Under-priced Cues - Your opinion please
- Thread starter hdgis1
- Start date
My opinion
Cory Barnhart
Scott Gracio
Greg Sirca
Brent Hartman
Bryan Fisher
These are great cuemakers from all that I have read, and seen, and are very personable in conversation. A ton of detail and workmanship, and should demand higher prices. Economy being what it is, cue market being what it is, it is tough to make money if it is the only source of income. Those that have it as a lucrative hobby are few.
I would also add that the words under-valued should also be used. Value and cost are different in nature, and to me, I value what I have more than what someone would pay me for it.
Cory Barnhart
Scott Gracio
Greg Sirca
Brent Hartman
Bryan Fisher
These are great cuemakers from all that I have read, and seen, and are very personable in conversation. A ton of detail and workmanship, and should demand higher prices. Economy being what it is, cue market being what it is, it is tough to make money if it is the only source of income. Those that have it as a lucrative hobby are few.
I would also add that the words under-valued should also be used. Value and cost are different in nature, and to me, I value what I have more than what someone would pay me for it.
hdgis1
New member
Consider them added!
long list
Anyone at all that builds a quality cue for under $750! When you add up shop time, machine time, and materials, any well made cue should cost that much or more. I don't think that anyone that charges a thousand or less for a quality cue is really overcharging. Of course there are crap cue makers out there that are overcharging regardless of what they charge. Their price should be down there with the Wal-Mart cues and other cheap imports.
Hu
Anyone at all that builds a quality cue for under $750! When you add up shop time, machine time, and materials, any well made cue should cost that much or more. I don't think that anyone that charges a thousand or less for a quality cue is really overcharging. Of course there are crap cue makers out there that are overcharging regardless of what they charge. Their price should be down there with the Wal-Mart cues and other cheap imports.
Hu
Pony up a 2nd vote for Jeff Olney. His detail work is phenominal. Fit & finish outstanding.
Customer service awesome. His cues play great. And his prices are very reasonable.
Give Jeff Olney a call you won`t be disappointed. I`m sure glad I did.
Jeff
Customer service awesome. His cues play great. And his prices are very reasonable.
Give Jeff Olney a call you won`t be disappointed. I`m sure glad I did.
Jeff
I'd third that one on the Olney. I am kicking myself for selling the one that I had a few years back.. Nothing fancy but it played soooooooo good.
Also, my Jack Madden cue was fairly priced and it plays reallyyyyyy good too..
Both are a steal in my opinion.
This is hilarious. The correct answer would be there are none. The cuemaker sets the price on his cues, and he has most likely determined his pricing point. Supply and demand dictate pricing on anything that is a commodity. If you have high supply and lower demand, the equilibrium price will be lower. This is the business model for Lucasi and McDermott. High volume means cues are always in stock. At the other end, you have the Searings and Southwests. You can buy from them at their price, and wait 7-8 years to get your cue. Supply is low, demand is high, so the price is higher. The used market proves this - you will not recoup 50% of the money you put into a production style cue, as there are many available on the market. You will, however, make money on a high demand/low supply cue.
So again, there are NO cuemakers out there that make less than they should. If they feel they should make more money on the cue, they should raise their prices.
dave sutton
Banned
Obviously any cue over 400$ is overpriced so there isn't a Custom maker in the world that's underpriced.
Harry Richards / HR Cues makes as good a playing cue as ANYONE, NO CNC gingerbread, just good ole' hand craftsmanship, is a psycho detail freak, and has a great lineage of influences (Wayne Gunn and Dennis Searing for just a couple).
I've seen his work since he was at the "tip repair" stage 20+ years ago. After some health problems he is ssssssssslowly spinning up to make some more cues, and I already know he's not charging enough.
Chad McLennan / CAM cues just blow me away. Great communication, a real interest in what YOU want when you order.
His attention to detail and workmanship are WAY out of proportion with anyone so young and humble. This guy may be the next big thing, buy one now, you won't be sorry.
I've seen his work since he was at the "tip repair" stage 20+ years ago. After some health problems he is ssssssssslowly spinning up to make some more cues, and I already know he's not charging enough.
Chad McLennan / CAM cues just blow me away. Great communication, a real interest in what YOU want when you order.
His attention to detail and workmanship are WAY out of proportion with anyone so young and humble. This guy may be the next big thing, buy one now, you won't be sorry.
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I can't think of a single shop owner
Dave,
I can't think of a single small shop owner of any kind that isn't working at a rate of $50 an hour or more, most substantially more. If the investment in learning time, equipment, and workspace isn't worth at least $50 an hour plus materials then cue builders need to be in a different line of work.
Too, for forty years my customers have came to me instead of somebody else because they liked the way I did things, not because they wanted me to copy the way somebody else does things. The customer gets his choices inside the framework of what I believe makes the best quality work I can turn out. If the customer insists on something I don't believe in then I send them down the road to someone that better suits their wants and needs.
Somehow I get a strong feeling that most AZB'ers aren't going to be my market if and when I get around to building cues although I have about a half dozen on request now, . . . on my terms.
Hu
Dave,
I can't think of a single small shop owner of any kind that isn't working at a rate of $50 an hour or more, most substantially more. If the investment in learning time, equipment, and workspace isn't worth at least $50 an hour plus materials then cue builders need to be in a different line of work.
Too, for forty years my customers have came to me instead of somebody else because they liked the way I did things, not because they wanted me to copy the way somebody else does things. The customer gets his choices inside the framework of what I believe makes the best quality work I can turn out. If the customer insists on something I don't believe in then I send them down the road to someone that better suits their wants and needs.
Somehow I get a strong feeling that most AZB'ers aren't going to be my market if and when I get around to building cues although I have about a half dozen on request now, . . . on my terms.
Hu
dave sutton
Banned
i agree with everything u said. i was being sarcastic quoting a post from the OP. he thinks any cue over 400$ is overpriced. we ask makers are ripping customers off by upcharging too much for slaping materials together. then ranted in a 5 page thread about it. incase you missed it....lol
