resale or trade in value of cues

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berlowmj2

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am not interested in "collecting" or accumulating cues & my investment is in the stock market.

However, I have found that by buying even moderately priced Oriental rugs for my home I have been able to enjoy trading them in at equal & often greater value when we have decided to upgrade or change rugs.

At the Derby City classic, I tried numerous cues ranging in price from $240 to $10,000. In many instances, some vendors acknowledged that the playability was the same. My experience confirmed that.

How might I go about acquiring a highly playable moderately priced cue, with a similar assurance that I could trade it in or sell it for equal or greater value, if I decided to change cues?
 
berlowmj2 said:
I am not interested in "collecting" or accumulating cues & my investment is in the stock market.

However, I have found that by buying even moderately priced Oriental rugs for my home I have been able to enjoy trading them in at equal & often greater value when we have decided to upgrade or change rugs.

At the Derby City classic, I tried numerous cues ranging in price from $240 to $10,000. In many instances, some vendors acknowledged that the playability was the same. My experience confirmed that.

How might I go about acquiring a highly playable moderately priced cue, with a similar assurance that I could trade it in or sell it for equal or greater value, if I decided to change cues?
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Thats my point when I buy. I try to buy desirable cues that play well so I can enjoy them and when I am ready to resell I at least get what I paid for them back.

So many guys buy a cue without regards to resell and then complain when they get stuck with a cue that they cant get their money back.

Im not saying you only buy because of resell, I am saying if you can get both it appears to me you are silly. JMO

Best of luck,

Ken
 
imo, custom cue do not have any specific value. a person can buy it for 2000 and sells it for 2300 few yrs down the road. every custom cue is unique and no one can determind the value. a plainjane made by sugartree might cost twice as much as a plainjane made by bautista.
 
There are a few ways to approach this.

One is to buy a reasonable production cue that feels good. The initial price is all you will ever lose.

The other is to buy a cue from a custom maker that you like and don't worry about resale. Buy it for yourself to enjoy. If it is the cue for you then you will never want to sell it.

The problem with buying a hot seller is you may be paying a premium and that can be lost when it drops off the current hot list.

Cues are like stocks they rise and fall without reason. The hot cue today will or may become a loser tomorrow.

Some cues have held their own

Hercek, Gina, Tasc, Black, Scruggs, BB, Searing, Showman, and etc but their prices are gettting out of reach for the masses not to mention the league player.
 
My 2 cents worth. I have never lost money on a cue. OK I have not always made money either. Here is my take, I buy a cue, I've owned a Gus, Barry, Schick, Bender, Kiekel, Blackcreek, Perry Weston, that had all been played often by me. The Gus, Barry, and Schick I made money on the other 3 I either sold for what I had in them or within a couple of hundred dollars. I played them all for a year or two regularly and the Gus for 14 yrs. On the 2 I did not brake even on I got $200.00 worth of pleasure and enjoyment out of them, and the others offset the two. I didnt buy them to sell and if it wouldnt of been for my weakness to the fairer sex I wouldnt and shouldnt have.

You should be able to come with in a couple of hundred dollars on any of the better known makers, how ever you may have to hold it awhile to do so. You have been told correctly the higher priced cue will shoot no better than the lower priced cue as long as the lower priced cue is quality. I could put forth a thought that a less adorned cue should shoot better but I won't.
 
berlowmj2 said:
I am not interested in "collecting" or accumulating cues & my investment is in the stock market.

How might I go about acquiring a highly playable moderately priced cue, with a similar assurance that I could trade it in or sell it for equal or greater value, if I decided to change cues?
Click to expand...

I have dabbled in cues for more than 20 years, buying then selling to move up in value. The knowledge base that might provide you "assurance" of resale value took a long time for me to acquire. I judge every cue investment individually; there is no particular maker or style that will always pay off.

Beware of anyone who tells you otherwise. Certain cuemakers are in great demand right now...Searing, Haley but your buy rate must be right on their cue. These makers have extensive waiting lists so the inflated secondary market will make or break the value of your acquisition.

Famous makers tend to be in demand. Szamboti (Barry) or Schick make the best playing cues in my opinion. It would be a rare find to see one offered for a price that would assure easy resale. Just look at the for sale section and search Schick, for instance. You'll see some gorgeous cues being bumped over and over with no sale. Even a hall of fame maker's cue will not sell if the price is too high.

Once you find the right maker, you must then know which cue is right. Even cues like Southwest have configurations that sell well or are difficult to move. Exotic forearm cues vs maple...veneer colors and ring styles are important too.

The best answer I can give you is that the high end market seems less volatile than moderate priced cues. The Ginacues, Szamboti's, Herceks, always have interested buyers. If there is an element of rarity in the cue you are offering, you may do well selling it.
 
Here is the simple truth.

A cue like any other item is worth what someone will pay you for it.

No more no less


I collect Olivia artwork.

I have a set of her cards uncut huge poster size print signed.

