I seriously doubt the founding fathers believed it OK to poison your neighbors, customers and employees. George, Benjamin, Thomas and the rest didn't roll like that
Is the Cue Market Dead Now and Forever?
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I seriously doubt the founding fathers believed it OK to poison your neighbors, customers and employees. George, Benjamin, Thomas and the rest didn't roll like that
Its still private property. Not public property. As an adult you can choose to walk into those establishments or not. At that point you're not being poisoned you're choosing to expose yourself.I seriously doubt the founding fathers believed it OK to poison your neighbors, customers and employees. George, Benjamin, Thomas and the rest didn't roll like that
Same thing with a strip club. No one is forcing you to enter an over-sexed environment.
If you don't like it then exercise your own free will and open a smoke free 21 and over establishment. You know...the free market you love so much./ Why tear away at another man's freedom and ability to choose how to run his own business because you have a personal preference.
I agree that the laws are logical in places where minors cannot choose for themselves. IE a bank, restaurant, grocery store...etc.
My issue lies with pushing morals for political gain on places of business that are 21 and over.
Guy goes into the confessional and tells the priest, "Father, I have sinned. I'm afraid if I confess my great sin you'll throw me out of the church."
Priest says, "No, my son, no sin is too great that it can't be forgiven."
Guy says, "Well, father, after we got married we had sex all day, every day, in every room in the house."
Priest says, "That's not a sin, son, that's perfectly normal early on. No need to worry about getting thrown out of the church."
"That's not what I'm worried about, father", says the guy. "After a while, we thought it was too much and decided to take a break for a month."
Priest replies, "But, my dear boy, celibacy can be a wonderful experience to bond a couple closer to each other. That's not a sin. I practice celibacy myself. We would never throw you out of the church for that."
"OK, but here's the big one. After only a few weeks the urge to make love got so strong that I just couldn't control myself. There she was, bending over to pick up a sack of potatoes, and the next thing you know, I lifted her skirt, slid down her bloomers and had her right then and there."
Priest chuckles, and says, "My lad, that's how I would expect your little vacation from sex to end. Passion rises again, and it's sure to lead to such a thing. But again, we would never throw you out of the church for that."
"Really, father?", the guy says with relief. "That's so good to know. I was so worried because they threw us right out of WalMart."
There has always been some curtailment of civil liberties, and there always will be... especially in public places.
One area where golf and pool share a common problem is time: time to learn and time to play. This world of instant gratification we now live in doesn't help either game. Both require time&effort and fewer and fewer people seem to want to invest either. Cost is a whole other story but it's also hurting both games.
Some great points being made in this thread and I'm sure for a number of reasons mentioned and others not pool overall as declined. A few years back we had a pool hall here in Salinas, one 25 miles south and another 25 miles north, now there is one 25 miles south only and even it seemed way down in business and turn out for tourneys for a while.
I just started lurking on AZ again, for the last few years I would check stuff out maybe a few times a year but I noticed the difference in sales and like stated earlier in the thread, some folks adjusted prices and cues moved, others hold tight on prices and cue sits for months. I recall seeing Bluegrass cues move fairly simple, plain jane with wood handle seemed to move easy in the 16-1800 range 02'-06' maybe, saw a few over the last few years priced 14-1600 and they sat. I think like anything else, if sellers don't adjust nothing moves, just my .02cents.
I just started lurking on AZ again, for the last few years I would check stuff out maybe a few times a year but I noticed the difference in sales and like stated earlier in the thread, some folks adjusted prices and cues moved, others hold tight on prices and cue sits for months. I recall seeing Bluegrass cues move fairly simple, plain jane with wood handle seemed to move easy in the 16-1800 range 02'-06' maybe, saw a few over the last few years priced 14-1600 and they sat. I think like anything else, if sellers don't adjust nothing moves, just my .02cents.
dom_poppa
Banned
Its not officially dead but it is hard to penetrate new markets as the game is dying. League players consider $100 cue the max they will spend. Maybe upwards to $300. Anything more than that, you can forget about it.
Therefore, the marketplace for cues are just the 'good ole' boys trading and collecting among themselves.
There are probably tons of cue that has switched hands so many times.
Therefore, the marketplace for cues are just the 'good ole' boys trading and collecting among themselves.
There are probably tons of cue that has switched hands so many times.
Some cues are definitely over priced. I get tired of seeing bump, bump, bump, bump
With sometimes a small drop in what was a way over priced cue to begin with.
I think part of the problem for custom cues began with companies like Lucasi. They started offering good looking cues using exotic woods like snakewood for example. Before that snakewood was really only seen on high priced cues from custom Cuemakers. Decent inlay work. Uniloc and radial pins. Steel joints or phenolic. I think it was a great business model and it worked. Meucci, McDermott, Joss, they all had a tough new competitor in the market. So did custom makers. When buying a new cue, most new players want something that looks kind of fancy. For them, the looks aspect is more important than the playability aspect. This has been my experience, YMMV.
