titlist becoming common??

[m.libre10]

I used to long for a titlist convrtion cue a while back. But now, I am seeing all kinds of titlist lately. I use to see the one piece unconverted willie hoppe for at the least is $300.00 + you have to have a custom cue maker convert it to a two piece cue will cost you about $500.00 at least.

Lately, I noticed that the price of unconverted of willie dropped significantly. Does this mean that there is now too many titlist out there on the market???

I also notice that a titlist convertion cue of a well known cue maker has dropped on pricingas well. If I am not mistaken, I can now easily aquirre one in the secondary market for $800.00 while a while back the price is almost double. Although, Im still longing for it, I am now hesitating to buy one. what do you guys think???

 

[obrien714]

buy one and play with it.

Find yourself one by a cuemaker that interests you and play with it til you can play no more. I have a Bob Manzino conversion and a South East cues conversion. Someday i'll have 2 0r 3 by Mr Searing, just waiting for the master to put the finishing touches on them. I really dont care about resale. I love the way they play and the history behind the cue is what draws me. Just my opinion.

Pat

 

[wyld78]

In my opinion there are a bunch of junk Titlists out there. It's becoming tougher to find premium ones for your conversion. That may be why you are seeing prices "lagging". Buyers are more educated and know what to look for.

But they made a helluva lot of them. Back in my day that's almost all you would see.

 

[jayman]

I used to long for a titlist convrtion cue a while back. But now, I am seeing all kinds of titlist lately. I use to see the one piece unconverted willie hoppe for at the least is $300.00 + you have to have a custom cue maker convert it to a two piece cue will cost you about $500.00 at least.

Lately, I noticed that the price of unconverted of willie dropped significantly. Does this mean that there is now too many titlist out there on the market???

I also notice that a titlist convertion cue of a well known cue maker has dropped on pricingas well. If I am not mistaken, I can now easily aquirre one in the secondary market for $800.00 while a while back the price is almost double. Although, Im still longing for it, I am now hesitating to buy one. what do you guys think???

They made the titlists for about forty some years, thats a long time to produce the same thing over and over.... They are pretty cool, but also quite common.

 

[runscott]

They made the titlists for about forty some years, thats a long time to produce the same thing over and over.... They are pretty cool, but also quite common.

Yep, there are tons of them out there. Now that almost every antique shop and junk dealer has internet access and uses ebay, more and more of them are showing up. It also hasn't hurt Titlist conversions became very popular a couple of years ago and the word 'Titlist' became kind of magical with people who knew very little about cues.

Regarding value and price, you really need to be able to envision what you want your conversion to look like, then wait patiently for the right Titlist 1-piece for conversion - you can find almost anything if you wait long enough, both wood type, veneer thickness, and veneer color brightness.

You also need to be able to look at an old Titlist and envision what it will look like 'cleaned up' - this can be tough, but not impossible. Finally, point damage can be lathed out in a lot of cases, so you can buy a cue that has a little bit of damage and dings, and has an ugly finish and warped shaft area, and it can come out just as nice as a 'perfect' Titlist 1-piece, and for half the price.

But even in a best-case scenario where you pay $200 for the stick and $650 for the conversion, you will likely lose money when you re-sell. I think that's because the big appeal is not owning one, but the entire process of finding the cue, designing the conversion, then seeing the resulting product. Others who had no part in that process are usually not willing to pay what you did. Another reason you can lose money is that the cuemaker will often charge you for the cue as if he had supplied the blank himself, so you lose that $200-400 investment immediately.

Best way to get a conversion that you have minimal chance of losing money on re-sell, is to buy one that has already been converted, such as that Jensen currently on ebay.

JMO.

 

[dave sutton]

titlists have always been common. every cue maker in th counrty used them. there are junk ones. i am doing a few really good ones now. i think with ebay and the computer period its no longer a word of mouth thing and it is easier to find them.

 

[runscott]

Something I had not thought of, but someone mentioned recently: some cue-makers are making 'Titlist' conversions out of the cheaper ones from the late '60s - early '70s. Lucky for me, I prefer the thin-veneer 'subdued colors' look of the 1940's cues, so I'm safe. I have a couple of bright-veneer ones, but made by cuemakers who only used the green-label Titlists from the early '60s and older. I can remember seeing Titlists in the bowling alleys back in the '60s - those were the days!

titlists have always been common. every cue maker in th counrty used them. there are junk ones. i am doing a few really good ones now. i think with ebay and the computer period its no longer a word of mouth thing and it is easier to find them.

 

[dave sutton]

Something I had not thought of, but someone mentioned recently: some cue-makers are making 'Titlist' conversions out of the cheaper ones from the late '60s - early '70s. Lucky for me, I prefer the thin-veneer 'subdued colors' look of the 1940's cues, so I'm safe. I have a couple of bright-veneer ones, but made by cuemakers who only used the green-label Titlists from the early '60s and older. I can remember seeing Titlists in the bowling alleys back in the '60s - those were the days!

ur right. i love the older ones also. so hard to come by. i found 4 last weem in converting now. i talked to the guy and he said they were ebony. i drove almost 2 hrs to buy them. turns out they were black label rosewood hoppe's but for 100$ a piece i cant go wrong. veneers are bright like a new cue. cues were in perfect condition. not what i wanted but i can make do.