Value in warped cues? How bad does a warp need to be to become practically worthless?

J

justinb386

Banned
Lets say for example, you found a cue from your favorite cue maker, and the seller told you that the butt of the cue is warped.

How bad would the warp in the butt need to be for you to completely lose interest in the cue (if you would even be interested in a warped cue in the 1st place, seeing that it is from your favorite, or one of your favorite cue makers)?

Lets say (for example) a used 4 point cue from a well respected cue maker, that would normally sell for around $750 on the used market if it were in good condition and perfectly straight. How much would that same cue be worth of it was slightly warped? I assume your answer would be that it would be worth however much that someone is willing to pay for it.

Anyways, just curious if you see much value in a warped cue from a well respected cue maker, but I guess this would depend on who that cue maker is, and how bad the warp is.

There is a cue that I am interested in buying (that is warped, and not sure how warped yet, but still very interested), but I do not want to say who the cue maker is (out of respect for the cue maker).

Thanks for any thoughts on this subject.
 
Are you buying it to play or flip?

If you're buying a defective cue to play with because of the maker's name, you're crazy.

If you're buying a defective cue to flip, there are easier ways to make money.
 
Pretty simple

Value of warped cue= value of straight cue-cost of repairing the cue

Larry
 
PhilosopherKing said:
Are you buying it to play or flip?

If you're buying a defective cue to play with because of the maker's name, you're crazy.

If you're buying a defective cue to flip, there are easier ways to make money.
Click to expand...


Warped cues suck, even from a philosophical standpoint.
In cuemaking tolerances can vary, but philosophy is philosophy


:smile:
 
PhilosopherKing said:
Are you buying it to play or flip?

If you're buying a defective cue to play with because of the maker's name, you're crazy.

If you're buying a defective cue to flip, there are easier ways to make money.
Click to expand...

Would be buying it to play with, but knowing me, I will eventually need to resell it. Just do not want to lose much money on resale value. Always happy to just break even after playing with a cue for awhile.
 
As far as playability, a warp in the butt is not near as bad as a warp in the shaft given the same amount of warp (and a minor warp in the shaft isn't even a huge deal even though nobody likes the idea).

If the butt when rolled shows a warp of say a couple of credit cards thickness you would probably never even know it playing with it. One credit card thickness you definitely wouldn't. The problem is that is loses a lot of desirability and value so it will be tougher to sell and will sell for much less also. How much less depends on how much warp, where in the butt the warp is (is it near the joint or the middle of the wrap for example--near the middle of the wrap isn't as noticeable and doesn't affect play as much or at least this is a common belief), and a little bit who the cue maker is.

Another thing about where in the butt the warp is that is important is that if it completely in the wrap area, depending on the cue, it can be relatively inexpensive to fix by replacing the handle area as opposed to having to replace say the forearm where there is much more work involved. None of it is worth fixing if it is a cheap cue, but for a more valuable cue it can be worth the cost to fix depending on where the warp is and the value of the cue, and assuming it is fixable of course.

General rule of thumb is that a warp completely in the wrap area is not quite as bad as one outside of the wrap area, one credit card warp will probably affect value a bit but not too bad and won't turn too many people away, two credit cards and lots of people will want to stay away and the value is more diminished (although it will probably play fine and you may or may not even be able to tell playing with it), and three or more credit cards of warp and this is where you may start to have a tough time selling the cue at any price.
 
cuesblues said:
Warped cues suck, even from a philosophical standpoint.
In cuemaking tolerances can vary, but philosophy is philosophy


:smile:
Click to expand...

Can a warped cue butt be repaired? If it is possible, then I wonder how much the repair would cost on average. I guess this depends on where the warp is located, and how bad the warp is. I do not know.
 
Poolplaya9 said:
As far as playability, a warp in the butt is not near as bad as a warp in the shaft given the same amount of warp (and a minor warp in the shaft isn't even a huge deal even though nobody likes the idea).

If the butt when rolled shows a warp of say a couple of credit cards thickness you would probably never even know it playing with it. One credit card thickness you definitely wouldn't. The problem is that is loses a lot of desirability and value so it will be tougher to sell and will sell for much less also. How much less depends on how much warp, where in the butt the warp is (is it near the joint or the middle of the wrap for example--near the middle of the wrap isn't as noticeable and doesn't affect play as much or at least this is a common belief), and a little bit who the cue maker is.

