A verses B verses C
paulybatz said:
I think if you have the right cues to sell, the market is as good as in the past. It is just like the market of the past, it is fickle...it wants what it wants, when it wants it. ....
I agree with it a being fickle market. It wasn't that long ago when a Southwest 6 pointer with 2 or 3 veneers could be had for $1300 and then all of the sudden everybody started selling off new Southwests on eBay and touting the long wait for one and the price climbed into the mid and high 2K range and now is receding back down to the high $1K range which is still higher than they were going for in 1999.
As one that was blown out from high paying telecom market in the 2001 telecom bust, I know personally what it feels like to sell off a $30K collection of cues just to pay the mortgage and car payments and go all the way down to playing with a $125 custom made by an unknown wannabe selling on eBay to get his name out. That $125 Sleeper Keeper isn't perefectly straight any more, but it plays better and has won more money on the table for me than my previous $2500 fancy Dishaw, Motteys, or Rundes ever did. So, my tastes changed over the years to redefine a cue as a tool like a golf club that I judge first by the feel, balance, hit, and feedback and if it meets those criteria respectably, then I consider it's looks.
I think more people are beginning to shift their eyes for cues in this direction as well, which explains why a Zylr or Sugartree seems to command so much more for a Plain Jane while other fancier cues languish at lower price. People want a cue has some magical quality in it's playability first and foremost.
IMO, historically the chase forBalaushka cues was the beginning of the cue collecting rage by people who had never even seen one, but saw how a $400 cue could move in 20 years to be worth $5000, then $8000 and on up the ladder to where it is today hitting high teens and low 20's. Then, Southwests became the holy grail of "Hit" and see how that progressed. Now, for a large number of player/collectors. "Hit" is the mark a person checks when you first hand them a cue to look at. It is kind of like asking a gun enthusiast "If you only were allowed to have one firearm, what would it be?" Those in the higher income brackets would likely answer something like a Holland & Holland shotgun for it's refinement and collectible value, while others in the middle to lower income brackets would answer a Ruger 10-22 or a 22 pistol, because ammo is cheap, it is quieter, easier to shoot accurately, and you can carry way more ammo than for any other firearm. A .22 is very utilitarian and can even be used to rob the upper income bracket of their Holland and Hollands, or get a bigger gun if needed. I once knew a cop who instead of carrying an assualt rifle in the trunk of his patrol car, he carried about 10 fully loaded tube fed 22 rifles. His said in a firefight, he would still be shooting while everyone else was reloading.
Try selling a cue in the local pool rooms these days and most brush you off quickly that they are happy with their McDermott, Joss, or Lucasi.
); these toys are only on loan to us for a while then we are gone. So enjoy what you have, life is short.
