I wrote this in another thread when somebody asked what people would buy in a specific price range, it got a lot longer than I meant it, and it seemed a little basic for the guy who asked the question. I didn't want to take the thread off topic, but didn't want good information to go to waste, either, and I've seen several posts recently from people who are new to pool and want to buy a nice cue, so I figured I'd just post it up for anybody in that boat.
"I was just in your situation twice, and here's how I handled it in each situation. The first time, I wanted a custom cue made to my specs and was willing to wait up to a year for it. The second, I wanted something I could get my hands on now to distract me from the wait for the first (go figure). You didn't give a whole lot of details here, so I'll try to cover all the bases.
Custom Cues
First off, the cue market's pretty soft right now, so there are a LOT of pretty unbelievable deals out there -- if you think you'll ever want something nicer, this might be the right time to try to stretch your budget. When things get back to normal in a few months or a year, you'll probably find you have a nice custom cue on your hands that will sell for significantly more than you paid for it.
With time to wait:
You're looking for a guy who's a well-kept secret here.
Spend a lot of time reading the forums here, especially the reviews, cue gallery, and for sale sections, and pay special attention to all the cuemakers people talk about who weren't super "famous," so to speak. If I could find something for sale here that cost more than $2,000.00, I crossed that maker off of my mental list, because I figured his name had a price tag out of my range, even on his most basic cue. You'll start to see patterns - who gets great reviews every time, whose cues never seem to go up for sale used (because the owners like them too much to part with them), who surprises people with how great the cue is, and who gets lots of positive mentions by a wide variety of people. You'll also see whose work buyers are less satisfied with, who's recommended by the same two or three people on a constant basis and nobody else, and whose cues are constantly for sale in pretty new condition at reduced prices.
Basically, you'll find a handful of people who seem to do amazing work relatively inexpensively, and another handful who just don't seem to be as talented. You'll also have some idea what each one's strengths and weaknesses are (for example, if you're dead set on a leather wrap, you'll know does them really well, and if veneers aren't your thing, you won't really care if he's not the best there).
Next, go through the "good" list again. Check out the posts about them and spend some time on their website if they have one, this time looking for 2 things... 1) do I like the way their cues look, and 2) does the hit and feel people describe on his cues sound like what I'm looking for that fits my style of game? If they list prices on their website, you can also confirm that they'll work within your budget.
At the end of that process, (it only took me a couple days), you're probably down to 2 or 3 cuemakers. Call'em up, tell them you want a quote (and make sure you tell them specifically when you expect to decide), and talk through your project with them. You'll get a good feel for their design philosophy, what they like, how long the wait is, and how much your priorities match up. Once you've talked to them all, it'll probably be pretty clear who's going to make the best cue for you.
If you want it now:
Check out what's available on the forums and on ebay, pick out a few that look good in your price range, and search for the maker's name both here and on google. You should easily be able to find enough information to decide 1) how good is the price, 2) how well-constructed are this person's cues, and 3) how do they play? Again, you're looking for something that has a hit/feel that matches up well with your playing style. If your favorite seems to be a little out-of-whack price-wise when compared to the rest of the cuemaker's work (and be realistic here), PM or email the seller and offer them what you think is fair. Keep in mind that they're a lot more likely to accept less than their asking price if they've had the cue for sale a while, if they need to get rid of it (to pay bills, for example), and if you can give them solid justification on why you think it's worth what you offered instead of their price. In some cases, you might have to just tell them that you know the cue's worth what they're asking but you just can't afford it, and that's the only reason for the lower offer. Don't expect them to accept on those grounds, but some people may surprise you by taking your price or being willing to work with you if it's clear that you'd give a good loving home a cue they're attached to. Make sure to check out iTrader and search the forums for your seller's username to be certain you're dealing with someone who's going to treat you right -- just like everywhere else, there are a few bad apples around, but not very many and most of them are exposed somewhere on the board.
Production Cues
Any poolroom you walk into is going to have at least one player using just about every manufacturer's product. Make some friends and see if they'll let you try out their cues -- with most brands, they all feel pretty similar, so if you like one, you'll probably like the others. Once you find a cue that fits, look them up online, pick a design you want that fits your price, and order it. If you have a brick and mortar billiard supply store in your area, you may be able to get it for a couple bucks less if you go in and negotiate a little, but for most of us, the best prices are on the internet.
If you want a used production, make friends in the poolroom like above and then check out ebay and the for sale section here. You can also post a "wanted to buy" message in the for sale section.
I know this sounds like a lot, but it didn't take me very long (I found a cue in under a week, and it only took that long because I had a really hard time deciding between my top 2 choices), and it's actually a lot of fun doing it. Like I said, I recommend this simply because you want to make sure you end up with your cue, not just the cue you play with.
