jay, but they're no better built than any GC1 that was built following them. They share the exact same frame, slate, rail design, and cushions. My problem is those who go out of their way to rebuild them, a d those that simply refinish them, who get a higher price than they should get, buy simply selling them for a little less than one that has been completely rebuilt. The rail bolt anchors in them were a joke, a round nut plate that the rail bolt screwed into, held in place on the rail with 2 wood screws.....most of them, like the GC1s with the fig 8 nut plates....pulled out! That creates loose rails, how good can a table play when the rails can't even be tightened down to the slate. The tables had flaws, part of restoring them should be to improve on the flaws, not call the flaws original value, because the person restoring and intending to sell the table....don't know how to fix the flaws, and actually improve the table!!

Thanks Glen for this info. Like I said, I really never knew the inner workings of a pool table until I had my own room and had to recover them. Still, I was no table mechanic, just a guy who could put new cloth on. I never replaced any hardware, just made sure everything was tightly in place. The GCI's in my first poolroom were fairly new so I never had any real problems with them, only the skirts/aprons were a pain in the ass to put on so often I just left them off. :)

I think I got so used to playing on different tables in different poolrooms that it became the norm for me to have to adjust to how the table played. I wouldn't know a loose rail from a good one other than it played different and I had to figure that out for myself. I couldn't go into a strange room and demand that they fix the table I was playing on. I could either play on the equipment they had or hit the door. And I wanted to play, all the time!

Back then the old Anniversaries, which were still common around the Midwest, and the newer Gold Crowns were among my favorite tables to play on. They seemed to be more consistent and played more true than a lot of other tables (Schmidt, AMF, National, Gandy) that I would run into sometimes. I think I liked the Nationals the best of that bunch.

Any way, what do I know anymore. I still love Pool, even though I hardly hit a ball, but I still learn new things from watching the current generation play. I realize that I come from a different era when pool was definitely a backroom game. But in so many ways it has not changed that much. I hope it never does.
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Thanks Glen for this info. Like I said, I really never knew the inner workings of a pool table until I had my own room and had to recover them. Still, I was no table mechanic, just a guy who could put new cloth on. I never replaced any hardware, just made sure everything was tightly in place. The GCI's in my first poolroom were fairly new so I never had any real problems with them, only the skirts/aprons were a pain in the ass to put on so often I just left them off. :)

I think I got so used to playing on different tables in different poolrooms that it became the norm for me to have to adjust to how the table played. I wouldn't know a loose rail from a good one other than it played different and I had to figure that out for myself. I couldn't go into a strange room and demand that they fix the table I was playing on. I could either play on the equipment they had or hit the door. And I wanted to play, all the time!

Back then the old Anniversaries, which were still common around the Midwest, and the newer Gold Crowns were among my favorite tables to play on. They seemed to be more consistent and played more true than a lot of other tables (Schmidt, AMF, National, Gandy) that I would run into sometimes. I think I liked the Nationals the best of that bunch.

Any way, what do I know anymore. I still love Pool, even though I hardly hit a ball, but I still learn new things from watching the current generation play. I realize that I come from a different era when pool was definitely a backroom game. But in so many ways it has not changed that much. I hope it never does.

I'm with you on this, I never paid any attention to the condition the tables were in, or to what the cloth looked or played right, I was always looking for action. But, being a table mechanic has opened my eyes to a whole new world, and that world is in how tables are built, and what makes them play so differently, to the point that its ruined my desire to play anymore, I never have the time to play because all my time is spent working on pool tables, trying to make them all play better, which is why I'm so hard on other pool table mechanic's, I feel that they should always be trying to fix tables to play better, not just doing e tough to get paid and be off to the next paycheck!!
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Glen, tell me something please. I'm no table expert by any means but I do know what playing on a good table feels like. IMO the Anniversary's and Centennials were built like tanks. Am I wrong about that? I've played on them off and on for over fifty years now and consider them among the best pool tables I've had the pleasure to play on.

