Why buy a Maserati or a Tesla when you can get a thoroughbred yearling for the same price?
Predator Cues w/Revos Now Selling For Thousands of $$$ - Why?
- Thread starter Kickin' Chicken
- Start date
If you think a Chinese made cue has a cost of production of a $1000, I've got a bridge you might be interested in.
The cue doesn't make the player.
I've seen great players, play great w house bar cues.
You like a cue that cost $3k, knock yourself out. Whatever makes you happy.
The cue doesn't make the player.
I've seen great players, play great w house bar cues.
You like a cue that cost $3k, knock yourself out. Whatever makes you happy.
A Gina doesn't make one a better player than a cheaper production cue does either, but they may make people admire your cue more.
I have customs, productions, and carbon fiber. The carbon fiber will hit with the best of shafts made by anybody.
Some people have expensive custom cues and are extremely reluctant to admit that something that is production made by a machine can hit just as good, or better than, cues made by hall of fame cue makers.
You know, everything is made in China these days. Nobody cares. Sure I could buy a custom cue from a US maker. I'd have to wait a couple of years, then maybe be bumped off a list, when a preferred customer comes in. That happened to a friend of mine twice. I've hit with maybe 20 different custom cues (they're not common here). About 10 of them played like complete shit. 5 were ok, 5 were good. Every Predator I've ever tried have hit acceptably, and fairly similarly. You know what you get when you buy a cue from them.
Most people just want a cue they like, they don't really care who made it and how. Who made your tennis racket or golf clubs? You probably know the brand, but who actually made it? Some big Chinese (OEM) factory most likely. I have no idea how my current cue was made. It hits nice. That's all that matters to me.
As for the value of such a cue, well I can't speak on that. My cue cost 100 dollars. I do have a Mezz that cost 500. It was worth the price, I thought. I did use to own a Chinese Predator cue. It hit very well. cost about 500. Inlays not perfect, but good enough to look decent. It's not normal for people to look a the inlays with a jewelers loupe, measure the height of points, the width etc... When people take out their loupes and start rolling their cues back and forth on the table with a flashlight, squinting to see light, it's almost a 100% guarantee that they can't draw their ball. Good players may care that their cue is straight, within reason, they may even care if the cue is "cool looking". Most of the ones I know, though, care mostly about how it plays. They may not ever look at the inlays with any more than an passing glance.
Predator figures that people are desperate for Revo shafts, and it's a good chance to move expensive butts that may not sell as easily otherwise. They know how to sell, I'll give them that. And the people who buy them are not ripped off. 999 times out of 1000 they'll get a cue that plays the way it's supposed to. They don't have to wait (usually), nobody is going to bump them off the list or judge them "unworthy" to buy their precious cue. Pretty damned decent. I challenge anyone building cues by hand to achieve this kind of consistency.
I agree.
I e hit with cues that cost north of $30,000 and my roadline5/revo setup hit EVERYBIT as good.
Most all the $$$ cue collectors HATE the FACT that any production cue hits a good much less..... BETTER.... than their cues they waited 10+ years to get.
Sure, it sucks for them but it is what it is.
To be fair, Chinese cues are very well made these days; the factories are doing good work. You can't compare them with Mezz or whatever of course, no contest there. it is what it is after all.
But made in China is getting more expensive as the day goes by and this predator pricing thing is pretty much like an iPhone thing. End of the day if they feel they can get people to buy at these prices so why not. Cuetec is probably able to churn out more shafts quicker, and yet they're choosing to price their shafts only slightly lower; they want to have it both ways as well.
If you feel strongly that it's not worth it then that's the only thing that matters. Just buy the shaft alone and pair it with a butt of your own choosing. Unless you're lucky I don't think you can get a good deal for the shaft, but am pretty sure you can get a nice butt for a good price.
there's one born every minute
There's a sucker born every minute. "There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum, an American showman of the mid-19th century, although there is no evidence that he said it.
Somebody famous said "there's one born every minute".
There's a sucker born every minute. "There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with P. T. Barnum, an American showman of the mid-19th century, although there is no evidence that he said it.
Well, it's not just a matter of how many hours are put in.
10 hours by an artisan whose work is respected and whose efforts result in objects with established value is different from 10 hours by a factory worker with less training, experience, and no record of creating items of value. Of course none of that means you can't spend your money as you see fit.
To your last point: cues don't win tournaments -- players win tournaments. Most of these guys could play lights out with any kind of cue. And lets not forget many of these guys are sponsored or get free product from the mass producers to use their cues. There is also the issue of great players being able to fully realize micro benefits from a piece of sporting equipment that your average guy could never gain nor appreciate. So maybe that CF shaft can help a professional player a small bit. But your average league player? Not so much.
