Your thoughts on outrageous cue prices

Ascue said:
I just bought a barnhart sneaky with John Davis splice for 1250 shipped. Thought it to be a good deal. I would never buy a schon for 1500 to 2000. I would rather have my andy gilbert at 1100. Mezz, joss, schon all raising prices even more this year. Inflation is past us so now it's gouging.
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I'm confused. If you are talking pure functionality, you "overpaid" for a pool cue, which seemed to be your initial point of contention.
🤷
 
j2pac said:
As younger folks with less disposable income become the norm, they will likely trend towards the players type cues, carbon fiber, etc. Anyone's guess, and I could be wrong.
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I think this is an important factor too. And not so much even the disposable income thing but just the massive shift towards carbon fiber at the top levels of the game.

There used to be this perception that a high end custom cue played better and that if you didn't have one you were at a disadvantage. True or not, that was the perception in a lot of cases. And it's not that production cues weren't good, some were great, but on the average I think custom cues probably did get you a better cue in many cases 30 years ago.

Now though, most seriously competitive players are using a carbon fiber shaft and the few who aren't, most are using some form of low deflection shaft still. Along with that people want easy screw on rear extensions which many custom cues don't offer. And once you throw a carbon shaft on a fancy custom cue, are you really getting any benefit from that $$$ cue butt? Probably not, other than aesthetics.

So now, instead of the custom cue market being about players cues mostly with some high end ones being built for collectability, the majority of custom cues are going to be sold for collectability with most players using a carbon shaft on a production cue or maybe throwing one on one of their custom cues they already own.

I'm experiencing the shift myself. I have two nice traditional "custom" wood shafted cues and I love them and part of me really wants to play with them. But I play better with my carbon shafted setup and I love not having to worry or care to much about them when at a tournament. If the Predator butt I have $500 into gets a ding I'm not going to be overly upset. If they get stolen that would suck but a quick order from Seyberts and I can be back in action with a familiar playing setup in 48 hours probably.
 
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slide13 said:
I think this is an important factor too. And not so much even the disposable income thing but just the massive shift towards carbon fiber at the top levels of the game.

There used to be this perception that a high end custom cue played better and that if you didn't have one you were at a disadvantage. True or not, that was the perception in a lot of cases. And it's not that production cues weren't good, some were great, but on the average I think custom cues probably did get you a better cue in many cases 30 years ago.

Now though, most seriously competitive players are using a carbon fiber shaft and the few who aren't, most are using some form of low deflection shaft still. Along with that people want easy screw on rear extensions which many custom cues don't offer. And once you throw a carbon shaft on a fancy custom cue, are you really getting any benefit from that $$$ cue butt? Probably not, other than aesthetics.

So now, instead of the custom cue market being about players cues mostly with some high end ones being built for collectability, the majority of custom cues are going to be sold for collectability with most players using a carbon shaft on a production cue or maybe.

I'm experiencing the shift myself. I have two nice traditional "custom" wood shafted cues and I love them and part of me really wants to play with them. But I play better with my carbon shafted setup and I love not having to worry or care to much about them when at a tournament. If the Predator butt I have $500 into gets a ding I'm not going to be overly upset. If they get stolen that would suck but a quick order from Seyberts and I can be back in action with a familiar playing setup in 48 hours probably.
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I'm going the same route. I loved my customs, and the folks that made them. I truly hope there is always a place for them at the table. That being said, as technology improves, the production route seems to be more in-line with the "trends."
The advantages of CF/low deflection/hybrid shafts are many...durability, repeatability, longevity, etc.
The Cue-Makers who I know and trust, do build incredibly nice cues, and I would have no problem playing with any of their products. It's all a big puzzle, and everyone is a piece.
😎
 
Kim Bye said:
All aspects of costs that relates to cue making have gone up considerably. Wood prices has doubled or tripled in less than 6 years. Machinery prices has gone through the roof and obviously the general cost of living has gone up.
Your example with Tascarella and Scruggs is quite misleading, some makers command premium prices, but you can easily find a cue from a less known cue maker for a much more affordable price
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Not to mention some wood species are no longer available period! What type of price do you put on BRW, Brazilian Tulip..etc, etc. And yes, for someone to purchase a lathe like I use today they're going to pay a minimum of 3 times the price for the lathe and tooling invested that I had out of pocket. IMO...there's nothing wrong for a guy just getting started (if the work is of a high quality) to be able to recoup and make a profit on their product.
Go anywhere these days to have your car, truck, RV, boat or whatever worked on and you're looking at 150 to maybe as high as 275 per HOUR shop time PLUS parts and shop supplies. o_O Yet everyone wants a qualified cue mechanic to only make 5-10 dollars an hour. :unsure:
 
As they say something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I would love a Tasc etc. but there is no way I can justify the cash nor can my game justify it. I believe that the assumptions around younger players not getting into the collecting game and the prices dropping a bit for the collector cues is true and that is a bummer.

