Do Pawnshops Know who Made the Cues?

Filibogado

Filibogado

Registered
Suppose I went into a pawnshop and as a novice, ask to see the used cues they are selling. Unless the cuemaker's name is written in plain view on the cue itself, how does the seller (or the buyer) know who made the cue? The seller could tell me that the cue was made by Balabushka, but how can I tell for sure? For all I know, he could be taking me for a ride, and the cue may have been made in China.
 
Filibogado said:
Suppose I went into a pawnshop and as a novice, ask to see the used cues they are selling. Unless the cuemaker's name is written in plain view on the cue itself, how does the seller (or the buyer) know who made the cue? The seller could tell me that the cue was made by Balabushka, but how can I tell for sure? For all I know, he could be taking me for a ride, and the cue may have been made in China.
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That is easy to answer, you have to Handel thousands of cue over many many years. After awhile you can tell from across the room if a cue made in China, Japan or the other Asian countries. While the Blue book of Cues does help some one become educated, without hands on experience and good a understanding of construction past and present it is almost impossible to know the difference.

There is no easy way to gain experience doing this or anything else.

Craig
 
Filibogado said:
Suppose I went into a pawnshop and as a novice, ask to see the used cues they are selling. Unless the cuemaker's name is written in plain view on the cue itself, how does the seller (or the buyer) know who made the cue? The seller could tell me that the cue was made by Balabushka, but how can I tell for sure? For all I know, he could be taking me for a ride, and the cue may have been made in China.
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If you aren't sure enough of what you are buying to answere questions for yourself then a pawn shop is not the proper place for you to shop.

(Not just cues)
 
Most of the time they have no idea who made it. A few years ago someone came in with a pawn shop cue asking if he made a good buy. He paid $25 for a Carolina Custom that would have gone for $400. If it doesn't say Meucci or McDermott they usually don't know.
 
Remember also that the pawn shop is not going to overpay for an item. If they pay good money for a cue, then it is probably a real item.
 
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it is no different than buying one at a garage sale or off some con at the bar, PH or EBay. Buyer beware.

It works both ways. There is always someone looking for a steal at the same places.


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For the most part we know the difference at our pawnshop. But we are all pool enthusiasts.
 
In general, they have no clue unless it says a name on it. It is not uncommon for a Wal-Mart special cue to be priced the same as a decent cue.
 
I'm a regular...

I "Pawn-shop-hop" my local area, seeking out cues or any value. Mostly to resale, but also to collect! I've found a few Jems! Usually In my area I have found that Pawn shops deal mostly with Manufactured cues, because they are easy to find prices on. Customs hardly come up, and usually they have been well informed. Only once in a great while will I find something special, that they didn't even know they had. My best guess is, nor did the person that originally pawned it. :wink: It's your job to "be in the know", and you'll do better to keep that info to your self while you negotiate!
 
TheThaiger said:
Tell me, do pretty much all pawn shops have cues over there?
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Yes, everyone I have been in has between two and twenty. Mostly junk but every now and then there is a few decent cues and maybe even a collectable cue.

The problem is pawn shops will put a price on a used cue that is more then it would cost to get it new. Then they will be ok if you haggle them down but they could care less about the little things like.

1. If the cue has a shaft.
2. If the cue is straight.
3. If the cue was used to stake tomatoes at one point in time.

The bottom line is they must have a guide that says a Meucci is worth $450
And they might come down to $375 for a bent,shaftless Mooochi that smells like this.
 

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Cuebuddy said:
Yes, everyone I have been in has between two and twenty. Mostly junk but every now and then there is a few decent cues and maybe even a collectable cue.

The problem is pawn shops will put a price on a used cue that is more then it would cost to get it new. Then they will be ok if you haggle them down but they could care less about the little things like.

1. If the cue has a shaft.
2. If the cue is straight.
3. If the cue was used to stake tomatoes at one point in time.

The bottom line is they must have a guide that says a Meucci is worth $450
And they might come down to $375 for a bent,shaftless Mooochi that smells like this.
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Thanks. I could see looking for them becoming quite addictive.
 
it's funny how much they do know........

well if the pawn shop is the famed Las Vegas Gold and Silver Pawn, i'm sure Rick Harrison would phone a buddy of his.:thumbup:
 
Most pawnshops do not know the difference and unless they can cross reference the cue on ebay which usually only works if its something like a Meucci, they will give like 10 to 20 bucks for them almost no matter what. Even then they don't usually know whats going on, about a year ago I picked up 2 cues at a pawn shop both straight as an arrow and in good shape one was an Olympian model Meucci and the other was a retired model Mcdermot and the best part for me was it seemed like whoever priced them had a good idea what was going on, as they were both marked around $100 I believe, and the only thing I said was whats the least you will take, the dumb mother fracker instantly was like, how about $30 bucks for the pair, needless to say I instantly bought them no questions asked.
 
A decent pawn shop will have a blue book on cues along with all the other blue book price guides that are also available on guns, guitars, amps, and whatever else they commonly deal with.

But even with that info available to them, pawn shops when they take anything in only offer no more than 1/3 of what they think they can sell it for if the loan they make on an item is not repaid. And sometimes a pawn shop is just not going to know how to evaluate some custom cues and determine a proper value. So sometimes you can get lucky on some pawn shop finds.

A few years ago one of the pawn shops in my area had a Schrager cue and had no idea what they had. And someone locally managed to pick it up for what I remember to be less than $200. I have also seen my local pawn shops try to sell a basic Players cue & case for more money than when I used to sell them as new.

So if you going to go pawn shop shopping for cues know what you are looking for and dont be affraid to negotiate.

My last best pawn shop deal that is pool related, I picked up a 4x8 soft case for $20.00.
 
For the most part I agree with most other posters when it comes to production cues in their shop.....bought cheap and sold with at least a 50% mark up. With customs it is a different matter. If a man brings in his custom cue he is looking to get the best possible price/loan for it. He will go out of his way to point out ivory or other valuable inlays, as well as directing the pawn shop owner to the cuemakers web site. The pawnbroker may be uneducated about cues......but the owner is most likely informed as to the realistic value and in turn will be happy to educate the broker......just my .02$
 
pawn shops are known for buying low and selling high , even for junk.

i am sure if you look long and hard enough you will find a good deal now and then.

i bought an unknown make for 40.00. it is a purple heart butt with no inlays or points. came with 2 shafts, 1 with no tip and the other has a one piece tip and ferrule like i have never seen before. every one that i have shown it to has no idea what it is.its the best breaking cue i have ever owned. i also bought a mc dermott black widow cue for my gf for a 100.00.

i have a teamate that bought a mc dermott cue that is a mike massey signature cue. it looks like a balabushka tribute cue with the points and notched diamonds, got it for 400.00. i dont know if that is a good buy or not but that cue is absolutely gorgeous.
 
Im sure there are deals to be had but also the opposite. When I first started to play I had a Dufferin stick-man cue. I saw one in a pawnshop with no tip, all banged up and the guy wanted more for it than it was brand new.
 
dorabelle said:
Im sure there are deals to be had but also the opposite. When I first started to play I had a Dufferin stick-man cue. I saw one in a pawnshop with no tip, all banged up and the guy wanted more for it than it was brand new.
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yeah i agree with you.

that is one thing i forgot to mention in my post.

most of the cues i have looked at were priced at about 95% of retail if not more.
 
I have a friend who owns 3 pawn shops. They really have no real knowledge of cues or cue makers. If someone pawns a cue, and I don't care who made it. IT'S A PAWN SHOP, you would be lucky to get 3-5 cent on the dollar. Seriously!!!!
 
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