Zims Rack said:
...There's ALWAYS going to be a better looking, feeling, playing cue out there. To each his own!
Zim
I got to chime in here...I am the world's worst cue owner. I have bought and sold so many sticks in my day as I was still searching for the one that I feel comfortable with. I can safely say that my current Schon, is probably going to be the last cue I will own as a playing cue, provided I can get that custom extension made for the butt. Oh I have other cues that fill out my rack at my house, and those may vary. They will not be the high end SouthWest's or Scruggs or McDaniel...but they will be nice cues for when people come over that don't have a nice cue, they can use one of my rack cues. These include my daughter's Cuetec, a Palmer, a new Chuck custom (from Ebay), a Players jump/break, and my personal home/backup cue - a McDermott with a Predator shaft.
With that being said, I enjoy buying and selling cues. I sometimes turn a profit, sometimes take a loss...it is just a hobby for me. My playing cue, however, is NOT. I take it very serious, although I have never owned a cue for longer than 5 years. In college it seemed I would always get in trouble financially or would find someone willing to give me more than I paid for it, and I would part with the cue. I now have a real job since graduating college in 96, and I settled on a much nicer Schon with a Predator shaft. I experimented with a Predator on a Players butt, and that worked great. I sold that cue and then bought the Schon from Erik Lee and the shaft from InsidePool.com mall. I knew the Schon from owning one previously in college.
I don't know how a Southwest, McDaniel, or Scruggs play...so why not buy one, hit a few with it, and sell if its not what you like? I think some people just can't be truthful and honest with themselves about how they feel towards the cue and are scared their opinion may not be a good selling point for the cue.
Hey...I been accused of having "more money than sense" on more than one occasion, but that's just me.
I also agree with Zim there...there will always be greener grass on the other side, it just depends on how you treat your lawn as to how green YOUR grass will be.
Shorty