Cue prices

[unclevit]

I went to a restaurant, I ordered some steak and some wine.
When the bill came, it was over $100!
What a ripped off!
So, I asked them how much was their steak and their wine. They would not answer me.
I told them a steak costs less than $10, and the vegetable cost next to nothing and so was the sauce.
They make hundreds of these same dish everyday. There is no uniquness in the item!
By then they were calling the police!
I went on to complain about the wine--the wine was even more ridiculous! It is a $30 bottle in the store, and they are charging me $90!
The bill should have been about $40!
Although they think I was crazy, I am sure Sanman would have agreed with me. Too bad he was not there.
So, I challenged the police that I could make the same dish for $10, and get the wine for $30 and I demand an apology!
They were so unreasonable they locked me up for 24 hours and asked me to go check for mental illness.
What a ripped off!

I like the way you tell the story And I am lucky to live in Thailand, where there are plenty of good cuemakers selling their great cues at a lower price platform. I will buy from its 'playability' quality, with extra $$ spending on the beauty of the woods & butt work. Cost of living in Thailand is very low comparing to other countries, and that might be the reason why their cues cost much less. One can have a nice custom cue, with nice mini butt, for less than $200, using all local exotic beautiful rare woods

[totlxtc]

....using all local exotic beautiful rare woods

Out of interest, im intrigued to know what these woods are please.

Dan

[Sleepysheep]

Nice post as usual Noel!

However I get the feeling sanman has decided some cues are a rip off, and nothing is going to change his mind...

Even if by his very criteria, he is probably getting ripped off several times a day.

Well that's his loss, and everyone elses gain XD

[sanman]

Well that's his loss, and everyone elses gain XD

everyone loses sometimes Sleepysheep. Heck of a name. Original at least.

Just that I don't lose too often and I don't see how my loss influences anyone here such that they gain. By the way most of the guys here who disagree with me in some of my sentiments have at one time or another purchased an expensive cue. Now I am sure they have to justify such a purchase. Hence they will not agree with me. Now, I must ask how often do you find these expensive cues on ebay with guys selling cues that are almost brand new or just a few months old. Surely with the price tags commanded by these cues one would expect superior playability. So many of these cues being sold on ebay. And some of the excuses for selling them are just plain corny.

Now some guys may think I am cheap. that is not so. I did approach trevor white to make a cue to my specs, simple 3/4 single splice, and he quoted me 260 pounds which was fine but he did specify a waiting period of 6 months with no guarantee that it would be completed in the specified time and this was not fine.

[ADR147]

everyone loses sometimes Sleepysheep. Heck of a name. Original at least.

Just that I don't lose too often and I don't see how my loss influences anyone here such that they gain. By the way most of the guys here who disagree with me in some of my sentiments have at one time or another purchased an expensive cue. Now I am sure they have to justify such a purchase. Hence they will not agree with me. Now, I must ask how often do you find these expensive cues on ebay with guys selling cues that are almost brand new or just a few months old. Surely with the price tags commanded by these cues one would expect superior playability. So many of these cues being sold on ebay. And some of the excuses for selling them are just plain corny.

Now some guys may think I am cheap. that is not so. I did approach trevor white to make a cue to my specs, simple 3/4 single splice, and he quoted me 260 pounds which was fine but he did specify a waiting period of 6 months with no guarantee that it would be completed in the specified time and this was not fine.

you should have bitten his hand off. at that money i could sell 10 a day without trying.

[hegeland]

ok let me sum this whole thing up for you all.

Everything is worth what somebody is prepared to pay. simple as that. be it art (i deal in that also!) or cues or whatever.

Well the original question was are some cues overpriced, not really the same thing as you are responding to I think. We both know the market price and the 'common sense' price of an item can (and often does) differ enormously.

Yes I do think an average picasso for 10 million dollars is ridiculously too high, just as I know there is no rhyme or reason in paying 700 dollars for a fancy wood stick.

