What decides the price of the cue stick?

[LucLex3119]

You can buy just as good cue for £200 just as you would if you pay £500 for a cue the difference in price is not the quality of the cue but what name is on the cue.

That's exactly right. It's why people will spend obscene amounts of money and wait over 2 years for a John Parris cue, then when it arrives it has a misplaced badge or the splicing don't line up.

[LucLex3119]

Regarding Peradon I know a chap who twice returned a Royal version of their cue.
States shaft was ok and playable but the splicing was amateur, join lines very apparent and visible... and this happened on the 2nd cue they sent him too!!
The above is from a company who advertise to be one of the original makers of hand splicing haha

I believe they are just focusing more on production levels over quality.

Try before you buy seems they way to go.

I personally wouldn't spend £200 on a mass produced cue that has no love in it. On this forum you will see the initials JP, TW, and MW as the main cue makers in the world. They do demand a higher price of around £400-£700 for a cue depending on design but you can be sure you are getting a great cue. You will also see Andy Travis who sells his cues around the £350 mark. From what I have seen on this forum his cues look amazing. And you can go through designs and spec with him to get exactly what you want.

[mikeyd100]

I think he spent around the £150 mark on it, even for that money it was shoddy - that said its still very possible to get a very decent cue for that money.
Yes its true most of the time, you get what you paid for.

A guy posted some pics of a recent Andy Travis cue purchase and it looked great, very low waiting time too - hope it played well for him.

I'd say that the better the cue maker name and the higher price... should increase the odds of getting what you desire.
(As in many things in life )

[barrywhite]

If you go to Craftsmen Cues or GBL you will try hundreds of cues and get as close to the right cue as you can and probably closer than if you order a custom, because most punters who order a custom are using guesswork and advice from others, such as forum members here. What works for someone is what works. You can have two identical cues made and they will play very differently purely because each piece of wood is unique. Don't take a chance on the variability of unique, go and try loads of cues out and find a special one that's right for you. You can do this for £200. You've got a inevermissblue here, a very good player using the right cue for him that didn't cost the earth. TP is wonderful value it must be said, like Travis is as well.

[Erwan_BZH]

I'm waiting for a TP III tomorrow, can't wait to test it! We'll see if it is value for money.

[mikeyd100]

Which series of cue did you go for?

[Erwan_BZH]

It's a Series 1 but according to Stu at GreenBaize, it is playing much better than its range. Ranked it on par or slightly over a Maximus Ultimate he had under his hand.

[mikeyd100]

It's a Series 1 but according to Stu at GreenBaize, it is playing much better than its range. Ranked it on par or slightly over a Maximus Ultimate he had under his hand.

That seems like a great deal then - good luck with it mate

[barrywhite]

I'm waiting for a TP III tomorrow, can't wait to test it! We'll see if it is value for money.

Photos please! Looking to your fwd your review!

[Erwan_BZH]

Will do, don't worry Full review expected


To stay on the topic of the price to expect for a cue, I had the opportunity to retip an Acuerate cue yesterday night, of a fellow club member. I have to say: what a pile of sh*t that is.......It's an Acuerate Pro model, 1 piece, ash, must be 2-3 yr old maybe. But the overall quality is dreadul. You can feel the splices on the butt but rolling it in your hands, the splices are not even perfectly aligned, some of them are higher than others, the shaft was OK but the bottom was not great quality, the badge is well centered but the wrting is slightly off (not horizontal)....However, the cherry on the cake was the ferrule!! When I knocked down the old tip, I discovered the ferrule was really small with extra thin wall. Could believe how this thing hadn't broken yet. Should have taken a pic but forgot on the moment. Worst was the person who changed that tip before me the last time made a notch with the knife, trying to remove the remains of leather. So the ferrule was damaged and I had to work hard to bring this stuff almost level. Anyway, I managed to put a tip back on but man, how can you put that kind of poor quality as a ferrule...ridiculous.
Then, out of curiosity, I went on the Acuerate website to check what was the price of this model, only to discover it was sold at a staggering 585€ (£430) !!! I personnaly would have given 200 bucks for that...

[golferson123]

What decides the price of the cue stick?

its all part of their low deflection claim

[Erwan_BZH]

PS: just received the Ton Praram cue.....Can't wait to have a knock with it tomorrow at the club! Cue is really gorgeous, I am very impressed with the overall finish. Really close to my current Jason Owen. All the splices are spot on, shaft is beautiful....excellent craftsmanship. Will do a full review with pics before the end of the week

[Erwan_BZH]

its all part of their low deflection claim

You're right, however I'm still waiting them to explain me how can they have the same low deflection with cues made of different woods, with different sizes, different tip sizes, etc. Load of BS to me...And I have tried many Acuerates before as it is quite popular here in France. Never been convinced....

[golferson123]

What decides the price of the cue stick?

its only ferrule related,thin wall vs thick wall, and any claims are as like for like

[Erwan_BZH]

Hmm yeah but you also have an extra flex on the last 20cm of the shaft that don't find elswhere, or rarely.
I've seen once Yannick Poulain (former French #1) put his acuerate upside down, stuck it on the rail of the table and shake the head of the shaft like a pole dancer.....everbody was expecting the shaft to explode in bits every seconds but no.