Another thing about where in the butt the warp is that is important is that if it completely in the wrap area, depending on the cue, it can be relatively inexpensive to fix by replacing the handle area as opposed to having to replace say the forearm where there is much more work involved. None of it is worth fixing if it is a cheap cue, but for a more valuable cue it can be worth the cost to fix depending on where the warp is and the value of the cue, and assuming it is fixable of course.

General rule of thumb is that a warp completely in the wrap area is not quite as bad as one outside of the wrap area, one credit card warp will probably affect value a bit but not too bad and won't turn too many people away, two credit cards and lots of people will want to stay away and the value is more diminished (although it will probably play fine and you may or may not even be able to tell playing with it), and three or more credit cards of warp and this is where you may start to have a tough time selling the cue at any price.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. So, I assume that if the warp is 3 or more credit cards in thickness, then I should only expect to be able to resell the cue for however much the straight shaft is worth. If it is a very desirable shaft, and the shaft is perfectly straight by itself, then maybe I could at least get a sale from the shaft alone (but would probably want to market the shaft by itself). Maybe sell the warped butt for parts (if anything could be done with a warped butt).
 
justinb386 said:
Can a warped cue butt be repaired? If it is possible, then I wonder how much the repair would cost on average. I guess this depends on where the warp is located, and how bad the warp is. I do not know.
Click to expand...


Every cue is different but most of the time, the warp is in the handle.
It may look like a lift a the joint, but it is in the handle.
Unless of course when the cuemaker totally loses his centers .:angry: (like my ___________________custom 6pt amboynia burl cue)
I've seen assembly mistakes at the A-joint the can cause a warp, rings, shafts, butt caps all out of round (like the Tiger cue I had)

Costs are all over the board.
I think Ryan would charge around $400-$500 to whack the handle, refinish & re-wrap the cue.
 
Warped cue

Yes a warped cue can be repaid but the OD will be smaller times 2 of the amount it is out of round .
If the warped cue is excessive then re tapering the cue will not work .

Some of the OD can be made bigger by doing a thicker then normal finish .

Cues warp for several different reasons , sometimes the cue makers fault sometimes not.

Some cues cannot be rolled on a table because of the taper the cue maker used ..
 
Last edited:
justinb386 said:
Can a warped cue butt be repaired? If it is possible, then I wonder how much the repair would cost on average. I guess this depends on where the warp is located, and how bad the warp is. I do not know.
Click to expand...

Cue with a wrap is an easy repair. I would recommend Ryan too!

Larry
 
Yes, a warped butt can be fixed. It depends on the part that is warped. Often times, the handle wood under the wrap has moved. The cue can be sent to a competent cue repair guy or the maker.

The process goes something like this:

The cue gets band sawed in half in the middle of the handle wood.

The two pieces of handle wood, one connected to the forearm and one connected to the butt sleeve, get turned down to a dowel.

A new piece of handle wood is turned down and center bored to except the dowels that were made for the forearm and butt sleeve.

All three pieces are assembled to make the cue butt and the handle wood is turned down to the proper wrap size for the new wrap.

So, you have to buy a new wrap, pay for the wood in the handle, and, the labor. Also, a refinish may be in order, so, add that to the cost. 200-400 would be my guess for all of the above work.

If the warp is in the forearm, hang it up.
 
justinb386 said:
Thanks for the info. Very helpful. So, I assume that if the warp is 3 or more credit cards in thickness, then I should only expect to be able to resell the cue for however much the straight shaft is worth. If it is a very desirable shaft, and the shaft is perfectly straight by itself, then maybe I could at least get a sale from the shaft alone (but would probably want to market the shaft by itself). Maybe sell the warped butt for parts (if anything could be done with a warped butt).
Click to expand...

The credit card examples are just rough ball park estimations. Over three doesn't mean it has no value, just that the desirability and value go way way down, and again, that is kind of a ball park, I didn't even stack three cards together to verify it is the thickness I think it is in my mind. As someone pointed out, most butts are worth what they would be worth straight, minus the cost to repair it if repairable. Except that I think more realistically it is minus the cost to repair it, minus a little bit more for the hassle of having to have it repaired, minus a little bit more in some cases if there is any unknown involved like the chance the repair could be more expensive than anticipated, or that it may not even be repairable at all like they thought, or if the diameter might have to be taken down significantly resulting in changing the feel and play of the cue, etc.

