Cues in strange places

poolguppy

poolguppy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So i was thinking today. I often stop by our local goodwill and check a couple sections out, and have found some amazing stuff. I have probably found half a dozen callaway drivers, probably 20+ pairs of high end sunglasses, maui jims, persols, all kinds of italian designers, authentic gucci and versace shoes and suits, and a 600 dollar pair of jeans( i always whip out my phone and read an article about how to authenticate the item, lots of times it dosent check out, but i have come across authentics many a time)..... but i have NEVER come across a pool cue there that wasnt complete garbage, and theres always a handful to check out. Nor at yard sales or other kind of second hand stores. How about anyone else? ever come found a great pool cue for dirt cheap somewhere? maybe a steal on craigslist that the seller didnt know anything about?
 
I agreee

I agree with you I always look at goodwill and second hand stores and have never never found anything but garbage. I did score big time at a flea market one time about 3 years ago. I was at a new flea market one Sunday morning. I started going up and down the rows asking each dealer if they had any billiard items. Almost every one I asked said go see the old lady in the last row. I said to myself just keep going up and down each row, You will get to the old lady sooner or later. When I made it to her, There was this little old lady sitting there nitting or sowing or something like that, She had all kinds of pool related items all around her. She had a bunch of house cues mostly junk, A few cheap cues and tons of cases. In the middle she had a stand with three cues, One was a dale perry, Not sure about the second one. But one I knew it soon as I layed eyes on it. It looked like a Richard harris Blue grass cue. It looked like it to me but I was not 100% sure. I did not say anything to her I just checked it out, I pulled out the bumper to see if there was Richards markings under the bumper. I did not have my eye glasses with me so I could not read it, There was something there but I could not read it. Any way I looked at the price tag she had on it. The cue was 100% mint and unchalked and un played, She had it priced at $250.00
That made me think for sure it was not a real Richard harris because she had it priced so low. Finely I asked her can you do any better on the price, She said I will give it to you for $200.00. I said I'll give you $100.00 for it, She said I will meet you in the middle and give it to you for $150.00, I thought to myself for $150 I will take a chance. Then I asked her how is it that you have all this Billiards stuff, She told me My husband collected pool cues for 40 years and he just passed a couple of months ago. I'm little by little bringing some of his collection here to sell each week. Then the wheels started to turn, If this is true he could have some Balabushka, Rambos, Gus's. I asked her if I could come to her home and see what she had for sale. She said sure, We made planes to meet up a couple days later at her home. I called a friend and we pooled our money together and had about $40,000 ready to buy the lady out if we hit the jackpot. The day before we where ready to meet her she called and said she is having second thoughts and could not bare to sell any more of her husband's collection and she backed out on us. After I got home I put my eye glasses on pulled the bumper out again and saw. RH 2007. The cue was a real Richard harris unplayed mint cue, I paid $150.00 for it and sold it a week later for $1,800
 
