Carolina Custom Cues website down

Any news?

I don't have to contact them. I was just wondering. I have a CC cue myself, and it is a really good and nice cue, one of the first they made.

-Jon BIrger
 
I agree, great group of guys. They had another business going & decided to go 100% with that I believe. At least that is what I was told.
 
Aw man. Another quality cue company down. Wish pool would make a come back to keep some of these guys going...
 
desertshark said:
Aw man. Another quality cue company down. Wish pool would make a come back to keep some of these guys going...
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Pool is saturated with cue makers as it is. Last count was something over 700 active cue makers and more than 1000 brands.

There is no shortage of cues or great cue makers. It's not the lack of customers that is the issue although we agree that if there were more customers it would be better.

It's hard to buy a bad cue these days. There are plenty of cue makers to choose from and because of that competition it would be hard for any cue maker to make it on cues alone even if we added another couple million players in my opinion.
 
I don't want to get in to a buy American debate here, that horse has been beat to death many times.
Here's my future prediction.
There will be no more domestic production cue companies only custom makers.
All of the production cues will be imported.
It's just a matter of cost.
 
measureman said:
I don't want to get in to a buy American debate here, that horse has been beat to death many times.
Here's my future prediction.
There will be no more domestic production cue companies only custom makers.
All of the production cues will be imported.
It's just a matter of cost.
Click to expand...

I think you will see in about five years that the cost of Asian made cues will rise significantly as the cost of labor and materials rises.

Already it's a lot more expensive to live in China than it was 7 years ago. The exchange rate has dropped 25% but the cost of labor has risen over 50%. The cost of materials has risen up to 150% in some sectors. The other day I spent $1.80 for 4 slices of bread at the bakery.

I think American cue companies can survive and thrive. Not all of them but I do see a future for American made production cues.
 
JB Cases said:
Pool is saturated with cue makers as it is. Last count was something over 700 active cue makers and more than 1000 brands.

There is no shortage of cues or great cue makers. It's not the lack of customers that is the issue although we agree that if there were more customers it would be better.

It's hard to buy a bad cue these days. There are plenty of cue makers to choose from and because of that competition it would be hard for any cue maker to make it on cues alone even if we added another couple million players in my opinion.
Click to expand...

From a consumer viewpoint this is good as it drives competition to come out with a better product as well as potentially quicker lead times with more options, maybe even better pricing.

On the downside it hurts the cue maker having to compete more...this also can be a good thing pushing them to get better...but it can also be a bad thing if it drives them out of business. I never like to see anyone go out of business and I agree they did seem to make decent cues for decent prices.
 
Spimp13 said:
From a consumer viewpoint this is good as it drives competition to come out with a better product as well as potentially quicker lead times with more options, maybe even better pricing.

On the downside it hurts the cue maker having to compete more...this also can be a good thing pushing them to get better...but it can also be a bad thing if it drives them out of business. I never like to see anyone go out of business and I agree they did seem to make decent cues for decent prices.
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Yep. And it seems to me, this is only me, but folks are hanging onto their cues a lot longer. Man, 5 years or more ago, everyone was buying a new cue, custom and production, and then buying another one a year later,, soon they had 5 or 6 cues, and sell one every once in awhile to a buddy or something.... It was kind like shoe buying for woman, we didn't need 6 cues, but damn it, we were gonna have them anyways ;)

Now, I can't remember the last time a teammate even got a new cue ? My last cue was buying a used, beat up Willie Hoppe, and paying someone to restore it. and that was over 2 years ago. I have 3 cues right now and 3 break cues. I look in the wanted section for something that strikes my eye and the price is right, but the prices are not right, and nothing has struck my eye ;)
 
Spimp13 said:
From a consumer viewpoint this is good as it drives competition to come out with a better product as well as potentially quicker lead times with more options, maybe even better pricing.

On the downside it hurts the cue maker having to compete more...this also can be a good thing pushing them to get better...but it can also be a bad thing if it drives them out of business. I never like to see anyone go out of business and I agree they did seem to make decent cues for decent prices.
Click to expand...

With quality custom cuemakers selling new cues for as little as $700, I can't imagine prices dropping lower than that. Even at that price point, a cuemaker can't make cues full time.

Unfortunately, too many people look at the cost of the materials and think the profit is high, but don't factor-in the labor costs and costs to purchase and maintain machinery and equipment.
 
JB Cases said:
I think you will see in about five years that the cost of Asian made cues will rise significantly as the cost of labor and materials rises.

Already it's a lot more expensive to live in China than it was 7 years ago. The exchange rate has dropped 25% but the cost of labor has risen over 50%. The cost of materials has risen up to 150% in some sectors. The other day I spent $1.80 for 4 slices of bread at the bakery.

I think American cue companies can survive and thrive. Not all of them but I do see a future for American made production cues.
Click to expand...

then production will move to India from china.
 
measureman said:
then production will move to India from china.
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Well it's already moving to Vietnam and even to Africa. The point is that eventually wages and costs will reach an equilibrium and then it will be only a matter of who has the best service and is most efficient.
 
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