9ball said:
Funny! how all these companies make huge amounts of money in billiards , Yet they don`t spread that money around by promoting Pro Pool and The players that keep them in business! All they seem to do is give small potatos that is just barely keeping this industry alive.
Please give examples of how pro pool in any way, shape, or form keeps these companies in business?
Would you buy a $6000 pool table because Johnny Archer sez it's the best?
Tweeten Fiber makes so much money only because they make the best products out there. That's it. No pro player saying "Master's Chalk is Great!" or "Master's Chalk is awful!!" is gonna make one whit of difference.
Pool cues are the ONLY thing I will give you that players really have any kind of influence on sales of, and all the other little gadgets and gizmos that player endorse don't make enough money to be able to sponsor tourneys. Bob Meucci used to sponsor a LOT of tournaments, and a LOT of players. The company was making good cues at the time, however. The cue business has gotten a lot tougher on the lower end side, so he cut down on using quality components, and his business suffered as a result. Now, he doesn't sponsor so many tournaments.
But, even if he WAS still doing well.. How much profit you think he makes on a $200 cue, if he uses good components? Let's say $50.00. After all, he has to pay a healthy percentage to the retailer. That means he has to sell about 400 cues to be able to add $20,000 to a tournament purse.
Even as one of the top cue sellers of the 80's/90's, how many cues do you think Meucci was selling per year??? Is he allowed to make a profit, to allow his family to live comfortably from the sweat of his brow? Is he allowed to set aside money to upgrade his factory?
Okay. My question stands. Besides cue makers... How do pro players make money for these companies. These companies are there to provide the public with equipment and services. The public has NO clue who these pro players are, except for Jeanette Lee.
Funny, innit? Jeanette Lee is the only player the public knows, and she is also the highest paid player. Huh... Go figure? Jeanette Lee does WAY more than any other player to promote pool, and she gets paid accordingly. No one else makes that kind of money promoting pool, because they don't work as hard as she does.
In fact, Scott Lee probably does way more to promote pool than most male pros. And he makes a handsome buck off of that.
There's plenty of money out there for the pool pros. Trick shot exhibitions at colleges. Motivational speaking from a "champion's perspective". What do you people not understand????????? There are LOTS of organizations that are willing to pay people to motivate and/or entertain their employees/students.
The money is there. The players expect it to fall in their freaking laps.
Russ