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JT's cuerepair said:
I agree with you I always look at goodwill and second hand stores and have never never found anything but garbage. I did score big time at a flea market one time about 3 years ago. I was at a new flea market one Sunday morning. I started going up and down the rows asking each dealer if they had any billiard items. Almost every one I asked said go see the old lady in the last row. I said to myself just keep going up and down each row, You will get to the old lady sooner or later. When I made it to her, There was this little old lady sitting there nitting or sowing or something like that, She had all kinds of pool related items all around her. She had a bunch of house cues mostly junk, A few cheap cues and tons of cases. In the middle she had a stand with three cues, One was a dale perry, Not sure about the second one. But one I knew it soon as I layed eyes on it. It looked like a Richard harris Blue grass cue. It looked like it to me but I was not 100% sure. I did not say anything to her I just checked it out, I pulled out the bumper to see if there was Richards markings under the bumper. I did not have my eye glasses with me so I could not read it, There was something there but I could not read it. Any way I looked at the price tag she had on it. The cue was 100% mint and unchalked and un played, She had it priced at $250.00
That made me think for sure it was not a real Richard harris because she had it priced so low. Finely I asked her can you do any better on the price, She said I will give it to you for $200.00. I said I'll give you $100.00 for it, She said I will meet you in the middle and give it to you for $150.00, I thought to myself for $150 I will take a chance. Then I asked her how is it that you have all this Billiards stuff, She told me My husband collected pool cues for 40 years and he just passed a couple of months ago. I'm little by little bringing some of his collection here to sell each week. Then the wheels started to turn, If this is true he could have some Balabushka, Rambos, Gus's. I asked her if I could come to her home and see what she had for sale. She said sure, We made planes to meet up a couple days later at her home. I called a friend and we pooled our money together and had about $40,000 ready to buy the lady out if we hit the jackpot. The day before we where ready to meet her she called and said she is having second thoughts and could not bare to sell any more of her husband's collection and she backed out on us. After I got home I put my eye glasses on pulled the bumper out again and saw. RH 2007. The cue was a real Richard harris unplayed mint cue, I paid $150.00 for it and sold it a week later for $1,800
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I have only found a cue worth buying once at a garage sale. I got an old Abe Rich cue for $2.00. I sold it on ebay for $180.00. I have made a lot of money on other stuff though. One of my best billiard related finds was when going to look at a used pool table. The table was crap but in the wall rack were 2 old Willie Hoppe two piece cues. I made an offer of $20.00 and got them. One of my better garage sale finds was a Nikon Microscope for $10.00. When I looked it up it retailed for like $3500.00. I got $750.00 for it on ebay.
 
JT's cuerepair said:
I agree with you I always look at goodwill and second hand stores and have never never found anything but garbage. I did score big time at a flea market one time about 3 years ago. I was at a new flea market one Sunday morning. I started going up and down the rows asking each dealer if they had any billiard items. Almost every one I asked said go see the old lady in the last row. I said to myself just keep going up and down each row, You will get to the old lady sooner or later. When I made it to her, There was this little old lady sitting there nitting or sowing or something like that, She had all kinds of pool related items all around her. She had a bunch of house cues mostly junk, A few cheap cues and tons of cases. In the middle she had a stand with three cues, One was a dale perry, Not sure about the second one. But one I knew it soon as I layed eyes on it. It looked like a Richard harris Blue grass cue. It looked like it to me but I was not 100% sure. I did not say anything to her I just checked it out, I pulled out the bumper to see if there was Richards markings under the bumper. I did not have my eye glasses with me so I could not read it, There was something there but I could not read it. Any way I looked at the price tag she had on it. The cue was 100% mint and unchalked and un played, She had it priced at $250.00
That made me think for sure it was not a real Richard harris because she had it priced so low. Finely I asked her can you do any better on the price, She said I will give it to you for $200.00. I said I'll give you $100.00 for it, She said I will meet you in the middle and give it to you for $150.00, I thought to myself for $150 I will take a chance. Then I asked her how is it that you have all this Billiards stuff, She told me My husband collected pool cues for 40 years and he just passed a couple of months ago. I'm little by little bringing some of his collection here to sell each week. Then the wheels started to turn, If this is true he could have some Balabushka, Rambos, Gus's. I asked her if I could come to her home and see what she had for sale. She said sure, We made planes to meet up a couple days later at her home. I called a friend and we pooled our money together and had about $40,000 ready to buy the lady out if we hit the jackpot. The day before we where ready to meet her she called and said she is having second thoughts and could not bare to sell any more of her husband's collection and she backed out on us. After I got home I put my eye glasses on pulled the bumper out again and saw. RH 2007. The cue was a real Richard harris unplayed mint cue, I paid $150.00 for it and sold it a week later for $1,800
Click to expand...

DANG! wonder what else she had! its sad but true, widows are usually where u find the values, because the husbands never dared tell their wives how much the items cost !! haha in our small town i went to an estate sale, and their was two newer looking alumaweld boats, 18ft+ fully equipped nice outboard an trolling motors with trailers...asked if she was selling them, she said already sold both, 200 bucks a piece...i almost collapsed...... then she mentioned selling her husbands big gun collection for 1k,....i cried. btw awesome find on that microscope too! crazy what you can find out there, i found a pneumatic toruque screwdriver with autofeed once that retailed for like 5k....paid a dollar, but resale no more than 200 :( i have a mechanic bay, guess i'll keep it lol
 
I found an old beat up (but still playable) D series McDermott in the trunk of a Camaro at a pick a part yard while getting tail lights for my old car. it was nothing special but still an unexpected place to come up on a pool cue.
 
