Price Or No Price.......?
Sellers of cues on the Forum that have prices over $1500 are just tired of getting beat up by random posters who aren't interested in buying the cue to begin with. It's funny how some Forum members that would never spend$2,000 for a cue will find fault with the cue or criticize the cue's selling price.
I believe the Forum should have a section for closed, successful cue sales. It should include pictures where possible and of course, the final sales price. It serves as a central information base wherein prospective cue buyers can become better educated about actual selling prices of cues and become better educated about cue values.
I'll give you an example.........there's a retired cue-maker's cue listed for sale on the Forum right now. The seller started the sale thread with a price of $1700 for a nice cue but IMO that was just a unrealistic price. The cue hasn't sold yet and I read that the seller reduced his asking price by $500 and the cue is now offerred at $1200.....that's almost a price drop of 1/3 and suggests the cue was initially priced too high. Of course, the cue seller is entitled to ask any price he wants for the cue. And admittedly the cue for sale is a nice specimen. However, if some less than expert cue buyer came to the Forum looking to buy a cue, and actually had paid the seller's original asking price, that buyer would have been major upside down on that cue purchase. However, more knowledgeable cue buyers would never pay the seller's original asking price for the cue which is exactly why the cue price has been lowered. The cue resale market would be better served if there was a database for cues sold because let's face it, there's widespread disagreement nowadays over cue values.
As far as I'm concerned, contacting a seller about the price of his cue acts like a filter for a cue seller. It tends to weed out the uninterested cue browsers who aren't really interested in buying the cue but are simply curious to know what a cue like that sells for (i.e., asking price). There are so many over-priced cues on the Forum and these cues are easy to spot. The thread goes on for pages without any sale taking place and you can see the seller's consecutive price drops trying to arouse an interested buyer to come forward with an offer. And then ultimately the thread says something like....."Last chance to get a great cue before it goes back into the closet.".........Duh? If it were such a great cue, it would have sold.......the problem isn't with the greatness of the cue.........it's with the seller's asking price for the cue.
It seems like some sellers think any cue they buy should be sold at a tidy profit and that's not the real world. The reality is that if there was a Forum section that listed actual cue sale prices, buyers and sellers would be better served and a more realistic portrayal of actual cue values and selling prices could be developed for everyone's benefit. When I spot a cue that appeals to me, then I take the time to contact the seller to find out more about the cue and the selling price. It's not an imposition because I don't contact every person on the Forum with a cue for sale. Anyway, that's how I see the issue about including prices with cues for sale listed on the Forum.
