Custom Cues Question

ForumGhost516

ForumGhost516

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey everyone this a question to the high end cue guys out there.

I have been hearing stories about insane wait times like 5 years. Is that for real for a custom cue. I know Pete Tascarella personally have gotten the chance to play with him and his son in a few tournaments and it still shocks me to hear it.

I hear that cues like ginas southwests and szambotis are more than that is this true?

And if so are they worth it. Do they play that good? Are you afraid of playing with a cue you pay probably thousands for? I mainly am looking for a Tim Scruggs custom built to my design how long approx would it take. I am posting this late night and will be putting a call in to Tim first thing in the morning but I was just curious.

Thanks

Charlie
 
Scruggs and Cochran, Jame White and so on, have long waiting lists of orders. Most excellent cue makers have a long wait-why demand! That is why the secondary market is such a good deal. If you find a cue you want or like, at a fair price, with no wait. What is not to like. Good luck with your search.
 
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dacue said:
Scruggs and Cochran, Jame White and so on, have long waiting lists of orders. Most excellent cue makers have a long wait-why demand! That is why the secondary market is such a good deal. If you find a cue you want or like, at a fair price, with no wait. What is not to like. Good luck with your search.
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Give Mike Cochran or Tim Scruggs a call. If you don't want something extremely exotic, I would be surprised if they could not have you a cue to your specs in less than a year. A couple of friends just went down and are each having a cue made with wait times of 8-12 months.

Many other cuemakers have some really long wait times. I still have several more Southwests on order, and the order continues to go up by 2 more cues each year. Hope I live long enough to get my player built.

Joe
 
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ForumGhost516 said:
Hey Joe nice to have you back man hope all is well by you. :) :smile: :grin-square:
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Hey , thanks Charlie...it is good to be back. I am trying to build my endurance up a little more each day. If I don't get to a pool hall to slam some balls around soon, I am going to explode.

Do the top level cues play that good...honestly, some do and some don't. Two identical cues made by the same cuemaker will play slightly differently, but by choosing a top notch cuemaker, you increase the odds dramatically in your favor. Those guys have already been put through the fires and came out OK.

Only cue that I ever had damaged during play was my Southwest cue. Dude knocked it over at SBE a few years ago during a match and the shaft split right under the ferrule. That was my favorite shaft, too. I had a new shaft made and put the cue to bed. I will make the 18 ounce wrapless cue that they are to build for me my playing cue when it arrives, however.

Joe

Joe
 
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ForumGhost516 said:
Hey everyone this a question to the high end cue guys out there.

I have been hearing stories about insane wait times like 5 years. Is that for real for a custom cue. I know Pete Tascarella personally have gotten the chance to play with him and his son in a few tournaments and it still shocks me to hear it.

I hear that cues like ginas southwests and szambotis are more than that is this true?

And if so are they worth it. Do they play that good? Are you afraid of playing with a cue you pay probably thousands for? I mainly am looking for a Tim Scruggs custom built to my design how long approx would it take. I am posting this late night and will be putting a call in to Tim first thing in the morning but I was just curious.

Thanks

Charlie
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Charlie, the current wait times for cues are a direct result of the cue collector / resale market. Are these cues worth what is being paid for them? In my opinion if the buyer is happy with the purchase yes the cue is worth what was paid for it. However, this doesn't mean that the buyer will ever recoup their investment in that cue. It is all speculation, everyone would like to find a cue maker who's cues will some day be very valuable, like the great cue makers of old.

Today many people get themselves on waiting lists based upon current interest in some ones cues. Every one would love to know which cue makers alive today will have made the most collectible cues of tomorrow, and this is where the speculation I spoke about above comes into play. This speculation has also pushed the price of cues made by certain cue makers to very high levels. Are these levels to high, only the market can answer that question, as long as people continue to buy cues at the current level, no one can say the level is too high.

