Anyone know the current market on Soutwest pool cues?

[911dean]

I don't know what the current wait time is for them to build one, but I would venture to guess 10 years. Anyways I put a order in about 10 years ago and know it's coming up. I don't play pool as often as I used to and don't know if should have it built and resell it, keep it or let them pass me up. I have in the past foolishly sold some cues I wish I still had. Just looking for some advice.
Thanks.
Dean

[kaisen]

Ask Paul (pwd72s)

[craigster59]

Can you sell your place in line? I know luthiers sometimes allow it.

[pwd72s]

Place an ad or follow the market here:

AzBilliards Forums - Powered by vBulletin

Southwest cues have a following...tho there seems to be a lot of them for sale lately.
Usually $2,500 and up depending. Here's one..

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=289947

Oh, unless you've been to the site a lot, you may have trouble getting offers unless you use an escrow service.

I'd definitely have it built...in case you're wondering, I'm not interested. I've found my playing cue..a Keith Josey. Not interesed much in anything collectable these days.

[Nostril Cheese]

What makes a pool cue worth $2500? honest question.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

What makes a pool cue worth $2500? honest question.

+1 AND a ten year wait? With my ADHDLMNOP I'd have moved on to 5 different things in those ten years.

[Laneco]

Ten years to make a pool cue?

Good Lord, I could make a whole baseball team in ten years.

angela

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Laneco

Ten years to make a pool cue?

Good Lord, I could make a whole baseball team in ten years.

angela

Care to be GM for my Pirates? they haven't had one in 20 years

[911dean]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

What makes a pool cue worth $2500? honest question.

They are very difficult to construct and are considered an art form. The woods used to make them can be very exotic, very hard and difficult to work with. Ivory and other exotic material is commonly used in inlays, butt caps and ferules. So basically material, labor and the equipment used to make them.

It then comes down to what someones willing to pay for them. Certain cue makers are more sought after than others.

[911dean]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

+1 AND a ten year wait? With my ADHDLMNOP I'd have moved on to 5 different things in those ten years.

I've got the same problem, but usally I move from one thing back to the other then back. As far as pool cues I'm done after I decide what to do with this one. Now that I own a 911 I think I'll keep forever.

Originally Posted by Laneco

Ten years to make a pool cue?

Good Lord, I could make a whole baseball team in ten years.

angela

They can only make so many a year and are just back ordered that long. Great work if you can get it.

Dean

[911dean]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Place an ad or follow the market here:

AzBilliards Forums - Powered by vBulletin

Southwest cues have a following...tho there seems to be a lot of them for sale lately.
Usually $2,500 and up depending. Here's one..

South West - AzBilliards Forums

Oh, unless you've been to the site a lot, you may have trouble getting offers unless you use an escrow service.

I'd definitely have it built...in case you're wondering, I'm not interested. I've found my playing cue..a Keith Josey. Not interesed much in anything collectable these days.

Paul

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning towards selling it, but I think they are getting close to that number to have built. That's going to be the deciding factor. Can I sell it for more than I paid and how much? I'll have to wait and see.

Dean

[pwd72s]

Dean, If I had one that close to completion, I'd definitely buy the cue. Yes, you should be able to sell it for a profit, but since there are quite a few for sale, the profit doesn't seem as high as it once was.

Just a wild ass guess here, but I'd say a $500-$1000 markup depending on the design. However, many of the regular sellers on AZB are complaining of a "soft" market.

I thought about making an offer, buy your Southwest cue as a gift for my honorary nephew Matt. Sort of a congrats for his recent overall victory in the Masters division of the Western BCA regional 9 ball championships held earlier this month. He tore through the field undefeated in this double elimination tournament. But knowng Matt, he'd probably just sell it & keep on playing with his current cue...a sneaky pete custom with a stacked leather wrap. Low key image is his schtick, tho he has trouble getting money matches here in the NW.

Geeze guys, $2,500 isn't a lot for a custom cue made by a top USA maker these days. Frankly, after having played with a Southwest, I don't consider them to be a top maker. They seem to have lost some of their magic after Jerry Franklin died, his wife running the show now. But then, I bought my cue as a player, not as a collectable.

Let's see...my pool outfit. Jack Justis case was $850. Josey playing cue a hair over $1,000. Jacoby backup cue with a low deflection extra shaft, around $600.
Peachauer Break cue around $300. Toss in another hundred, maybe 150, for accessories. My oufit may be a bit upscale, but not really a lot of money spent compared to others I've seen.

Pool is a funny world...you have many players who have far more money in their cues & cases than they do in their cars. They'd consider paying $100,000 for a car insane while $10,000 for a cue is no problem.

But then, the subjective feel thing. I really do like my Josey..it bears a few battle scars after 5 years, but damn...it's got the hit I was looking for.

Also, there are those who merely collect, would never consider risking a ding by actually playing with one.

So, as weird as it sounds, I guess there are similarities between cues and cars.