TLDR = Take the time to find a cue that fits you individually instead of buying what everyone else likes. Here's how you do it, no matter what you want."
"I was just in your situation twice, and here's how I handled it in each situation. The first time, I wanted a custom cue made to my specs and was willing to wait up to a year for it. The second, I wanted something I could get my hands on now to distract me from the wait for the first (go figure). You didn't give a whole lot of details here, so I'll try to cover all the bases.
Custom Cues
First off, the cue market's pretty soft right now, so there are a LOT of pretty unbelievable deals out there -- if you think you'll ever want something nicer, this might be the right time to try to stretch your budget. When things get back to normal in a few months or a year, you'll probably find you have a nice custom cue on your hands that will sell for significantly more than you paid for it.
With time to wait:
You're looking for a guy who's a well-kept secret here.
Spend a lot of time reading the forums here, especially the reviews, cue gallery, and for sale sections, and pay special attention to all the cuemakers people talk about who weren't super "famous," so to speak. If I could find something for sale here that cost more than $2,000.00, I crossed that maker off of my mental list, because I figured his name had a price tag out of my range, even on his most basic cue. You'll start to see patterns - who gets great reviews every time, whose cues never seem to go up for sale used (because the owners like them too much to part with them), who surprises people with how great the cue is, and who gets lots of positive mentions by a wide variety of people. You'll also see whose work buyers are less satisfied with, who's recommended by the same two or three people on a constant basis and nobody else, and whose cues are constantly for sale in pretty new condition at reduced prices.
Basically, you'll find a handful of people who seem to do amazing work relatively inexpensively, and another handful who just don't seem to be as talented. You'll also have some idea what each one's strengths and weaknesses are (for example, if you're dead set on a leather wrap, you'll know does them really well, and if veneers aren't your thing, you won't really care if he's not the best there).
Next, go through the "good" list again. Check out the posts about them and spend some time on their website if they have one, this time looking for 2 things... 1) do I like the way their cues look, and 2) does the hit and feel people describe on his cues sound like what I'm looking for that fits my style of game? If they list prices on their website, you can also confirm that they'll work within your budget.
At the end of that process, (it only took me a couple days), you're probably down to 2 or 3 cuemakers. Call'em up, tell them you want a quote (and make sure you tell them specifically when you expect to decide), and talk through your project with them. You'll get a good feel for their design philosophy, what they like, how long the wait is, and how much your priorities match up. Once you've talked to them all, it'll probably be pretty clear who's going to make the best cue for you.
If you want it now:
Check out what's available on the forums and on ebay, pick out a few that look good in your price range, and search for the maker's name both here and on google. You should easily be able to find enough information to decide 1) how good is the price, 2) how well-constructed are this person's cues, and 3) how do they play? Again, you're looking for something that has a hit/feel that matches up well with your playing style. If your favorite seems to be a little out-of-whack price-wise when compared to the rest of the cuemaker's work (and be realistic here), PM or email the seller and offer them what you think is fair. Keep in mind that they're a lot more likely to accept less than their asking price if they've had the cue for sale a while, if they need to get rid of it (to pay bills, for example), and if you can give them solid justification on why you think it's worth what you offered instead of their price. In some cases, you might have to just tell them that you know the cue's worth what they're asking but you just can't afford it, and that's the only reason for the lower offer. Don't expect them to accept on those grounds, but some people may surprise you by taking your price or being willing to work with you if it's clear that you'd give a good loving home a cue they're attached to. Make sure to check out iTrader and search the forums for your seller's username to be certain you're dealing with someone who's going to treat you right -- just like everywhere else, there are a few bad apples around, but not very many and most of them are exposed somewhere on the board.
Production Cues
Any poolroom you walk into is going to have at least one player using just about every manufacturer's product. Make some friends and see if they'll let you try out their cues -- with most brands, they all feel pretty similar, so if you like one, you'll probably like the others. Once you find a cue that fits, look them up online, pick a design you want that fits your price, and order it. If you have a brick and mortar billiard supply store in your area, you may be able to get it for a couple bucks less if you go in and negotiate a little, but for most of us, the best prices are on the internet.
If you want a used production, make friends in the poolroom like above and then check out ebay and the for sale section here. You can also post a "wanted to buy" message in the for sale section.
I know this sounds like a lot, but it didn't take me very long (I found a cue in under a week, and it only took that long because I had a really hard time deciding between my top 2 choices), and it's actually a lot of fun doing it. Like I said, I recommend this simply because you want to make sure you end up with your cue, not just the cue you play with.
TLDR = Take the time to find a cue that fits you individually instead of buying what everyone else likes. Here's how you do it, no matter what you want."