I can confirm the cost of raw materials going up, tooling costs etc. I make stuff and I have to charge more now for materials and my time.

With all that said, if someone could convince my wife that I need to buy this Gina I am in love with, that would be great!
 
BarenbruggeCues said:
Listen, I hear ya talking and that sir is your right to cue collecting. There are many out there tho that feel 5K to 25K for a cue is not a problem and will pay that OR more for the right one.
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It's times like this, when I am reminded of the immortal words of Sir Dave Barrenbrugge.<---A great man, Cue-Maker, and Philosopher.

"There are three types of people in this world. Those that get it, and those that don't."
😁
 
TheGrandWazoo said:
As they say something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I would love a Tasc etc. but there is no way I can justify the cash nor can my game justify it. I believe that the assumptions around younger players not getting into the collecting game and the prices dropping a bit for the collector cues is true and that is a bummer.

I can confirm the cost of raw materials going up, tooling costs etc. I make stuff and I have to charge more now for materials and my time.

With all that said, if someone could convince my wife that I need to buy this Gina I am in love with, that would be great!
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Convincing your Wife would likely exceed the cost of the cue.
😉😁
 
slide13 said:
It seems to me that some of the higher end/higher demand cue makers have gotten more expensive, but a Tasc has always been an expensive cue and the change in price there doesn't seem out of line with general inflation.

I have seen some prices that seem a little...out of line. Newer cue makers charging prices equal to or higher than some pretty established builders for really simple cues. This seems like aspirational pricing to me and you don't see a lot of those cues moving.

But there are still good values out there I feel. Good basic production cues are better than ever for a few hundred bucks. If you want a top performing modern cue about $600 gets you a Cuetec Cynergy and you can get a Revo equipped predator for under $800. That's not bad.

On the custom cue front there are still some decent deals floating around. A Josey merry widow can be had for about $800. You can get a 4 point/4 veneer Gilbert for about $1500....that seems like a really good price for the quality of a Gilbert cue.

Yeah, it's more than it was 10 years ago when I paid $1100 for my 4 point/4 veneer Runde....but $400 more for an equivalent Gilbert after 10 years.....doesn't seem that bad to me and is almost perfectly aligned with CPI inflation across that time period.
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You are right! If Pool is your thing there's a cost of participation at every level depending on your enjoyment. I have some very cheap golf clubs because I dont care about the game, play when my boys call me to hang out, but I have a few cues over $3k and all kinda pool gear that cost way more than my clubs becuse Pool is my thing.

I wouldn't buy a Action cue for $10, but I also wouldn't buy a Southwest for $8K.
 
j2pac said:
I'm going the same route. I loved my customs, and the folks that made them. I truly hope there is always a place for them at the table. That being said, as technology improves, the production route seems to be more in-line with the "trends."
The advantages of CF/low deflection/hybrid shafts are many...durability, repeatability, longevity, etc.
The Cue-Makers who I know and trust, do build incredibly nice cues, and I would have no problem playing with any of their products. It's all a big puzzle, and everyone is a piece.
😎
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My plain Jane cocabola andy gibert cured me of graphite it's. His standard shaft hits as well as any of my 3 graphite. In fact, it hits better . Feels better. I play better with it.
 
TheGrandWazoo said:
As they say something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I would love a Tasc etc. but there is no way I can justify the cash nor can my game justify it. I believe that the assumptions around younger players not getting into the collecting game and the prices dropping a bit for the collector cues is true and that is a bummer.

I can confirm the cost of raw materials going up, tooling costs etc. I make stuff and I have to charge more now for materials and my time.

With all that said, if someone could convince my wife that I need to buy this Gina I am in love with, that would be great!
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Just buy her a really nice high grade hoover and..........then you're off to Ernie's shop! OOPS was that my inner voice going out loud again.
Bad Bad Bad Bad......😶‍🌫️
 
Ascue said:
My plain Jane cocabola andy gibert cured me of graphite it's. His standard shaft hits as well as any of my 3 graphite. In fact, it hits better . Feels better. I play better with it.
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Ok. It's settled then. 😁
 
The real question is what can you easily sell those cues for? That's what they are worth. If you think prices are too high, vote with your feet.
How they play and what they cost have basically no relationship.
 
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