While I agree with the general thought of this post, the specifics I don't. I never said anyone was the "best" maker. In fact I believe there are a lot of outstanding cue makers out there and if I had enough money I would have a collection of many different makers. I just choose Paul as my maker of choice because of a few key factors.
1. He makes a great cue. It's function matches it's form and his execution is flawless.
2. His shop/home are within an hour or so from me. This is very convenient in the event that there is ever a problem with one of his cues or if I would like to get anything done. For instance, the Ebont Titlist I just bought has a Westinghouse Micarta joint and I would like to have it changed to Ivory.
3. He is ALWAYS available. Call him on the phone or send him an email. If he's in the shop of at home you will receive a response usaully within 24 hours. Most times he actually answers the phone or you get a return email within minutes. I know that may be a difficult concept for some of the other makers to understand but trust me when I tell you, it's important to be able to reach your cuemaker when the need arises.
4. He has as much, if not more knowledge about cue making and wood then anyone I have ever talked to. My experience is not limited here. I have spoken to alot (more than 100) of other makers over the years.
5. His prices are resonable and you don't have to wait years for one of his cues. Try and call Dennis Searing, Eric Crisp, or Southwest and tell them you would like to have a cue built and see how long the wait time is. Assuming you can even get in contact with them, some of them won't even give you a time frame and thats even assuming they will even build you a cue. I'm not bashing these makers, I'm just using them as an example for long wait times for cues.
Maybe you misunderstood what I was trying to ask when I started this thread. I am not complaining about the resale value of Paul's cues. I am just curious why his cues seem to go for far less than some other makers. I completely agree with Pooh reagrding some of the dealers. It's pretty obvious to see that they mark the cue "sold" when it was really just traded to another dealer. Just take a look at a lot of the stuff offered for sale. It gets regurgitated two, sometimes three times and the fact is it often gets sold for much less that the original asking price.
With that being said, the economy has a lot to do what the current trend in the market. It's unfortunate but until it changes we just have to deal with it.
My issue with some of the newer makers and their pricing is based on MY experience over the years. I can remember a time when a cue maker had to EARN his reputation rather than having a few people plaster it all over the forum how great their stuff is. Paul is one of those who had to earn it. He didn't start making cues and selling them for big money. He had to learn HOW to build cues the right way first and then work on the artistic part which is where the value comes from because let's face it, it really IS only a piece of wood after all.
I'm not saying that some of the newer makers don't make a quality product. In fact I've seen some cues from newer makers that were outstanding. Mr. Zinzola is a great example of this. The first cue from him I ever saw was one of his first cues. I wasn't impressed with what I saw but then I had a chance to see one of his newer works and it's fantastic.
I can remember seeing a lot of Webb cues in the beginning and the same thing happened. Believe me when I tell you, if you saw some of his earlier work, you wouldn't believe it was his. But hey, thats the right way to do it IMO. You have to crawl before you can walk or run.
My opinion on a few of the newer makers specifically comes from first hand experience. I bought a highend cue from one of them on the secondary market. The cue looked very nice but it hit like absolute $hit. I tried changing the tip but it didn't matter. I won't tell you who the maker is but I will say the cue has been bought and sold at least 4 times in the past year. If you wonder why all these cues are being bought and sold over and over it's because they don't play well. Keep in mind that hitting good and playing good are two different things.
