How much should I "invest" in a titleist?

R

RAMIII

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
AZers I'm looking for some feedback. I've got a cuemaker who's putting together an ebony titleist for me. It will be a 60" cue. I can do all the bells and whistles (lizard wrap, ivory joint, numerous inlays, etc....), but I also know there's a point of diminishing returns where I won't get my money back. I would be happy with a steel joint, linen wrap, and a few inlays, but I was planning this to be a good "investment" cue where I could have it dressed up and have it hold its value. I'm not planning to flip the cue, just want to get my money out of it if and when I plan to sell. The cuemaker is well regarded but doesn't command high resale prices here on AZ. Obviously a 60" cue has a more limited market, and those ebony titleists that I've seen on here don't get past $2K it seems. The Mottey and PFD on Ebay have sat for awhile so I'm sensitive to the amount I put into the cue.
So with these factors in mind, how much should I put into the cue to reasonably expect the same amount back when I sell it?
Thanks for y'all's feedback.
 
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Ebony Joint

I have never seen an ebony joint! Guess I lead a sheltered life! Does anyone have pic's of one?

Thanks

Wedge
 
Cues are similar to cars, I think. Very few keep all of their value, and the ones that gain in value are rare indeed. It's almost a luck of the draw thing.

Titlist is a classic design...so really, I'd worry more about how well the cue plays and feels to you.
 
IMO, the cue will have more mass appeal if it is kept simple. I prefer no inlays on titlists and feel the classic design speaks for itself. An ebony titlist is very rare so I would just have it converted with maybe an ivory joint and be done with it. Others may like all the fancy inlay work, but I think it detracts from the classic appeal of a titlist.
 
Unless the cue is done by a VERY well respected maker (i.e. - Barry, Searing, Manzino, etc...) the cue will very likely not hold its value.

Just make it up the way that YOU want and don't worry about it being an investment.

Just my .02 :smile:

Russ....
 
rexus31 said:
IMO, the cue will have more mass appeal if it is kept simple. I prefer no inlays on titlists and feel the classic design speaks for itself. An ebony titlist is very rare so I would just have it converted with maybe an ivory joint and be done with it. Others may like all the fancy inlay work, but I think it detracts from the classic appeal of a titlist.
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I would have to agree with you, if you want a classic cue, why try to make it into a new looking cue?
 
RAMIII said:
AZers I'm looking for some feedback. I've got a cuemaker who's putting together an ebony titleist for me. It will be a 60" cue. I can do all the bells and whistles (lizard wrap, ivory joint, numerous inlays, etc....), but I also know there's a point of diminishing returns where I won't get my money back. I would be happy with a steel joint, linen wrap, and a few inlays, but I was planning this to be a good "investment" cue where I could have it dressed up and have it hold its value. I'm not planning to flip the cue, just want to get my money out of it if and when I plan to sell. The cuemaker is well regarded but doesn't command high resale prices here on AZ. Obviously a 60" cue has a more limited market, and those ebony titleists that I've seen on here don't get past $2K it seems. The Mottey and PFD on Ebay have sat for awhile so I'm sensitive to the amount I put into the cue.
So with these factors in mind, how much should I put into the cue to reasonably expect the same amount back when I sell it?
Thanks for y'all's feedback.
Click to expand...

Personally I would make it the way I want it and never sell it. But that's just me. I think rexus has probably got the right idea, keep it simple.
 
Wedge said:
I had a Titlist conversion done that I had my cue maker use a leather embossed lizard skin wrap that I supplied. The wrap cost $19.00 from the below website. You cannot really tell the difference between it and a real lizard wrap. The second link shows my conversion with that wrap...probably save you about $150 bucks.

Hope this helps

Wedge

http://www.jjcue.com/accessories7.htm

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=266835
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Beautiful Cue Wedge! Very classy, I love the look of it.
 
I Believe

rexus31 said:
IMO, the cue will have more mass appeal if it is kept simple. I prefer no inlays on titlists and feel the classic design speaks for itself. An ebony titlist is very rare so I would just have it converted with maybe an ivory joint and be done with it. Others may like all the fancy inlay work, but I think it detracts from the classic appeal of a titlist.
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I think he is having a tribute made not a conversion built but I might be wrong.

Wedge
 
The 60" aspect of the cue is a problem if you are trying to keep it an investment cue. Right there you are killing alot of potential resale.

If it were me, I wouldnt hand over an ebony titlist for conversion to anyone but the upper upper blue chip tier. For example, if you got a name like Searing/Showman/Szamboti etc to do the conversion, you could put more into bells and whistles and get it back when you went for resale.
 
poolhustler said:
Unless the cue is done by a VERY well respected maker (i.e. - Barry, Searing, Manzino, etc...) the cue will very likely not hold its value.

Just make it up the way that YOU want and don't worry about it being an investment.

Just my .02 :smile:

Russ....
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This. I have had a couple of titlists and the only one that held its value was a Schick. I have seen $1500 titlists not selling for $800 on here before.

Like Russ said, make it how you want it because unless it's made by a short list of about 10 cuemakers, you aren't getting all of your money back.
 
uwate said:
I wouldnt hand over an ebony titlist for conversion to anyone but the upper upper blue chip tier. For example, if you got a name like Searing/Showman/Szamboti etc to do the conversion, you could put more into bells and whistles and get it back when you went for resale.
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These top cuemankes have waiting lists, some many years long, for one of their new cues, but will drop what they are doing to make $1000 refinishing a titleist ???

I don't think you need Barry to refinish a cue, I'm pretty sure there are many cuemakers that are quite capable of this process imho.....
 
I am not sure

ChicagoRJ said:
These top cuemankes have waiting lists, some many years long, for one of their new cues, but will drop what they are doing to make $1000 refinishing a titleist ???

I don't think you need Barry to refinish a cue, I'm pretty sure there are many cuemakers that are quite capable of this process imho.....
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The gentleman that started the thread never said it was a conversion project. It may well be a tribute. I think we need to know which it is if we want to help him out!
 
Cues are not an investment. Investments have characteristics such as a dividend or an interest payment, i.e., they pay you for owning them (or promise to pay you in the future by representing a claim on future earnings). Cues don't have such characteristics. Cues are a consumption item, pure and simple. As such, you pay for them what ever YOU feel that it's worth TO YOU and you alone.

To some folks, 1 $10,000 cue is great. To me, I paid $250 for my Thompson and that is on the high end of the price spectrum for me.

Cheers,

JL
 
brandoncook26 said:
This. I have had a couple of titlists and the only one that held its value was a Schick. I have seen $1500 titlists not selling for $800 on here before.

Like Russ said, make it how you want it because unless it's made by a short list of about 10 cuemakers, you aren't getting all of your money back.
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What is a $1500 titlist? I'd gladly pay $10 or so for one.

Cheers mate, let's play some soon...
 
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