Maybe Crackpot cues?
Covid-19 and pool cue sales
- Thread starter octy81
- Start date
Maybe Crackpot cues?
It won't for most makers .
The surge of orders after winter slowdown are coming in.
Most makers I know in a private group are busy and looking for more equipment and wood .
I don't know about the imports.
What about cue shows?
Attendance was already down.
What about resumption of pool leagues
that goes hand in hand with pool halls
reopening & hopefully remaining open.
If people aren’t playing much pool for one
reason or another, that can’t be good for
the immediate outlook & future for cues.
Same applies to cue case makers who
depend on people wanting new cases.
People aren’t going to feel comfortable
being in large gatherings until there is a
vaccine for COVID-19. Absent that, then
the only safe path will be social distancing.
There won’t be any resumption of normalcy
again because millions of people are not
returning to their jobs for a long time, if at
all. Some businesses won’t be reopening
and if they do, with a lot less patrons, i.e., $.
This is the 11th time in our country’s history
where economic disaster confronted us and
let’s just hope the right decisions get made.
Attendance was already down.
What about resumption of pool leagues
that goes hand in hand with pool halls
reopening & hopefully remaining open.
If people aren’t playing much pool for one
reason or another, that can’t be good for
the immediate outlook & future for cues.
Same applies to cue case makers who
depend on people wanting new cases.
People aren’t going to feel comfortable
being in large gatherings until there is a
vaccine for COVID-19. Absent that, then
the only safe path will be social distancing.
There won’t be any resumption of normalcy
again because millions of people are not
returning to their jobs for a long time, if at
all. Some businesses won’t be reopening
and if they do, with a lot less patrons, i.e., $.
This is the 11th time in our country’s history
where economic disaster confronted us and
let’s just hope the right decisions get made.
Economically, this is like nothing I've experienced. Sales and values are going to depend on cash needs, which could be dire for the next six months.
I think new customs from top makers will hold value because they're hopelessly backlogged. Orders from lower tier makers might dry up or prices will drop.
For new stuff, as sellers and manufacturers need more cash you will see fire sales as they each liquidate inventory. Keep an eye on the websites. Less disposable income = fewer sales of items like cues, so only real bargains will move. League players buy a lot of the high production low end cues, like Player sand Poison, so look for clearance sales on entire lots.
One thing I will say is the resale of used custom and collector cues should come down. I see a lot of them sitting there unsold with maximum retail asking prices. But that was happening before the pandemic as sellers hold out for high prices. As they need cash, they'll dump them.
Lately I've seen a couple of good cues, desirable cues that would have sold in a day or two, not move at all at half way decent prices. If you have cash and want a few collectibles, keep an eye on places like ebay and facebook.
By the way, this Tascarella and Tad look like a hacked account to me, not what I'm talking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tascarella...026432?hash=item4b78128380:g:FhkAAOSw34Fel4sO
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tad-pool-cue/324137026250?hash=item4b781282ca:g:eycAAOSwGTRel4tn
(I reported as a possible fraud, they will probably be gone soon.)
I think new customs from top makers will hold value because they're hopelessly backlogged. Orders from lower tier makers might dry up or prices will drop.
For new stuff, as sellers and manufacturers need more cash you will see fire sales as they each liquidate inventory. Keep an eye on the websites. Less disposable income = fewer sales of items like cues, so only real bargains will move. League players buy a lot of the high production low end cues, like Player sand Poison, so look for clearance sales on entire lots.
One thing I will say is the resale of used custom and collector cues should come down. I see a lot of them sitting there unsold with maximum retail asking prices. But that was happening before the pandemic as sellers hold out for high prices. As they need cash, they'll dump them.
Lately I've seen a couple of good cues, desirable cues that would have sold in a day or two, not move at all at half way decent prices. If you have cash and want a few collectibles, keep an eye on places like ebay and facebook.
By the way, this Tascarella and Tad look like a hacked account to me, not what I'm talking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tascarella...026432?hash=item4b78128380:g:FhkAAOSw34Fel4sO
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tad-pool-cue/324137026250?hash=item4b781282ca:g:eycAAOSwGTRel4tn
(I reported as a possible fraud, they will probably be gone soon.)
