I read that the Adam / Helmstetter cues sold their business, and are no longer made.

J

justinb386

Banned
I read that the Adam / Helmstetter cues sold their business, and are no longer being made (in Japan).

I found this link (today) on a guy talking about it.

http://www.poolchat.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8137

This is so surprising.

I read that the Balabushka (if I am spelling that correctly) cues are now being made here in the USA, and that the Adams and Helmstetter cues are no longer being made anywhere.

I am curious if this means that the older Helmstetter cues will be collectible (more valuable) in the future?

I hope that it was not against the rules to post that link (because it is also a forum like this site is).

Thanks
 
Very interesting! I noticed the Adam USA cue site was removed and re-directed to a new Balabushka site some time ago. The Adam Japan site is still up and selling cues. I don't know what the relationship was originally, but from what happened it would appear that Adam USA was a different company from Japan re-selling Adam cues, however owning the rights to the Balabushka name. Really a shame if they are going to move production of the Balabushka cues to China, I shot with a GB-4 for 12 years and it was a really excellent shooting cue.
 
I have an Adam Balabushka. I would think that they might go up in value IF it gets out that they will now be made in China instead of Japan. One might want to buy the older Japanese version. But how will a potential buyer distinguish the two if they are made exactly the same. My problem is that I bought mine used & do not have the certificate. The value may actuallly go down if you're only relying on piece of paper for authenticity. Not that I would sell it. I bought it just for the name from a friend that needed the money & had no special meaning to him & it plays very well. See the Mueicci test video on their website. manybe George had some secret because the butt plays very well. I have a McDermott i3 & OB Classic that I'm using for less deflection but even the stock shaft is good.
 
Did a little more research and found an interesting post by Fast Larry explaining the economics why this happened. His post is from 2011 before this deal, however it appears the rising wood costs coupled with the increase in the Yen resulted in the Adam/Helmstetter cues being too high-priced here to sell well. I also sent an email to the new Balabushka Cue Company, LLC asking where their cues are now made. I will be shocked if I actually get a reply, or at least one with a straight answer, UNLESS they are going to be made in the US.
 
The Balabuska name is akin to the Schwinn brand: it will live on, though it will be little more than a brand name, bought and sold and applied at the owners' whims.

I see the same with Adam/ Helmstetter.

Lemond? Greg killed that one.
 
It would sure be cool if if the bushkas and high end helmstetters/adams were built here in the usa. Their value would no doubt go up then, and schon, and joss might actually have to start making sharp points again to sell cues:D
 
cueaddicts said:
Imo, they made far too many cues for them to really become 'collectible' and go up in value.
Click to expand...

Yup, scarcity has a huge effect on collectibility and value. I have guys calling me all the time on stuff like Brownie cameras, explaining that they are old. The fact that Kodak mass-produced millions of them sorta effected their collectible value.

Kevin
 
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IMHO, the Adams/Helmstetter/Balabushka are great to play with if you like traditional old school feel. And yes, the Japanese-made ones are the best - Chinese made are hard to get excited about.

There were a few limited edition models that will probably lead the way higher, if/when the economy trickles down to the point where investing in mid-line production pool cues is a good idea.

That said, I give them a C for collectability.

Just don't plan on sending your kid through college with your proceeds.
 
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I know you didn't mean any harm, but as a Japanese/American, everytime I come across the word "Jap" I take great offense. Many don't know the origin of the term, so use the term without meaning any harm, but it's as harsh as calling an black guy the "N" word, or other unfavorable terms used to describe other nationalities.
No harm intended I'm sure, so no harm done. Just trying to educate.

dave
 
I contacted a Balabushka cues website (that was from Arizona), and talked to a guy over the phone, and he told me that the Balabushka cues are now made in the USA, and not in Japan anymore. I have an old Helmstetter 87-10 cue, and I thought that maybe I should try to hang on to it (if it may become collectible someday, now that Helmstetter cues are no longer being made).

CoachDitka2001 said:
Did a little more research and found an interesting post by Fast Larry explaining the economics why this happened. His post is from 2011 before this deal, however it appears the rising wood costs coupled with the increase in the Yen resulted in the Adam/Helmstetter cues being too high-priced here to sell well. I also sent an email to the new Balabushka Cue Company, LLC asking where their cues are now made. I will be shocked if I actually get a reply, or at least one with a straight answer, UNLESS they are going to be made in the US.
Click to expand...
 
justinb386 said:
I contacted a Balabushka cues website (that was from Arizona), and talked to a guy over the phone, and he told me that the Balabushka cues are now made in the USA, and not in Japan anymore. I have an old Helmstetter 87-10 cue, and I thought that maybe I should try to hang on to it (if it may become collectible someday, now that Helmstetter cues are no longer being made).
Click to expand...

FWIW, I have an e-mail from them in May stating the cues are made in Taiwan.

JV
 
Japanese no longer our "enemy"...

Tokyo-dave said:
I know you didn't mean any harm, but as a Japanese/American, everytime I come across the word "Jap" I take great offense. Many don't know the origin of the term, so use the term without meaning any harm, but it's as harsh as calling an black guy the "N" word, or other unfavorable terms used to describe other nationalities.
No harm intended I'm sure, so no harm done. Just trying to educate.

dave
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thoughtful, tactful comment.
I have a white neighbor who thinks that our Chinese neighbors attacked Pearl Harbor. "They're all the same" he assures me...

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
 
Tokyo-dave said:
I know you didn't mean any harm, but as a Japanese/American, everytime I come across the word "Jap" I take great offense. Many don't know the origin of the term, so use the term without meaning any harm, but it's as harsh as calling an black guy the "N" word, or other unfavorable terms used to describe other nationalities.
No harm intended I'm sure, so no harm done. Just trying to educate.

dave
Click to expand...

Thanks for the friendly educating. No offense meant. I was just trying to save some keystrokes. Post now edited.

That's the great thing about these forums: if a person doesn't have to be "right" all of the time, we can actuallly learn from each other.

Fred
 
In reply to the "they're all the same" theme. Yeah, I can't count how many times I've encountered the following type of conversation "Wow, you're Japanese?" "Yes" "and you used to live there" "Yes, for 19 years" "cool, so you can even speak the language?" "yes" "awesome..............say something in Chinese!"

dave
 
I suspect that a lot of "made in USA" claims are a lie.

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought Adam went out of business entirely. I'm glad to hear they're still being made in Japan, if only for the Asian market.
 
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