"Custom" cues/crappy resale value. Does it figure in your decision?

Joseph Cues

Joseph Cues

Cue Nut
Silver Member
The sad part after buying a "custom" cue and finding out it hits crap, is it has a really bad resale value.
A player on wheelchair at my local hall bought an expensive "custom" cue. It has points and turqoise inlays. THREE shafts. In OK shape. He paid well over a grand for it.
He wanted to sell it after buying a cue from me that he thought played better. Mine wasn't even a big named cuemaker cue. He was just another local hack. Frankly, I was glad to get rid of the cue:D
Anyway, he can't sell his cue for 33% of what he paid for.
And this was made by a big named cuemaker.
Does resale value factor in in your decision to buy a custom cue?
I've bought separate cues from Judd before that absolutely retained much of it's original value when I had to sell them due to school.
Then there are cues that gain more value year after year like Tad or Southwest.
Why do brands like Schon have decent resale value and a ton of "custom" cues can't hold their value?
 
if i decide to buy an expensive cue,,,,over $3000, it is with the intention of keeping it, and my only concern is how it plays and how it looks. i do not intend to resell.

if i buy a cue for around xxxx-$1800, i will probably consider its resale value,. and in either case i always do my homework.

your friend should have taken care.
 
Joseph Cues said:
The sad part after buying a "custom" cue and finding out it hits crap, is it has a really bad resale value.<snip>
Anyway, he can't sell his cue for 33% of what he paid for.
And this was made by a big named cuemaker.
Does resale value factor in in your decision to buy a custom cue?
<snip>Then there are cues that gain more value year after year like Tad or Southwest. Why do brands like Schon have decent resale value and a ton of "custom" cues can't hold their value?
Click to expand...

Well, I think there are a few reasons and a few answers to your questions. As far as Schons having good resale value I need to disagree.. I have always had some stay longer than I anticipate even if I go below 1/2 of the original retail value. To me there isn't one production cue (newer) that I would think you would get a good return on. That is unless you steal it to begin with.
Custom cues are a whole other ball of wax. There are cues that resell well, and cues that do not. I think there are alot of mitigating circumstances to why some sell and some don't. I think regionality has a ton to do with it. I think public perception and marketing has alot to do with it. In my opinion there are maybe 6-8 custom cues that you will get a fair return on resell value on a cue right out of the box. But that is a small % of the number of actual cuemakers in the world. I think cues are alot like fads.. once a new guy gets going a little, everyone has to get one, then they fade out due to the next "Szamboti" that comes along.
Cues are not that much different than cars.. once driven off the showroom floor they lose 20%. If you buy a 1963 Vette, its the same as buying a Bushka. You need not worry about the return, it will be there.
The enigma cuemakers, guys that make great cues on their time schedule are almost always good buys, Tascarella, Searing, Ed Young and a few others always seem to resell well due to the mystery involved.
One other thing to remember, just because a cuemaker passes on, doesn't mean an immediate return on the cue. I had a customer the other day ask me the ages of a couple of cuemakers that are on the wrong side of 50'ish. I told him IMHO that a couple of these cuemakers even though partially legendary may have created to much product and it would take a little time for it to get absorbed by the market before you would see a real increase in value.
Speculation is not bad, but can be painful. For instance, Verl Horn who made cues out of Ok. Look he has been dead now a few years and I see them all the time for under 1k for an ivory pointed cue. Fact is, not many people knew who he was, or even care who he was. I do not see these cues as being a good short term investment, maybe 15-20 years from now. On the other hand take Frank Coster or Hank Corsair. Their higher end stuff is so far and few between, its almost always going to go high.

Joe
 
There are different ways to look at this in the traditional "Supply and Demand" market. As a big name custom cue maker, your customers come to you knowing what they are getting. As a pool player trying to resell a custom made cue, your market is considerably smaller, and you try to market the product to people that may have never heard of the cue maker...resell price decreases.
 
A lot of the custom cues are way overpriced to begin with - that's half the problem. I think it's smart knowing what the resale value of your cue is before you buy it. If you stick with the big name makers the cues will hold their value better.

Chris
 
Very goo analogy of the "vette" comparison. The 1963 corvette was the first year the stingray model was introduced and it was the only year with the split back window. Wish I had one!
 
Custom Cues are nice to own, just like any other luxury item we own.

Players that purchase expensive Custom Cues, thinking their game's going to go up 3 balls, in two weeks, are foolishly spending their money. No one makes MAGIC WANDS...

When the player decides the Cue doen't work as desired, they have to "give away" the new stick, thereby driving down used prices, to recoup any of their invested funds.

If you want a good custom Cue that will keep it's price, don't buy the one with fifty pieces of Ivory on it. Buy a well made custom cue, with a few frills on it. Buy one that hit's good & costs less than $600... it won't loose much value then.

If you think you can't buy the cue I just described.., you are WRONG.
 
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I agree with CeeBee. My Phillippi was made with no ivory accents other than the ferrule; I wanted the woodgrain to speak for itself and the selection of BEM was outstanding. At pool halls the stick attracts lots of scrutiny.
 
kokopuffs said:
I agree with CeeBee. My Phillippi was made with no ivory accents other than the ferrule; I wanted the woodgrain to speak for itself and the selection of BEM was outstanding. At pool halls the stick attracts lots of scrutiny.
Click to expand...
Another birdseye cue.
Mine is a plain b'eye with leather wrap, buckhorn collar and ivor-x ferrule. I was offered the same money I paid for it the first week I had it. I refused to sell it of course.
On the subject of "big-time" cuemakers, a ton of their cues don't hold value either. A big time cuemaker who makes 100 cues a year or more, in my opinion doesn't equate good resale value.
 
I forgot to mention that it hits very well, improving my accuracy greatly. My average balls/run has increased, too, by at least 2 or 3 balls. The stick ran $750 with two shafts - a value with which I'm quite satisfied.
 
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