I don't hold it against you or anyone else who finds one in need of restoration, who then puts in the time and effort to bring it up to speed and then sells it for a handsome profit. More power to them and congrats to the person who bought themselves a fine pool table, restored by an expert. I don't think they are necessarily thinking about the resale value when they buy that table. My experience has been that most of the people who buy (invest) in a table like that, keep it for life or for a very long period of time.

If the day comes when they decide to sell the table and they are unable to recoup their investment, I seriously doubt that matters so much considering the years of enjoyment it gave to them. My opinion (again) is that a well restored Anniv/Cent still has a good resale value on the secondary market. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Will agree. I never bought anything with regard to how much will sell for if sold. As for a Centennial in excellent condition .... wait for the right buyer. They exist. It is a specialty table.
 
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joelpope

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm IN the business, I know what I'm talking about! You're NOT in the business, and it's no secret you don't like Diamond tables, or would even spend a dime on a quality table in the first place.🤣
You don't know me... I have owned numerous Brunswicks over the past 40 years from a turn of the century Brunswick-Balke-Collender to modern & have a cue collection that is probably worth more than you make in a year working on tables. I SUPPORT the industry, I buy products, I patronize pool rooms, I attend many of the major tournaments like the US Open & Valley Forge, I take numerous pros I know out for meals to help with their road expenses at tournaments.

I don't dislike Diamonds, I just prefer the play and looks of an Anniversary, Centennial, Gibson or Gold Crown.

I do dislike your constant put down of anyone who is excited about buying their first table or posting pictures of a used table they just bought and are proud of. Stick with your Diamonds and keep your negativity to yourself.
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
With the exception of Diamond, this industry is a joke. I chastised Rasson and Gabriel's table manufacturers at the BCA trade show over their new 9fts they intend to sell, accusing them both for building rails that won't last 5 years in a commercial environment, which is just wrong in my opinion, especially with todays so called pool table mechanic's, they might not even make it 5 years before the rails are destroyed and can't be recovered anymore. These manufacturers need to think at least 25 years down the road, how well are their pool tables going to hold up, not maybe 4-5 years. Gabriel's, who in their right mind would design an aluminum extruded rail to stand the test of time, then inlay a 3/4" wide by 1/4" thick strip of poplar in the bottom of the rail to staple the cloth to, without any thought of the table mechanics today using 3/8" and longer staples to install the cloth with....they are NOT going to sink into the alu.aluminum extruded rail at the bottom of that 1/4" strip of poplar wood strip. What they WILL do is bend over, and stick out on the top side of the wood, then they're going to use a hammer to pound them down so the rails will sit down all the way. Then, when they recover the rails again, and pull the old staples out....if they even bother to remove them, they're going to tear the hell out of that wood strip until there's no where left to staple new cloth to......GREAT DESIGN TERRY!! Go back to your drawing board and design in a 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep channel, then inlay a strip of 90 deurometor, military grade neoprene to staple to cloth to. It'll hold the staples in place, yet allow you to pull ALL the staples out when the cloth is removed, no need to dig them out. And 25 years worth of recovering the rails won't even be visible.
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
You don't know me... I have owned numerous Brunswicks over the past 40 years from a turn of the century Brunswick-Balke-Collender to modern & have a cue collection that is probably worth more than you make in a year working on tables. I SUPPORT the industry, I buy products, I patronize pool rooms, I attend many of the major tournaments like the US Open & Valley Forge, I take numerous pros I know out for meals to help with their road expenses at tournaments.

I don't dislike Diamonds, I just prefer the play and looks of an Anniversary, Centennial, Gibson or Gold Crown.

I do dislike your constant put down of anyone who is excited about buying their first table or posting pictures of a used table they just bought and are proud of. Stick with your Diamonds and keep your negativity to yourself.

So should I tell everyone I no longer work on anything but Diamonds!!! By the way, the Gibson is a piece of shit, it has absolutely NO frame to it what so ever, unless you call 3 2"×2"s laminated together then stood on edge a frame, and NO frame to screw the end slate screws into when mounting the slates. Yeah, I'm a BIG Brunswick fan, I can make a nice living fixing them, but would starve to death trying to make a living fixing up Diamonds!!
 
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