I personally think that a cues value is based upon what the owner of that particular cue feels it is worth. No two cues by any cue maker alive or dead are exactly the same. The greatest cue makers who have ever lived have produced some cues that were dogs, no body likes the way these cues hit, so as players these cues really hold no value. However, as a collectible cue / work of Art from a famous cue maker the cues performance really has no bearing, and the value is not harmed at all.

I think when buying a cue its value is based upon it's intended use. If you are buying a cue as a player, and it turns out to be a turd, you need to sell the cue to a collector who most likely could careless about the cues hit. I think in the end if you buy according to current trends ( Which cue makers are sought after ) and you buy directly from the cue maker you really can't go wrong. I wish you luck with your purchase, but I would use any cue I buy as a player, cues can always be refinished, and as long as they are used like they are intended to be, and cared for there is no problem.

I personally would want any cue I owned to be not only beautiful by my taste, but also hit as good as it looks. I think that long term a beautifully executed work of art that really hits a ton should be worth more than one that hits like shit and looks great.

Just my thoughts!!!
 
manwon said:
Charlie, the current wait times for cues are a direct result of the cue collector / resale market. Are these cues worth what is being paid for them? In my opinion if the buyer is happy with the purchase yes the cue is worth what was paid for it. However, this doesn't mean that the buyer will ever recoup their investment in that cue. It is all speculation, everyone would like to find a cue maker who's cues will some day be very valuable, like the great cue makers of old.

Today many people get themselves on waiting lists based upon current interest in some ones cues. Every one would love to know which cue makers alive today will have made the most collectible cues of tomorrow, and this is where the speculation I spoke about above comes into play. This speculation has also pushed the price of cues made by certain cue makers to very high levels. Are these levels to high, only the market can answer that question, as long as people continue to buy cues at the current level, no one can say the level is too high.

I personally think that a cues value is based upon what the owner of that particular cue feels it is worth. No two cues by any cue maker alive or dead are exactly the same. The greatest cue makers who have ever lived have produced some cues that were dogs, no body likes the way these cues hit, so as players these cues really hold no value. However, as a collectible cue / work of Art from a famous cue maker the cues performance really has no bearing, and the value is not harmed at all.

I think when buying a cue its value is based upon it's intended use. If you are buying a cue as a player, and it turns out to be a turd, you need to sell the cue to a collector who most likely could careless about the cues hit. I think in the end if you buy according to current trends ( Which cue makers are sought after ) and you buy directly from the cue maker you really can't go wrong. I wish you luck with your purchase, but I would use any cue I buy as a player, cues can always be refinished, and as long as they are used like they are intended to be, and cared for there is no problem.

I personally would want any cue I owned to be not only beautiful by my taste, but also hit as good as it looks. I think that long term a beautifully executed work of art that really hits a ton should be worth more than one that hits like shit and looks great.

Just my thoughts!!!
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That was well stated Craig.

Here is some more insight on buying a cue:

http://www.azbilliards.com/carlo/carlo3.php
 
ForumGhost516 said:
I have been hearing stories about insane wait times like 5 years. Is that for real for a custom cue.
I hear that cues like ginas southwests and szambotis are more than that is this true?
And if so are they worth it. Do they play that good? Are you afraid of playing with a cue you pay probably thousands for?
Charlie
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Charlie

Yes many cuemaker's waits are several years with Southwest being among the longest.

Yes the custom cues sell for many thousands. 5K is a drop in the bucket for a highly collectable cue. Some fine cues can be bought for much less though and they will still have superb playability characteristics.

Is it worth it? That is truly a subjective question. I say YES! Here is my simple argument why:

Many production cues play as well as custom, but many are built then sold to distributors with a profit margin built in. I collected Schon cues for years. They are beautiful, well made and play great. But I lost money on every one I ever resold...as if there was a profit margin that became depreciation as soon as I bought the cue. With Schon, you get a great cue and if you are keeping it, the custom market will be hard pressed to equal its value for the same cost.

