Who is really responsible for the quality of Asian Import Cues(cont)

Again, I think part time cue makers can get into business easier and cheaper than was possible as little as 5 years ago. It is also easier to sell their cues with tools such as this forum and ebay. Most stay localized or regionalized without anyone "outside" knowing who they are. I guess it depends on your definition of success.

I do not think you can equate the rise in imports to the rise of cue makers or repair shops. That's like saying cities with more churches have more crime. Although it is true, one has little to do with the other. I believe it is more exposure to machines and info that has lead to the increase. I also believe that, as imported cues have increased in quality, it has had an adverse affect on American cue making, custom and production.
 
ratcues said:
Again, I think part time cue makers can get into business easier and cheaper than was possible as little as 5 years ago. It is also easier to sell their cues with tools such as this forum and ebay. Most stay localized or regionalized without anyone "outside" knowing who they are. I guess it depends on your definition of success.

I do not think you can equate the rise in imports to the rise of cue makers or repair shops. That's like saying cities with more churches have more crime. Although it is true, one has little to do with the other. I believe it is more exposure to machines and info that has lead to the increase. I also believe that, as imported cues have increased in quality, it has had an adverse affect on American cue making, custom and production.
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I agree that you can't tie the rise in imports to the rise in custom makers. But conversely you can't tie the rise in imports with the decline of custom makers either because there are more custom makers than ever before making cues.

This number of people making cues has to be factored into the overall competitive landscape. It's not only about how imports compete with domestic makers, both mass producers and custom makers but also how custom makers compete with each other and how they compete with domestic mass producers.

If we do both agree on the premise that imports dominate the $50-$200 market and that there are very few cuemakers, even hobby cuemakers, able to sell profitably in that price range, then that leaves the $200 plus sector of the market. I would say, based on the Fury cue sales vs. Viking Cue Sales - since we sell both, that domestic brands dominate this area of the market. If that is true then the real competition is among the hundreds of domestic small cue makers and the handful of mid sized makers and mass producers.

I also believe that, as imported cues have increased in quality, it has had an adverse affect on American cue making, custom and production.
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What sort of adverse effect? Other than lower sales for some I don't see what other things about American cue making have been adversely affected. Again, if you take imports out of the equation then you have a McDermott cues vs. 200 local cue makers. I tend to think that the market has grown larger, i.e. more people are now playing pool and while domestic makers have less market share than they did before import cues got good, they still have a share of what is now a larger market overall. I am extrapolating the larger market theory based on the overall growth of the pool leagues in the USA in the last 10 years.
 
John Barton said:
I agree that you can't tie the rise in imports to the rise in custom makers. But conversely you can't tie the rise in imports with the decline of custom makers either because there are more custom makers than ever before making cues.
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The market is flooded by imports, not the guy next door in his garage making a few dozen cues a year. I would also pose the argument that domestic production cue sales have been down drastically since imports have increased their quality. Let's just say, for arguments sake, their are 5000 custom cue makers.....full time and hobbyist combined. They can each make 100 cues a year, on average. That's 500,000 cues. How many Fury cues are made each year? I know how many come out of Hamson each year and its way more than that.
 
ratcues said:
The market is flooded by imports, not the guy next door in his garage making a few dozen cues a year. I would also pose the argument that domestic production cue sales have been down drastically since imports have increased their quality. Let's just say, for arguments sake, their are 5000 custom cue makers.....full time and hobbyist combined. They can each make 100 cues a year, on average. That's 500,000 cues. How many Fury cues are made each year? I know how many come out of Hamson each year and its way more than that.
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That's a good point. I concede.
 
China Crap "The Big Con"

Hi,
The cue I worked on was a China knock off that was passed off as a Schon Cue. It had rings that look like a Schon and the styling looked like a Schon. The ferrule was not concentric or blended into the shaft which is a dead give away of and overseas product. When I put it in the lathe it was jumping and bumping. I thought had Schon had gone the way of some other production US cue companies but apparently I spoke to soon without knowing what the hell I was talking about.

Schon has always been a great Brand and has always made a great cue. I am sorry for my post and I apologize to them for my jumping to conclusions. Maybe my observation will serve to make them aware of these cues that some people are saying and selling as their product.

Rick
 
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Any Proof

scdiveteam said:
Hi,

I was just in Vegas in the APA Nationals and noticed the amount of junk being sold from China with long standing American Brands on them. The problem is that the average pool player thinks he is buying a cue that is the original "Made in America" and he is paying a price that is a rip off con game. At least at Walmart you pay a low price and you know what you are buying.

I own a large pool room and this 28 year old APA League member came up to me yesterday and showed me the new Schon he bought in Vegas. He was so proud of the fact that he got a deal for $ 450.00 on a cue he said was worth over $600.00 with one shaft.

He wanted me to shape his tip which is something that I do for free for any players. Not only was the tip a piece of hard junk, the shaft was a piece of crap and the forearm was the cheapest piece of garbage that had been stained so it looked like a better piece of wood to a untrained eye.

I would say there was about $ 3.00 worth of wood in the whole cue. No American Cue Maker would ever remotely even consider wasting their time with this stuff that you know was not seasoned. I did not have the heart to tell this kid that he just bought a China cue made of green wood that would never be worth more than .20 on the dollar in the used market if he could find another sucker like himself to buy it.



Rick Geschrey
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Are you trying to tell us that there are Schones
made in China from green wood.??
:confused:
 
A Schon made in China out of crap wood? Are you sure it is not a fake that someone engraved the Schon logo on?
 
Lets be reallistic.In a few more years it will all be made right here in th USA WHY because we just keep letting them move here so eventually there will be no more 9 year olds to work the sweatshops
 
Ok but what about a guy like me. I buy American customs but also buy and enjoy Lucasi's. When I bought my 1st Lucasi it was way before the economic crisis and didn't know at the time it was Chinese. I just buy what I like when i see it. I fully believe in supporting our country and it's craftsmen and I do. But this doesn't mean I can't buy something from another country also. Just my 2 cents.
 
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