Ive been offered anywhere from 500 to 5000.

The amount depended on how badly the person wanted it.

Cues are the same way.

You have something someone wants they will be willing to pay for it. The secret is finding something someone will want one day.


R
 
HIRUN526 said:
What is a moderately price cue?
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Now, there is a subjective term.

I also have bought and sold cues over the years. Being I'm based in the Baltimore/DC region, I see quite a few of the better names floating around for sale.

Like someone else said, if your buying the cue for yourself, make sure it's what you want/like and don't worry about it. If it is a quality cue, you will recieve much more enjoyment and see your game progress as you become old friends.

If your buying it for an investment, well then, that can be like dealing in the world of real estate. Number's can and will be all over the place according to builder, rarity, unusual features, condition, ect, ect.

I have several available cues made by a very small father/son operation. In my opinion, they offer a tremendous value vs the level of quality cue you get for your money. Their custom cue's generally sell in $650-750 range dependant on the materials used and time involved. I know of a local cue builder who charged a customer $700 to build him just a shaft for his cue...

High quality and low production numbers are what collectors seek.

I'm hoping to be at the SBE on Saturday with some of these cues for sale. There is nothing like taking a new cue for a test drive...

Cheers!
 
Cues are hard to determine. I just over paid for a Gina but I am not unhappy with the cue or the deal. I traded 3 cues, a New Unplayed Bender a Gina as new and a Blackcreek as new for an upper ended Gina. I lost on the Bender. Mike makes one of the best cues out there but at this point in time his cues don't demand the $$ that they should at least in the secondary market.
I wouldn't buy a cue if my only criteria was as an investment. Having said that in this economic time if I chanced on a sweet deal I might pick up one of the select name cues, but that would be a matter of the right place at the right time.
 
Flame away

Just remember when trying to sell any cue you are typically dealing with pool players. In my experience pool players are a pretty cheap breed of customers.
This is not the case with all pool players but a vast majority of them.

The pool cue market for higher end cues unfortunately is a little different story. Most of those buyers are well established citizens and can and will spend money on cues. The down size of this is that community of buyers is a very small community. I would have to say being a cue dealer has to be one of the hardest ways to make a buck and would be one of the most frustrating jobs to rely on. Its great when things are good but man on the other hand.

Kevin
 
I think if there were an answer to the question.....How do I insure a profit?
everyone would know it. Certain investments have a better chance of increasing in value but with pool cues in general, I think it is a crap shoot. High end collectables will always retain value, and in most cases increase in value......but we are talking about a very few cues in the overall market.I think you have to ask the question....what makes this cue any different from others that enhances its value and hope a prospective buyer will feel the same way........Dan
 
Cues are unique in that their value is a combination of artwork and playability. Not many other products have that combination. And like a previous poster pointed out, pool players are notoriously cheap. Not to mention EVERYONE wants to buy them for nothing and sell them at a huge profit. My company does this for a living and has for 44 years. There is NO guarantee on most cuemakers being worth more in 10 years with very few exceptions. I would say buying and selling cues should be a hobby or a very expensive lesson with a small profit. For 99% of guys out there its not a good idea.
 
Calm down Mr. Disappointed

berlowmj2 said:
I am disappointed by the lack of responses.
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Give peace a chance! IMO the best value out there in Billiardville are the low end, planejanes made by the great cue makers. Most will make you a planejane for $400 or $500. More used cues are bought for less than a grand than more than a grand! They will play just like the $3000 cue made by that great cue maker. Get a player to play with and not have to worry about and then dabble with some high end cues. Just like a new business, if you can't do it part time, you can't do it full time. I will say this about most cues, excluding the most high end cues, a $800 cue bought new on Monday won't bring $500 on Wednesday!! I wish I had bought every Palmer that floated by in the 1960's for $100 and $150 , their all worth $1000 now.
 
brandoncook26 said:
This has to be the strangest first post I think I've read on here. Welcome to the forum, but I think maybe you missed the context or subscribed to the wrong forum.
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Obviously just some automated spambot searching for the word "resale" and then replying with that crap and a link...
 
With all due respect, If anyone has a formula for upgrading in the cue market the last thing they would do is tell anyone. The market sucks and if you have a niche that nets you a profit I sure wouldn't spread it around.
 
Watch AZ and other resale sites. Spend lots of time at the pool hall and watch what they are selling for.

In my case I play a lot of league pool. IMHO most league players don't have a clue what cues are worth. A lot of the guys will pay $400 for a McDermott and pass up a nice custom for $200 because they have never heard of it. One of my teammates traded a Dubliner McDermott for a Horn loaded with Ivory simply because the other league player had heard of McDermotts and never seen a Horn before. Probably a $1500 difference there and both players ended up happy.

Also when a player goes bust try to buy lower than what you think you can sell it for. I've been the beneficiary lots of times when a player goes bust gambling and has to unload a case or cue to whoever is in the pool room at the time.
 
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