Lou Figueroa
Why would an owner of a nice cue "hate" anything about how a production cue hits?
If I live in nice house why would I hate it if you lived in the projects -- you still have a roof over your head, just like me. Or if I drive a nice car, why would I hate that you drive a beater -- you can still get to from Point A to Point B, as well as I can.
There's no "hate" there. Though there may be a little rationalizing on the part of the production owner.
Lou Figueroa
Wasn't it also P.T. Barnum who hired a woman with arthritic hands to work at the ticket booth outside his NYC "Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theater."
She made change so slowly that a line of customers would inevitably form in front of the ticket booth creating the impression of interest and popularity and enticing more people to get in line. Don't know why I thought of that... other than the way these CF shafts are dribbling out a little at a time for sale, lol.
Lou Figueroa
You missed the point. Predator knows what drives sales, marketing. Having pros using your equipment and winning produces sales. Joss and Schon cues do not have the same player relations as they did in years past. People buy Predator cues because of how Predator is interacting with pro tournaments.
Predator
Yep, Predator moved its factory from the USA to China for better skilled workers...
Predator sales more cues in the USA then any other country and their way of saying thanks was to move the factory to china and raise the price of their cues from 900.00 $ to 3600.00 $
Yep, Predator moved its factory from the USA to China for better skilled workers...
Predator sales more cues in the USA then any other country and their way of saying thanks was to move the factory to china and raise the price of their cues from 900.00 $ to 3600.00 $
"The point" has been a moving target.
Regardless, if you mean the point about people being suckers who are swayed by the logic fallacy of Appeal to Celebrity and think that because a favorite pro uses a particular piece of equipment it has diddly-do-da to do with their own personal game or that they would get greater benefit from more practice time than from buying a particular shaft or the fact that some guys will say and play with just about anything for a few bucks or that pros play with free equipment all the while bad mouthing their sponsor's product complaining about having to play "with this piece of shit," no... I got that.
Lou Figueroa
You must never watch golf. Sales trends follow equipment performances. If Calloway suddenly started being the clubs used to win everything, then the public will flock to them. Same goes for Predator. They’re had a much higher winning success rate compared to everyone else. It will influence sales. That alone has allowed them to expand into have their premium line of cues. Without the backing of those wins, do we ever see a $3000+ Predator cue? Most likely not.
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Lol you missed the Forrest for the single tree.....
If I had a dollar for every custom cue ive owned that cost $5k to $8k I would have a very large stack of singles.
Now, if I had a dollar for every custom ive owned that cost north of $30,000 ....... well, I would have two dollars.
You know what? I'm a 80% favorite against the 10 ball ghost with cf cue. I cannot say the same for all the customs I've owned. I'm just more consistent with the cf.
Some of the customs, including the several Gina's I've owned did not play any better and a few of them didn't play as well as the revo..
I'm not talking about feel or sound here. Lol..... I love watching people talk about "feel and sound" as they pay off.
All that matters is whitey goes where I want him to and object balls slap the back of pockets.
As for the hate comment, I've got friends that don't even want me to bring my revo to their house. Lol.... yes, that is hating on the revo. Their my friends but they cannot stand the fact that there are lowly $1,000 cues that out perform their 10k to 30k cues.
I use to be the same way. I hated any nonwood shaft and almost any non custom cue in general.
My eyes were opened by a pro that I got to be pretty good friends with.
And btw, all pros are not forced to play with shit. Some, yes..... but some actually prefer the very cues YOU think they are forced to use. Funny huh?
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It would have been nice if they could have stayed here. As you know it is a business decision with the bottom line in mind, nothing more.
It sucks, yes.... I hate it as well but it is what it is.
Rake
Well, like I said: people are suckers.
Tiger Woods uses XXX clubs. I must buy them. Nevermind that I couldn't hit a straight shot down the fairway to save my life.
Lou Figueroa
ca-ching
Well, great for you.
Your experience prove squadoush about the vast unwashed sea of pool players out there without all the experience with customs and productions you have.
Lou Figueroa
there's always
the outlier
I'm not sure I believe any of these Predator cues really cost a g-note to build. Not in China, imo.
No "hissy fit" here; just seeking some opinions is all.
Predator spent millions on their facility. It is state of the art in every way. How many pool cues are sold annually? You don't think they should recoup their cost?
There are lots of guys on this site who sell their cues at higher prices than they paid to recoup their costs and ***GASP*** profit.
No, I do not use anything Predator, but it's simple business. People pay more for shiny things. The packages are mostly on Facebook and the crowd there is a little different.