I'm getting back to cuemaking after a 10 year hiatus. It will not be my main income source. I really just missed the creativity and fun of making cues. Will it be difficult to sell my cues? Maybe. Do I really care? A little, I would say. As I stated, money isn't the main factor here, for me. Of course I'll be doing repairs which is usually decent money. But the new business model for me will be quite simple. I won't take orders, I make the cues I want to make, then they are for sale. I will never be late delivering a cue. I'll have the peace of mind to only work on what I want to make. And if I find the market is just too tough then they'll make great Christmas presents!
With sometimes a small drop in what was a way over priced cue to begin with.
I think part of the problem for custom cues began with companies like Lucasi. They started offering good looking cues using exotic woods like snakewood for example. Before that snakewood was really only seen on high priced cues from custom Cuemakers. Decent inlay work. Uniloc and radial pins. Steel joints or phenolic. I think it was a great business model and it worked. Meucci, McDermott, Joss, they all had a tough new competitor in the market. So did custom makers. When buying a new cue, most new players want something that looks kind of fancy. For them, the looks aspect is more important than the playability aspect. This has been my experience, YMMV.
I'm getting back to cuemaking after a 10 year hiatus. It will not be my main income source. I really just missed the creativity and fun of making cues. Will it be difficult to sell my cues? Maybe. Do I really care? A little, I would say. As I stated, money isn't the main factor here, for me. Of course I'll be doing repairs which is usually decent money. But the new business model for me will be quite simple. I won't take orders, I make the cues I want to make, then they are for sale. I will never be late delivering a cue. I'll have the peace of mind to only work on what I want to make. And if I find the market is just too tough then they'll make great Christmas presents!
Bob Runde makes cues of his own design and does quite well. Sounds like you will be building cue designs with features that you like or favor which in turn assures your cues will have to pass your discerning eye. Once you put your stamp of approval; on the cue, I'm sure you'll find your earnest approach to building cues will be appreciated. At the same time, you get to build a cue the way you envision it to look and play. Sounds like you have a love affair with cue building and your customers should be pleasantly surprised.
Matt B.
This thread is total BS and only a scare ploy by some cheap want to be owners so that some folks will sell their top end cue makers high end cues for less then they paid for them. You won't ever get my Tasc.....NEVER ! In fact all high end owners I encourage to raise their prices now which will send a message to all the cheap want to be owners ! :angry: 
This thread is total BS and only a scare ploy by some cheap want to be owners so that some folks will sell their top end cue makers high end cues for less then they paid for them. You won't ever get my Tasc.....NEVER ! In fact all high end owners I encourage to raise their prices now which will send a message to all the cheap want to be owners ! :angry:
I find you funny
. Rage on man, rage on!
I find you funny
Yep-All the want to be's who are just picture hounds anyway who like their crooked cheap cues can go to flea bay where y'all belong ! Maybe Pete, Barry, or Bill will build you a cue for 1K and have it ready in a week ( YEAH RIGHT-GOOD LUCK WITH THAT LOL ) Have a nice day :thumbup:
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You get it, that's pretty much how I feel. Before when I was making cues delivery on time was not my strong point. "cuemaker time" the industry joke we all know. Another thing was the joint pin. I preferred the radial or the 3/8-10. But every once in awhile a prospective buyer would insist on a uniloc, which I personally don't care for. But I would acquiesce and do it. I feel like this: if I'm going to work building cues, in an industry where it's hard to make great money being a cuemaker, then why not have total control over every aspect from design, to execution, to finish. Never have a late order. No more "cuemaker time" smart remarks. when cues are done they are for sale.
I always wanted to work a show like Valley Forge where I could get my name out there, let people handle my cues up close but I never had more than 2 or 3 cues at any time that were 'spec' cues. The rest were orders. This new way will allow me to go this route, if I decide to.
This thread is total BS and only a scare ploy by some cheap want to be owners so that some folks will sell their top end cue makers high end cues for less then they paid for them. You won't ever get my Tasc.....NEVER ! In fact all high end owners I encourage to raise their prices now which will send a message to all the cheap want to be owners ! :angry:
You are dead wrong. I started this thread because the cue market is dead and wanted to see if others agree. I'm fortunate to be able to buy any cue I want whenever I want. This thread is no ploy to get any body to part with a cue at a price below what he or she paid. At this point in time, I'm a seller, not a buyer, of cues. I'm certainly not a want to be, having owned numerous cues by the best cue makers alive and deceased.
This thread is total BS and only a scare ploy by some cheap want to be owners so that some folks will sell their top end cue makers high end cues for less then they paid for them. You won't ever get my Tasc.....NEVER ! In fact all high end owners I encourage to raise their prices now which will send a message to all the cheap want to be owners ! :angry:
Dont fight the tape man! You cannot intimidate or bully the market, you have to accept it. If you are not in the cue business, that's one thing-wait for your price and it may be 10 years but if you are in the cue business (and i cant imagine you are) you have to take your lumps and start buying and selling as best you can in the present market.
5 years ago i offered a fair price of 50K for a condo. The market had dropped in half from its highs around that time. The owner, a pool guy, was holding out for 60K-about 10-15 k above the market. I just saw in the paper 6 months back, he finally sold for 25K. He was a smart guy but wishin and a hopin DOESN"T COUNT FOR SHIT!!!!