[Buckterrier]

Interesting world of pool. Before this thread I never would have guested. But as most hobbies are there is a gamut of taste, prices, and variety. Yeah I can imagine now a stick going for big coin.
A friend of mine just had a new 7 foot Brunswick table put in. Around 4 grand.

[pwd72s]

Mark...then there is the game itself. Fascinating and maddening with so many levels of play to try to reach. I've been working at it for quite some time, still consider myself just a recreational banger with rather rudimentary control over cue ball placement. But then I didn't begin to get serious about the game until I was in my late 50's...too late in life to become really good, able to hang with masters. Matt is in his mid 30's now...he's been playing seriously, really working on his game, for over 20 years.

You can buy a fast car and be fast at the track. The old "how fast do you want to spend?" Has a lot of truth in it. In pool, it's the indian, not the arrow. Tho most of the top level indians have some awfully straight arrows.

[911dean]

Paul
I think Laurie will be calling me in December. I'm definetly going to have her build it. Problem is that I really don't play anymore, but could easily start again. So do I keep it or sell it? Keepeing it will put a damper on my Porsche upgrades. Selling it will help my upgrades. So I don't know.

I unfortunatly sold a Jerry Franklin with ebony nose piece and post Jerry that I played with. I blamed the cue for my stroke at the time like an idiot. I also sold an early JossWest which I actually got Billy Stroud to refinish and build 2 new shafts for. I sold it and wish I still had it.So I think, once I get the new one in my hands, I'll have trouble selling it. I won't have the oppurtunity to get one built again.

Currently I have a cue built by a local guy and a Jim Buss sneaky pete. I really wish I didn't sell the post Jerry. My game was really strong at the time and getting stronger. I then had an injury to my butt hand and never really came back. I did fully heal though. I just fell out of the game. Oh well.

Needless to say, I'd have I nice collection, had I not sold any of my cues.

Dean

[pwd72s]

Dean, don't feel badly..a ton of players buy & sell endlessly, looking for that "magic arrow", spending thousand$ in the search. Hell, I'm lucky I got my hands on my Josey or I might be doing the same.

It's all a learning process, right?

I'd suggest playing with the Southwest when it arrives...then decide. But that's me...who finally learned that if you get your hands on a cue that has a really sweet hit for you, hang on to it! After all, you let some really sweet cues pass through your fingers...maybe a lesson there?

Here's hoping Laurie builds a really nice one for you.

I'd strongly suggest you not limit your market by having any Ivory. Crossing international borders with anything containing ivory these days can mean customs will nab the item...

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Mark...then there is the game itself. Fascinating and maddening with so many levels of play to try to reach. I've been working at it for quite some time, still consider myself just a recreational banger with rather rudimentary control over cue ball placement. But then I didn't begin to get serious about the game until I was in my late 50's...too late in life to become really good, able to hang with masters. Matt is in his mid 30's now...he's been playing seriously, really working on his game, for over 20 years.

You can buy a fast car and be fast at the track. The old "how fast do you want to spend?" Has a lot of truth in it. In pool, it's the indian, not the arrow. Tho most of the top level indians have some awfully straight arrows.

Yeah no doubt. I enjoy playing, haven't in a long, long time but I do enjoy the game. You really have to marvel at the, as you put it ball control of the elite players. Didn't pool used to be on Wide World of Sports at one point? I thought i remember seeing Minnesota Fats on tv back in the day.
You guys need to post some pics of your gear. You did on some thread before didn't you Paul?

[pwd72s]

Let's see what I can find on file...my little point & shoot isn't much good for close-up work. But I did manage to take one of a section of the points and the veneers.
My Josey is a birds eye maple forearm, four ebony points, all even and needle sharp at the ends. This means no CNC lathe work, all done the old fashioned way. I managed to get this closeup so Jim Baxter could see the colors while making my joint protectors. Cue came with two shafts.






Radial flat faced joint for good wood to wood feel.


The case I don't have a pic of, but it's a 3X6 (3 butts, 6 shafts capacity) Jack Justis
Black body, brown pockets, each pocket decorated with a "diamond" of python skin. You can see several of his cases in his website's "gallery of champions".
Welcome ~ Justis Cases ~ The Choice of Champions

[Buckterrier]

Nice Paul. And the cases... dang, works of art as is your stick.

[pwd72s]

Oh...yes, "Minnesota fats", aka Rudolph Wanderone, had some TV matches with the late great Willie Mosconi. Wanderone, a non tournament winning level hustler, adopted the name after the movie came out, gained his notoriety that way. More bluster & hustle than skill, he knew how to market himself.

Mosconi easily beat "fats" in their televised matches, even though Mosconi was past his prime then...had more or less retired from competitive pool.

Mosconi still holds the record of 526 balls made without a miss in straight pool.
Witnesed by over 30 people who signed, then notarized. Those there said Mosconi didn't miss after 526...he just got tired of sinking balls, saying that was enough.

Far as I know, John Schmidt's run of a bit over 400 is the best done by a player still active today. Run over 100 in straight pool, and you will be a strong player in my book.