Cue value?

[cubc]

I'm just curious what makes a cue a certain value and why people choose to pay it. I'm sure it's a combination of rarity, waiting lists, and work / materials involved but what about the way they play?

Is there some magical cue out there that justifies paying 2grand and up for a cue in terms of playability? Generally you see a big difference between 300-800 dollar cues but theres a lot of technology involved.

Or is it that people just like to have that rare cue to sit in a case like people on the antiques road show or something? Maybe I'm too young to understand (27) and while I'm certainly not hurting financially i cant justify paying so much money for a cue to play with, but at the same time cant justify paying so much for a cue to sit in a case. not to be insulting but also are some of the people who buy those cues just the "old men" in the pool hall that likes to bring in the case with all the cues that'll never see the light of play and likes to just show people to hear ohhhhs and ahhhhs as sort of an attention thing or somethin (come on you know every pool hall has someone like that)? Maybe it's like a grown up version of how kids were with baseball cards. Look I got a richard black, a predator se 1 through 3923, a szam, a billy bob thorton etc?

I'm just confused on that and theres a lot of intelligent people here and know a lot about the cues.. Edumacate me. I would really like to know.

 

[Irish634]

I'm just curious what makes a cue a certain value and why people choose to pay it.

The second part of that question answers the first. A cues value is determined by what a person will pay. Why a person pays a certain price is a debate that will probably withstand the test of time. But I like to attribute a lot of it to "the gotta have it" syndrome.

Is there some magical cue out there

Maybe, but only if you can track down Houdini or Elvis.


For me, I don't buy many cues, but when I do, I usually buy them because I like the looks of them and how they feel to me when I shoot.

 

[StevenPWaldon]

To an extent, many also see them as investments. You're focusing too much on the game, and not the value of the cue. The value is given to it beyond factors of playability.

If you had bought an old Balabushka 50 years ago, you may not be asking this question. In terms of playability, there's less "technology" than today's cues.

I'm just curious what makes a cue a certain value and why people choose to pay it. I'm sure it's a combination of rarity, waiting lists, and work / materials involved but what about the way they play?

Is there some magical cue out there that justifies paying 2grand and up for a cue in terms of playability? Generally you see a big difference between 300-800 dollar cues but theres a lot of technology involved.

Or is it that people just like to have that rare cue to sit in a case like people on the antiques road show or something? Maybe I'm too young to understand (27) and while I'm certainly not hurting financially i cant justify paying so much money for a cue to play with, but at the same time cant justify paying so much for a cue to sit in a case. not to be insulting but also are some of the people who buy those cues just the "old men" in the pool hall that likes to bring in the case with all the cues that'll never see the light of play and likes to just show people to hear ohhhhs and ahhhhs as sort of an attention thing or somethin (come on you know every pool hall has someone like that)? Maybe it's like a grown up version of how kids were with baseball cards. Look I got a richard black, a predator se 1 through 3923, a szam, a billy bob thorton etc?

I'm just confused on that and theres a lot of intelligent people here and know a lot about the cues.. Edumacate me. I would really like to know.

 

[Bastian]

For me (I'm 30), it's the oohs and ahhs from others, and from myself when I pull it out of the case.. I could play the same with most any cue, given time to adjust, but I believe there is some confidence associated with the love I have for my cue, which does translate into more love for the game, which makes me take it more seriously.. this does, in my opinion, lead to me playing a better game.

 

[cubc]

For me (I'm 30), it's the oohs and ahhs from others, and from myself when I pull it out of the case.. I could play the same with most any cue, given time to adjust, but I believe there is some confidence associated with the love I have for my cue, which does translate into more love for the game, which makes me take it more seriously.. this does, in my opinion, lead to me playing a better game.

I like that response. That's an interesting point I never really thought of although pride in what you use can result in confidence and that does really help. I have pride in my cue but never really played with something I thought was a pos so I dont know first hand but it does make sense. That is a good point. Nice.

 

[Cue Freak]

For me (I'm 30), it's the oohs and ahhs from others, and from myself when I pull it out of the case.. I could play the same with most any cue, given time to adjust, but I believe there is some confidence associated with the love I have for my cue, which does translate into more love for the game, which makes me take it more seriously.. this does, in my opinion, lead to me playing a better game.

I totally agree, and to add on, I like seeing my designs become reality. It's a great feeling when you draw something up, give it to a cue maker and get back this beautiful cue knowing it is your design.

Matt

 

[steev]

With OB1 and Z2 shaft technology now, you can have a monster player for peanuts. Before that, I think there was more value in the playability. Even so, I wouldn't trade my dpk shaft for some new-fangled stuff...

-s

 

[Tokyo-dave]

A Timex and Rolex can both tell time, but some are willing to pay $6,000 or more for the Rolex.
I can get from point A to B in a Honda as well as a BMW, but some still want to pay more for the BMW.

When it comes to cues, although you're not getting a magic wand for your $3,000, chances are you will be getting better materials (especially shaft wood), and better quality. Which in most cases, will result in a better playing cue. I say "in most cases" because it's entirely possible to find a super player (magic wand) in a $200 cue. Just as it is entirely possible to find a junk player in the $3,000 range.

The prices of cues are determined mostly by supply and demand. On the extreme scale, if people are willing to pay $2,000 for a plane cue from Mr. "XXX", then Mr. "XXX" will most likely be selling his cues for $2,000 even though there's probably less than $500 of materials and labor involved in the same cue. And, I might add, the most likely reason that Mr. "XXX" cues are selling at such high prices is because of the reputation associated with his cues at any given moment.
dave

 

[Bastian]

The other side to that is, for example, Samsara. Dave doesn't make any of the 'best of' lists I've seen here on AZBilliards. His cues aren't regularly traded on here as collectible, nor did he even garner positive responses when I posted his name as one of the future szamboti level collectibles in cuemaking. Yet somehow the cue I bought was gone the day it was posted on their site, for full asking price, before I stepped in and was lucky enough to make a deal with the guy who beat me to it. The second cue I bought from them was actually a third choice, as the two I wanted before it had already sold as well. Glad that happened, as it turned out to be even more impressive in person, but I digress.

When it comes to a cue's value, while less than $500 may be involved in the manufacturing (as mentioned above), there are aspects of a cue's worth that can't easily be quantified. for example, the intarsia I see in Samsara's is rarely found elsewhere. Their designs have developed into some real masterworks that I doubt could be duplicated without years of the same trial and error by another maker.

For me (and many others apparently), their cues are a step ahead aesthetically and well worth the 3k or so. For that price I could have had just about anything, short of the works by those deceased masters. Will they be making anyone else's lists anytime soon? Probably not, but I for one think those lists are flawed hehe.. but that's ok, it translates into better availability for me until the value is inflated by demand.