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Well I don't feel the custom cue makers that have their books filled won't feel the hit as much but big companies like predator that employ a good amount of people will have to mark their products down to pay there employees and for materials. No one really knows how long this pandemic might last , pool might take a major hit , bars, pool halls closing , no tournaments .
I can't speak for anywhere else, but I think that there will be a lot of people here selling their pool cues at the end of this virus fiasco.
Hawaii is a tourist state and a very large chunk of the economy is based upon people coming here and spending money.
Many, many of the people here who frequent the pool scene have jobs that are based upon the incoming money from tourists (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.). The cost of living here in Hawaii is many times what it is in 90% of anywhere else in the mainland USA. The median price for a 3-bedroom house here is around $800,000 and 90% of them can't afford to buy, so they rent.
Some of these people are working 2 or 3 service-related jobs just to get by. If the tourist industry takes a pretty good hit, some of these people aren't even going to be able to make their monthly bills.
I would say that probably the vast majority of them couldn't last two months with no income without becoming completely bankrupt.
I don't even know if Hawaiian Brian's can stand the loss of income for more than a couple months...they may not even be able to make it that far.
Who knows what may happen down the road...I don't.
But, back to the original statement. I got a feeling the APA league here is going to take a great loss when it comes to people playing in the leagues and spending $40 or more just to go out and bang balls. I'm sure a lot of them will be getting rid of their "toys" when the bills start piling up.
Hawaii is a tourist state and a very large chunk of the economy is based upon people coming here and spending money.
Many, many of the people here who frequent the pool scene have jobs that are based upon the incoming money from tourists (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.). The cost of living here in Hawaii is many times what it is in 90% of anywhere else in the mainland USA. The median price for a 3-bedroom house here is around $800,000 and 90% of them can't afford to buy, so they rent.
Some of these people are working 2 or 3 service-related jobs just to get by. If the tourist industry takes a pretty good hit, some of these people aren't even going to be able to make their monthly bills.
I would say that probably the vast majority of them couldn't last two months with no income without becoming completely bankrupt.
I don't even know if Hawaiian Brian's can stand the loss of income for more than a couple months...they may not even be able to make it that far.
Who knows what may happen down the road...I don't.
But, back to the original statement. I got a feeling the APA league here is going to take a great loss when it comes to people playing in the leagues and spending $40 or more just to go out and bang balls. I'm sure a lot of them will be getting rid of their "toys" when the bills start piling up.
Exactly no one knows how long this pandemic will last , and what people will do to pay the bills make that mortgage payment , you'll see those high end cues on sale and when they don't sell the prices will come down , if predator wants to keep its doors open and pay there employees it's going to have to reduce the prices on its cues , shafts etc .dealer will have to mark there prices down I doubt the government will try to bailout pool .
Even if it does I don't see this being a record year for attendance.
I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay and in general Ebay sales are up because Amazon is DOA but pool cues are a very niche market and you can't sell most preowned items on Amazon. The fact that most/all people who sell higher end/custom cues are mom and pop type businesses and most are online already means that the market for cues isn't effected as much as other items will be.
The supply won't be altered much but eventually the lower/mid level cues will have to drop because they will have a much larger supply with a smaller demand especially the longer this goes on. The fact that bars and pool halls aren't open will kill the demand for cues that aren't as collectible as others that are used mainly as daily players.
The supply won't be altered much but eventually the lower/mid level cues will have to drop because they will have a much larger supply with a smaller demand especially the longer this goes on. The fact that bars and pool halls aren't open will kill the demand for cues that aren't as collectible as others that are used mainly as daily players.
Guido Orlandi in Michigan
My buddy Guido Orlandi, Cue Maker in Michigan, is busier than a one armed paper hanger.
Maybe the Slow Down has given people pause to what's happening in their lives. The Slow Down takes us out of the dead run we're on & allows us to re-affirm our priorities.
I've been busy too.. the Slow Down is giving players time to Practice their Game & bring about needed growth.
My buddy Guido Orlandi, Cue Maker in Michigan, is busier than a one armed paper hanger.
Maybe the Slow Down has given people pause to what's happening in their lives. The Slow Down takes us out of the dead run we're on & allows us to re-affirm our priorities.
I've been busy too.. the Slow Down is giving players time to Practice their Game & bring about needed growth.