I got my Brunswick Carom King for $30, found in the attic of an antique shop, which used to be a billiard club.

Someone on here offered me $400 for it. I kept it.
 
Post

I was asked by a pool room owner to clean out a old storage garage he's had since when he owned several bars and pool rooms, he told me he would meet me over there to get a few things he wanted and that I was to haul the rest to the dump what didn't fit in his dumpsters' he took his Christmas decoration and left...
I threw away so many parts and pieces to pool tables it's not even funny - I did keep a few items in which I still have most of. This was about 10 years ago and I wish I knew then what I know now.... It makes me sick thinking about it; I know I threw out a bunch of gems and treasures..:banghead: I threw out a ton of mismatched sets of slates.

I've sold a few items over the years and am currently selling a large 1980's era Brunswick billiards dealer sign and 1980' era Brunswick pool table info cards.. < forsale section<
I did find a old fischer bar box in parts and pieces that I was able to recondition and will probably never sell... <:love:
I've donated a few items to AZers-A big box of old cue balls really put a smile on the cue makers face:)
a few sets of odds solid mahogany pool table rails- cue maker -
And a few other pool related items I could not stand to look at or store any longer.

Keep all the good ones coming.

Rob.M
 
the black collapsible loupe is in my pocket all the time, 5X magnification,
cheap @ $5.00, purchased at eBay. (jewelry, tools, loupes).
the others are Micro Loupes, 10X, 20X and 30X magnification.
i would use those if i were looking for micro engraving on diamonds, you get the idea.
the micro loupes are difficult to use, takes practice and a steady hand.
hey, see you out there :)
 

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There was a story from the news that was linked here note azb...

An assault where victim was sodomized with a cue.

I win/ thread closed.
 
I found a good condition Joss SP for $30 in Denver, 70's Palmer in San Jose Ca for $50. I think I did ok.
 
I check the local Goodwill & Salvation Army stores in my area all the time, last month I saw a 2X4 square looking case behind the jewelry counter at the Goodwill, so I asked the young lady if I could take a look at it, she said sure and handed it to me, it had a price tag of $36.00 on it?
anyway I open it up and there are 2 cues in it, the one was a APA 9 ball shootout cue, white in color with a scraped up veltex grip, the SST shaft was cracked, so I check out the other cue, looked like a 70's style national, no bumper, cracked up butt cap, warped shaft with no ferrule, then I thought, well the cues are junk maybe someone can use the case, all the zippers worked, it had a APA sticker on it, but it had a huge chuck of material missing on the one side and foam was sticking out, so I left it.
 
Craigs List

I found a Ron Thomas case full of "parts" on CraigsList for $25. Turns out the "parts" were a Mike Gulassy butt and two 5/16 14 shafts with ivory ferrules. Case was covered in dust and had been sitting in his father in laws garage for years.
 
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I've found a few good cues on craigslist, including a scruggs, and adams, and a samsara. I've also found an old brunswick or katz butterfly with an ivory ferrule at goodwill. I don't like lowballing people too hard, but it's nice to find a deal when you can!
 
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Back in the good ole' days before everyone had the fancy interweb and google machine you could pick up some real bargains in pawn shops. Now they want double retail.
 
not a strange place but fleabay - 2001 there was a used South West shaft for sale for $100,,,, nobody bid on it and auction ended. The pics were ok but not great. I asked the seller it the ferrule was the yellow micarta or newer white melamine. He replied white melamine. He agreed to sell it at same price. When I received the shaft, I happen to pull it out of shipping tube by the tip end..... I immediately saw the ferrule and was stunned, and then shook my head, the seller didn't know the difference between melamine and ivory.... $100 for a straight S W shaft with ivory ferrule,,still cheap 12 yrs ago
 
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