Of course, I agree with Eric’s comments.
Another part of the equation I never could understand was that every new cuemaker who was trying to establish their name would put extraordinary amounts of work into building cues for a small group of collectors who would stash them away with their other 100-150 cues and that might be included in a group photo every 10 years or so. I could never understand how having their cues kept hiding in those collections helped them become established as cuemakers.
There are a few people who always had access to the more elite group of cuemakers and the rest of us who just wanted a player had to pay mark-ups to the flippers, which I refuse to do. I don’t mind a small amount of profit and I understand the laws of supply and demand. But many flippers expect to be paid as much as the cuemaker. I would have been happy to pay the cuemaker the marked-up price to have a cue made to my specs, but I could never get on those lists.
When I was relatively new to hanging around real pool halls, the best players always had the best cues. In CA, that was Szamboti, Gina, Tad, Joss West, et al. Those were the days that left a lasting impression on me. Today, I almost never see anybody playing with cues from those cuemakers or other more recently established names. From my perspective, those legendary cuemakers started by making the best playing cues. Those cues were legendary because they were players and the workmanship added to the mystique. There does not seem to be as much interest by cuemakers for getting their cues into the hands of players who would do their advertising in the field.
For a long time, the situation was hard to understand and frustrating. It still is, but I don’t want those cues any longer. At 65 years of age, I was finally able to have a cuemaker include me as a future customer. Playing pool is my favorite pastime. I would have bought more cues if I had access during the years I could afford them.