[Krypton]

I work as an accountant for pension funds (so, our customers are companies, not individuals). I'm only the consultant, not the expert yet. but that's just so you know where I'm coming from...

office work is charged from CHF 100 to 300 in here, and we still are below advocates... which means it can easily be £100 for one hour's work. this is not only because I think my work is worth £100 for every hour i might pick my nose, but also includes room hiring, lighting, electricity, equipement/computer/paper, time spent, time spent by someone else to correct/look through all that we write... and that's a reasonable price. in fact we are NOT expensive.

if I only give half of that to a cuemaker (which I don't think would be fair, don't you?), it's $50 for every hour he spends on my cue. I have no clue how long it takes to build a good cue, but i can imagine a bit, or try to:

roughly shape it, let it settle (to avoid warping - something the cheap guys, with no waiting time in delivery, cannot do)

shape again

settle

re shape a bit

settle...

repeat for each and every splicing...


i think to reach the £200 mark (so, 4 hours work) is NOT possible
then add material costs, room renting for your wood stock (which can be aged for 20 years before being used - or you buy wood someone else aged and lets you pay for).

add splice wood prices. add extra time for splice work.


and, above all: add SKILL a good cuemaker has. I don't think these beautiful pieces of craftmanship are overpriced. Not a penny.

If you don't feel that's worth the price for you, I'm fine if you go for a cheaper cue. but then, don't come here to ask people who DO appreciate this skill and work and ask them whether they think they are robbed or not.

I like and have quite a few single malt whiskies at home. I'd not pay £400 for a bottle, because I don't collect them, and don't need one. I want to drink the ones I got, but would go to £80-100 sometimes for a very special one.

Still I do believe whisky for £600 even is worth every penny a collector spends on it, as he can sell it for the same, and for him, it's a very exclusive good.

Same goes for my cue. I've 'only' got a plain black ebony butted one, no extra splicework, and I got it second hand, but if I hold it (my dear Mike Wooldridge) next to one of the 'cheaper' ones, I can see every penny and every bit of skill Mike spent on it. I can see it. It's bloody obvious.

If you can't thats not a fault of yours, and I won't blame you for that. It does not even mean the cheap cue plays worse. it's just that i WANT my cue to be built as close to perfection as it could be. and i'll pay for that.

splices of perfectly equal length. darkest ebony. perfect finish. and not finished and spliced in a way the spliced look fringed when looking at them closely.

everyone's got to decide for oneself

[poolqjunkie]

Well the original question was are some cues overpriced, not really the same thing as you are responding to I think. We both know the market price and the 'common sense' price of an item can (and often does) differ enormously.

Actually, the first post was not just about some cues are overpriced as you stated, he was asking why some cues are in the 700 pounds range. He was asking people here to help him in understanding why. He went on to say he could not tell the difference(s) between an expensive cue and one which costs a fraction of the price. That was the original post/question, which was the first post in the thread. It sounds to me more of an effort in trying to learn and understand why some cues are priced the way they do, rather than complaining that they are overpriced. ADR was responding to his question explaining to him that there is a market for such cues and the demand dictates the price. Quoted below is his oroginal post:

I know this is going to be a rather contentious issue. But here goes. I will refrain from specifying makers names etc but what is the common opinion about prices of cues. i have seen prices of cues up to 700-800 quid. That being said I do know that the woods used in the manufacture of those cues are of very good grades. I have done a little research and have found that the cost of the materials may be 50 quids at most. I stand to be corrected and I may not have an apprciation for the amount of hours into making of a custom spec but I still think that the prices paid for some are rediculous. Maybe this thread would help me understand why people would part with that kind of cash when in most cases I cannot see the difference in cues that cost a fraction of those prices.

And my response is that if you try to build a cue yourself, perhaps you will understand. It is because there are many "hidden" costs involved, and the time that is required makes the labor cost of the work very high. Besides, some are better than others, and that skill and craftsmanship is also not free. I think if he would try to build a cue, and factor in the time he needs to spend, the wastage he needs to throw away, the rent he needs to pay, the equipment he needs to buy and fix and sometimes throw away, and all the other related expenses, he will understand. It does not even have to be a cue that plays great.

There are many trades in which the special skill of the "maker" is where most of the money is, not the cost of material. A chef or a painter or a cue maker is such kind of people.

Yes I do think an average picasso for 10 million dollars is ridiculously too high, just as I know there is no rhyme or reason in paying 700 dollars for a fancy wood stick.

There are many reasons I can think of to spend way more than 700 dollars on a cue. One being investment--I have made a few dollars buying and selling such "sticks" in the past.

You may think ti is ridiculous to spend that kind of money on collectible items, but many collectors who really know what they are doing would differ. A lot of collectibles were purchased as investment.

[Mr O]

A cue is not a painting or a fashion accessory, it's a functioning piece of sports equipment, you want quality. Quality of materials and the skill and time in putting them together exactly how you want them. For a £4-500 plus piece of wood this is what you'd expect, but you don't always get it..

[ram p]

this thread should die a natural death!