Higher end Production Cues have No Value

[caff3in3]

This is going to sound like I have a real axe to grind with Predator, when actually I don't, I have 2 of their Cues right now An LE-III and an SP8RJ.

Talking about "high end production cues having no value", you have to mention 'Predator', they seem to have reached a point where they are going to price themselves right out of business, every time a new Special, Limited, Blak, or Ikon models come out the price is significantly higher than previous models and the designs are IMO inferior to the older models. If you wanted to resale one of their Cues you certainly would not be able to get the price you paid for it (unless you can find a real sucker, or someone that just has to have it right now)! Their Shafts are great, but everything else about Predator seems like a Marketing Gimmick to me! I can see the point of their Shaft & C4 technology but I still worry about taking one piece of wood & cutting it into pieces then gluing it back together, more care has to be taken with it than a regular shaft made of a solid piece of wood. I don't even know what to say about their weight system (Marketing) I guess some people would really like to be able to adjust the weight by 1/8 of an ounce at a time. (pick a weight you like and stick to it)(every time you change the weight you change the balance too)

Now my Predator SP8RJ I absolutely Love, the combination of the True Splice Butt & the 314 II Shaft make it a fantastic hitting & playing Cue, & the sharp hand cut 8 points make for a simple but elegant design. My LE-III is #250 of 300 I have no Idea what it's worth today but I doubt I could get back the $450 - $500 that I paid for it if I ever wanted to sell it.

Predator is the apple of the pool world. They tell you what you want and charge a premium for it because they can

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[nine_ball6970]

["I called Schon one day and asked them if they would build me a cue. One of the features I like on my cue is a screw in extension. I was told, "But we don't make our cues with screw in extensions."]

["Does that sound like a custom cue maker to you?"]

I found Schon Cues and Evan Clark to be very accommodating when I had them to make a custom model STL-15 for me back in 2000. I spoke at length on the phone with Evan about what I wanted in the cue, and at every stage of the process he would send me several photos of the work in progress. I was even given the choice of which blank I wanted him to use to make the forearm! I was also able to get a Leather wrap of my choice on it, and this was back before Schon offered Leather wraps on a regular basis. And the real kicker is, that I wasn't asked to pay a Dime for it up front! I offered to put down half of the cost up front but Evan said not to worry about it. I wound up paying the full price for the Cue on Delivery!

The photos below are the actual photos that Evan sent me of my custom STL-!5, it was either finished and ready to ship or almost finished at the time of these photos.

Nice looking cue. My Schon LTD has the exact same forearm as yours pictured. The butt is quite a bit different though. Interesting. I have been playing with mine for 13 years and haven't considered playing with anything else. I get offers to sell it all the time.