For example, if a prospective buyer is guessing the repair will cost 250, they will probably want say 350 off the price. The extra is for the hassle of having to get the cue repaired and having to be without it in the mean time, and also just in case the repair turns out to be more involved and costly than they expected or even the chance that the maker says it can't be repaired at all or if the feel and play of the cue might be changed. Again this is just a ball park and depends on the individual, how sure they are about what repair is needed and how sure they are about how much it will cost, etc. Some might want more or less than the 350 off in my example depending on the circumstances and person.

And some people don't even know that cues are repairable, or don't have a clue what the costs are if they do. Those are more the people that aren't even going to consider a cue once the warp is X amount of bad (and I am estimating somewhere around three credit card thicknesses of warp might be around where this point is). There are just too many other cues around to choose from and they will just move on and not want to take the risk, hence making it difficult to sell it to them at any price.

But unless a warp is massive, the butt will likely have some value to someone even if it is only $30 or $100 or $300 or whatever depending on the warp and cue. But finding that person can be tough sometimes.

I'm not aware of butts having much if any value for parts in most cases.
 
Last edited:
cuesblues said:
Every cue is different but most of the time, the warp is in the handle.
It may look like a lift a the joint, but it is in the handle.
Unless of course when the cuemaker totally loses his centers .:angry: (like my ___________________custom 6pt amboynia burl cue)
I've seen assembly mistakes at the A-joint the can cause a warp, rings, shafts, butt caps all out of round (like the Tiger cue I had)

Costs are all over the board.
I think Ryan would charge around $400-$500 to whack the handle, refinish & re-wrap the cue.
Click to expand...

Oh, wow, so the cue would need to be pretty high end for the repair to be worth it.
 
Justin, if you want to discuss this over the phone, send me a pm
I might be able to help you

Also, if you really want to invest in a warped cue, I have the best deal on a warped 6-pt custom out there.
I will guaranty the playability, and I will also guaranty that it is warped.
In fact, if you get the cue and it's not warped you can have your money back.
 
cuesblues said:
Justin, if you want to discuss this over the phone, send me a pm
I might be able to help you

Also, if you really want to invest in a warped cue, I have the best deal on a warped 6-pt custom out there.
I will guaranty the playability, and I will also guaranty that it is warped.
In fact, if you get the cue and it's not warped you can have your money back.
Click to expand...

I think you should take Ted up on his offer.
 
justinb386 said:
Would be buying it to play with, but knowing me, I will eventually need to resell it. Just do not want to lose much money on resale value. Always happy to just break even after playing with a cue for awhile.
Click to expand...

IMHO - you should just steal a cue and be done with it...

Everybody wants a deal but... jeasus wheezus

Dale(please not one of mine)
 
63Kcode said:
Pretty simple

Value of warped cue= value of straight cue-cost of repairing the cue

Larry
Click to expand...

I agree with your equation with this added
- minus the devaluation of the repair, especially if the work wasn't done by the original maker or his protégé.

A 1/8" forearm lift is about as big as I'd ever buy. I'd look for 30 percent off what it would be if straight. I'd only buy it to shoot with....selling it will be a headache.

I played with a cue for 3 years that had a warp at the top of the buttsleeve. I wasn't into cues much back then. I was having it rewrapped and my cue maker friend said, "did you know you cue us badly warped? ". He turned it on the lathe and it wobbled badly. Then I rolled it on the table and the rear end flopped. Of course then it got into my head and I sold it off cheap. Some guys done care about imperfections, but I'm not that guy. If you are then go ahead and buy what would like.

I would say replacing a cue handle on a wrap cue is a good 400 bucks and there's no gaurantees on it working out. There's the work, refinishing and rewrapping. So unless it's a valuable cue, it's not practical.

Why not tell us what you are looking at buying and what you are looking to spend? Then you can get better giudance. Otherwise adhere to rule number one in a down cue market: Never Overspend cause you won't get it back.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top