With custom cues, however, the long wait exists, often, because the value of the cue immediately increases upon delivery. Buy a Southwest for $1900 today and sell it for $2300 next year. Now you have waited and paid a lot but you can enjoy the cue then sell it for all your money back and an additional profit. This enables you to get into a fancier cue and on and on.

A mustang and a Ferrari have similar 0-60 stats. One will appreciate in value and the other will tend to depreciate. Is the fFerrari better? It does cost more and as transportation offers nothing more than the Ford. But the resale says it all in my opinion.
 
I have found that the experience of working with custom cue makers is what it is all about and the most fun. Taking an idea, exchanging pros and cons, modifying, seeing the idea take shape, and then finally getting the cue of your dreams in your hands is irreplaceable.

In my mind, buying on the secondary market is just not the same. I've done it (buying second hand) and prefer building relationships with the artists who create these fine tools.

Scott
 
Give Mike and Tim a call. you will be glad you did. The cues play absolutely awesome. I havent played with better and execution is perfect. Good luck to you.

Sub
 
Wait times

I think with all the layoffs all over the country, that wait times are shortening
considerably due to cancellations, changes in orders, etc.. I would not believe 'rumors' of wait times, I would contact the cuemaker directly to find out how long the wait might be.
 
Snapshot9 said:
I think with all the layoffs all over the country, that wait times are shortening
considerably due to cancellations, changes in orders, etc.. I would not believe 'rumors' of wait times, I would contact the cuemaker directly to find out how long the wait might be.
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I'd have thought the same thing. But contrary to common logic, cue demand is higher now than ever before & people seem to not be as picky about price. For some reason, the world is so broke we gotta rearrange our economy, but people have lots of cash for cues & are coming out of the woodwork to get them. Looks like the secondary market is slower, but underneath the cue market is rediculous. Lots of people getting into pool again after working their asses off over the past several years. Pool is beginning to grow again, which is carrying over to cues. What I see is middle aged & later life players getting reinvolved with the game after long layoffs so they could have a job & raise a family. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so.
 
i had 2 ts's made in the past 2 years, i waited 5 months for the 1st one, and i think 7 for the 2nd one. they both turned out awsome and mike and tim are both a pleasure to deal with. if you have the budget for a custom cue, youll be happy.
 
all i can say is based on my experience. i did some asking around and i decided to have dick neighbors make me a cue. it's not ultra high dollar but it's high enough. his wait time seemed reasonable and so did his price. now i say his wait is pretty short, i am going on about about three months and change and maybe another month to go. and that's production time. i started contacting him about a month before that, so when it's all done it'll be about a little less than half a year from start to finish. i have no plans to resell the cue and if it hits like everyone says it will, it's going to be my main player. so if it ends that way i don't care what the wait would be, or the price. there is an old saying, "the juice is worth the squeeze". if you want the cue the wait is worth it. i am considering putting an order in with pete tascarella, but i hear the wait is long and i don't know if i'd shoot with it or keep it as a collector, in other words i am wondering about that whole juice thing. if you want the scruggs that bad it sounds like any wait and price is worth it.
 
Snapshot9 said:
I would not believe 'rumors' of wait times, I would contact the cuemaker directly to find out how long the wait might be.
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This is good advice and if you order a cue from Tim Scruggs and Mike Cochran you can't go wrong. My main player is a Tim Scruggs cue and of the many custom and production cues i've owned in my life i've never hit a ball with a nicer cue than my Tim Scruggs cue. Other cue makers cues sell for more money, but I don't think they will play any better if they even play as well.

Good luck with your new cue.

James
 
well if the players on this forum are to be trusted,you shold call Tim Scruggs and Mike Cochran if you want a good playing cue with beautiful work.Since I know their cues I will second the motion,rumor has it that Tim is considering retirement so if i were you i would act quickly.

there is truth to the rumor that southwest and szamboti have long q
 
Call Tim & Mike
They are very easy to talk with & there cues play great.
It will be worth the wait.
 
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