Conversion Cue High Prices?

Mike,

LOL..am aware of some the stories and heard some of the stories from Parica point of view as well. For the record though, I did get paid on two of the conversion cues that I made for him along with a few CM360 shafts for his other cues.

This loaner cue that I lent him play incredibly good and I sold 2 of my sneeky conversion cues at SBE because he was playing with it. While I was practicing with Parica, several of the on lookers were curious about my cues and I had a gentleman literally followed me to my car to get one of my cue from me. I think he's also on AZ but probably don't post much. In any case, for what it worth I know Parica have always tried to help me promote my cue and CM360 shaft so when Larry called me and said he wanted to hang on to the cue longer, I told him that he didn't have to return the cue back to me and he welcome to play with it.

I actually won a few hundreds playing at the 10.00 table at SBE with this cue so I really wanted it back. In any case, in my mind the cue is a marketing cost now. It's not easy to break into the cue market but it helps if you have a good player backing your cue.

As another example, I know that Barry Cameron cues does very well every year at SBE because of the endorsement he provided to some of the players he supported. I know George (Ginky) used to be sponsored by Barry and man when I tried the cue that Barry made him...I was really impressed with the playability along with a lot of other players who say they would buy one at SBE.

My point is that your cues need to be out there so people can test them and give you feedback. Now how you get them out there, it ups to you.

Regards,
Duc.

Michael Webb said:
Duc:
Please take what I saw with a grain of salt Please. I mean no disrespect, but, If Parica or any pro opened their wallets and paid you for the cue, THAT! is a compliment. If he took it free. That is not a compliment at all, and as much as I like Parica, he has an incredible long history with Cue makers.
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qguy said:
Conversion - to convert.

IMHO, to convert a one piece cue into a two piece cue, ie I converted this one piece cue into a two piece cue. You can not say that with a blank, like I converted this John Davis blank into a two piece cue, you say I made this two piece cue from a John Davis blankI would not say you converted a blank into a cue, coz a blank is a blank, its there to molded into a cue regardless if the cue maker makes into a one piece or two piece. I think its better to say "I converted this tree into a cue" :)
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Perfectly stated. For Duc - it's actually very easy to define 'conversion cue', and those Davis blank cues are definitely not 'conversions', nor are yours. The only place this gets tricky is with some of the greats who made many/most of their cues from Titlist blanks. My understanding is that Rambow made a lot of his cues from Titlist 'blanks' (they had never been made into 1-piece cues and didn't even have the signature or label), but he certainly also converted 1-piece cues that customers brought to his shop. So technically, some of his cues were conversions, some weren't, but since he NEVER made his own blanks, they are simply thought of as 'Rambow' cues.

On the other hand, Burton Spain, like John Davis is doing now, sold a lot of blanks to other cuemakers - none of those are 'conversion' cues. Palmers made with Szamboti blanks certainly aren't considered 'conversions'. What if James White made the blank and then handed it to Paul Mottey to finish the cue? You wouldn't know the difference - it's signed 'Mottey'. It's certainly not a conversion. I know this happened regularly, as I owned one. By Duc's definition, either that would be a 'conversion', or he would have to expand his definition to say 'any cue with a forearm made in a different shop.'

Many of the cuemakers on this forum use Prather blanks. You don't hear them claiming that they are making 'conversion' cues, as this would be bad for business.
 
In my opinion, it would already had to have been a cue to "convert" it.

Simply stated.. You "convert" a one piece cue into a two piece cue.

I use Prather full splice blanks, but I dont convert them any more than I convert the four point forearms that I make myself. I build them. A house cue I "convert" because it was already a cue to start with.

Hope this helps
Lee
 
Getting technical about definitions that don't even exist is pointless, IMO. We define our own work. Does it really matter what you call it? If I buy a Schmelke blank or if I cut a Valley Supreme, the cue sells for the same & is considered a sneaky.

The point folks are missing is the work involved. Regardless of where the "blank" came from, did you do the work needed to keep the points even? Does the cue have your specific dimensions that make your cues unique to you? Does the finished cue balance & weigh properly? These are details that make a difference in how the cues are received by the buying market. If somebody can be certain that the cue will be exactly like all your other cues in terms of feel & playability, dimensions & weight, then they are more likely to buy it. If it's a Titleist with a .815" joint, 1.22" butt, & balances out at 17", when all your scratch cues are .850"x1.26 with 19" balances points, then you might have a tough time selling it. It's nothing like what you normally build & will not play or feel like it. Do the work necessary to bring it to your specs & anybody who likes your cues will be interested in it.

Point being, building a new cue from an old cue or a pre-fab blank is virtually the same work. The end result is what matters. And you can call it anything you want. It's nobody else's business. They should worry about their own cues. And charge whatever you want. The market will tell you how good you are & how much people like your work, regardless of how you feel about yourself.
 
Cuemaster98 said:
Mike,

LOL..am aware of some the stories and heard some of the stories from Parica point of view as well. For the record though, I did get paid on two of the conversion cues that I made for him along with a few CM360 shafts for his other cues.

This loaner cue that I lent him play incredibly good and I sold 2 of my sneeky conversion cues at SBE because he was playing with it. While I was practicing with Parica, several of the on lookers were curious about my cues and I had a gentleman literally followed me to my car to get one of my cue from me. I think he's also on AZ but probably don't post much. In any case, for what it worth I know Parica have always tried to help me promote my cue and CM360 shaft so when Larry called me and said he wanted to hang on to the cue longer, I told him that he didn't have to return the cue back to me and he welcome to play with it.

I actually won a few hundreds playing at the 10.00 table at SBE with this cue so I really wanted it back. In any case, in my mind the cue is a marketing cost now. It's not easy to break into the cue market but it helps if you have a good player backing your cue.

As another example, I know that Barry Cameron cues does very well every year at SBE because of the endorsement he provided to some of the players he supported. I know George (Ginky) used to be sponsored by Barry and man when I tried the cue that Barry made him...I was really impressed with the playability along with a lot of other players who say they would buy one at SBE.

My point is that your cues need to be out there so people can test them and give you feedback. Now how you get them out there, it ups to you.

Regards,
Duc.
Click to expand...

The fact that he bought cues off of you is all that matters. The rest of the story and selling cues out of your car at the Expo. That's your decision. lol
 
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