the most I would spend for a custom doesn't exceed past $1,500. I know that some cost more but I don't have to go overboard to get what I like. I got 3 custom cue makers that make cues within my budget. hopefully in 6 months, I'd be able to get it.
Custom and High End Cues on the Decline?
- Thread starter Logandgriff
- Start date
Most are > 1500 nowadays,,,,sadly that number doesn’t get you very much anymore from a well established maker, with proven pedigree, high quality, and hit
Hmmm...
High end cues are not *one* category of cues. You can have two 15K cues with two very different reasons for them being 15k. If you want to argue the merits of a $5000 sneaky pete by some mystical warlock of a cuemaker vs a Mezz cue, its worth a conversation. My views have evolved as I have gotten older. The cues that you see that are newly made, are art in their own right. BUT do not think buying them is going to make you 2 balls better. Only practice will do that. I have said that if a cue was so magical and worth a few balls of your game, or a few tournaments a year, that pros would play with them. They don't play with them, and it goes beyond sponsorship. They can beat you with anything, they could probably beat you with a ramin cue and a slip on tip.
Now high end cues, you buy for the pride of ownership. Of owning nice things. You can have a Timex, or a Rolex, they BOTH keep time. You buy high end custom cues, new ones, and vintage Szambotis / Balabushkas because you like nice things and appreciate history and because you can. If you are a player looking to play better, practice. That's it. As far as the cue.. buy what you can afford, and what you like. If you shoot with an LD shaft, the butt won't matter as much.
Are they on the decline, yes, but not why you think. As Sean bought up and we all saw at the ICCS high end cues have an audience. What is in the decline is cue collecting by the average person. When I was playing, everyone, even C/D players had 2-3 or more cues. Now this doesn't seem as prevalent today. People change; habits change. Hell, young people can barely pay their rent, how the hell can they buy 4 5k cues?
But it would not hurt to have some more online reference to cues, and introduction to cues, and better visual cues to try and get more of today's younger people into cues. 30 years ago, almost every custom cue was or had a collector. I hate to throw out names, but so many of those middle tier guys have been lost to time. Not every cue is going to hold value or even be valuable in the long term. BUT people need to know about them, and they still should be in collections. Also collecting cannot be "snobbish", if all a guy can afford are Meucci's, or collect Hueblers, he is still a collector. Being a positive influence to collectors is very big.
The big killer and its been a long time problem are the shenanigans that go on with sellers. Paperwork that gets "lost", or the cue doesn't match the LOA. People spending big money don't like to look stupid. When untrustworthy things are allowed, and they have been allowed by many people that have been considered custodians of the industry, it makes all of us look bad. Sellers with absolutely ZERO knowledge claiming to be dealers, it's a joke. Using AI to hide your ignorance in a cue write up... you cannot make this up.
At the show I bought up a cue and collector registry, where you could join, get your cues registered, and if you sold a cue, the cue could be moved to the new owner with all documentations never to be lost or misplaced. It's a little more in-depth than that simple explanation, but it's the smart thing to do.
Joe
High end cues are not *one* category of cues. You can have two 15K cues with two very different reasons for them being 15k. If you want to argue the merits of a $5000 sneaky pete by some mystical warlock of a cuemaker vs a Mezz cue, its worth a conversation. My views have evolved as I have gotten older. The cues that you see that are newly made, are art in their own right. BUT do not think buying them is going to make you 2 balls better. Only practice will do that. I have said that if a cue was so magical and worth a few balls of your game, or a few tournaments a year, that pros would play with them. They don't play with them, and it goes beyond sponsorship. They can beat you with anything, they could probably beat you with a ramin cue and a slip on tip.
Now high end cues, you buy for the pride of ownership. Of owning nice things. You can have a Timex, or a Rolex, they BOTH keep time. You buy high end custom cues, new ones, and vintage Szambotis / Balabushkas because you like nice things and appreciate history and because you can. If you are a player looking to play better, practice. That's it. As far as the cue.. buy what you can afford, and what you like. If you shoot with an LD shaft, the butt won't matter as much.
Are they on the decline, yes, but not why you think. As Sean bought up and we all saw at the ICCS high end cues have an audience. What is in the decline is cue collecting by the average person. When I was playing, everyone, even C/D players had 2-3 or more cues. Now this doesn't seem as prevalent today. People change; habits change. Hell, young people can barely pay their rent, how the hell can they buy 4 5k cues?
But it would not hurt to have some more online reference to cues, and introduction to cues, and better visual cues to try and get more of today's younger people into cues. 30 years ago, almost every custom cue was or had a collector. I hate to throw out names, but so many of those middle tier guys have been lost to time. Not every cue is going to hold value or even be valuable in the long term. BUT people need to know about them, and they still should be in collections. Also collecting cannot be "snobbish", if all a guy can afford are Meucci's, or collect Hueblers, he is still a collector. Being a positive influence to collectors is very big.
The big killer and its been a long time problem are the shenanigans that go on with sellers. Paperwork that gets "lost", or the cue doesn't match the LOA. People spending big money don't like to look stupid. When untrustworthy things are allowed, and they have been allowed by many people that have been considered custodians of the industry, it makes all of us look bad. Sellers with absolutely ZERO knowledge claiming to be dealers, it's a joke. Using AI to hide your ignorance in a cue write up... you cannot make this up.
At the show I bought up a cue and collector registry, where you could join, get your cues registered, and if you sold a cue, the cue could be moved to the new owner with all documentations never to be lost or misplaced. It's a little more in-depth than that simple explanation, but it's the smart thing to do.
Joe
exactly. not sure why some still think that custom cues from well-established cuemakers think that the cues would play differently or look better than the high-end or even mid-tier production cue. it's not like it's a hidden secret or had that secret recipe of making cues. that kind of stuff is now long gone and there is no more monopoly in terms of cue-making in general. what people pay for with regards to the high-end customs has to do more of a prestige of owning a cue from a certain cuemaker, not because he/they are the only ones that can make those customs. also, I'm buying custom for the prestige, not for the belief that it would turn me magically into the greatest pool player by holding a stick and shouting SHAZAM ! a good pool cue is more than enough.