When I first started managing supplies for our chain of pool halls—maybe 6 years ago now—I assumed the cheapest cloth was the smartest choice. Keeps the budget happy, right? Three blown budgets and a stack of re-cloth bills later, I realized that initial assumption was costing us far more than we were saving. My view now? In table cloth, like most things in facility management, the lowest price tag is rarely the lowest total cost.
Honestly, I learned this the hard way. We went through three different budget-friendly brands in 18 months. Each time, the cloth wore thin, lost its speed, and started pilling way faster than the vendor promised. The re-clothing labor, the down time for the table, the complaints from league players—those costs add up in ways your invoice from the cloth supplier doesn't show.
The Hidden Cost of Cheap Cloth
Let me give you a concrete example from Q1 2024. We were comparing two options for a high-traffic table: a budget cloth at $180 per roll, and Simonis 860 at $320 per roll. If you just look at the unit price, the choice seems obvious. But here's what I found when I dug into the actual numbers over a 3-year period.
That budget cloth? We had to replace it every 10 months. Three replacements over 30 months: cloth cost $540, plus labor at $200 per install, table down for 2 days each time. Total cost: $1,140. The Simonis 860? One install at $320 for cloth plus $200 labor, and after 30 months it still played great. Total: $520. That's a 54% difference. And the Simonis table earned about $60 more per month in revenue because serious players preferred it. So the gap was even bigger.
That 'cheap' cloth actually cost us more—or rather, it cost us significantly more when you factor in everything. This is what I mean by total cost of ownership. The unit price is just the beginning.
Why Player Experience Matters
If you've ever had a league night derailed by a slow, inconsistent table, you know the kind of complaints that follow. Players notice. They notice when the ball doesn't roll true, when the cloth burns, when the speed feels off. And they talk. We lost two league teams over cloth quality issues in 2023—teams we'd hosted for years. The revenue loss from those two teams alone was roughly $4,800 annually.
The Simonis 760 and 860 cloths—especially the Tournament Blue—are basically the industry standard for a reason. They hold their speed. They resist pilling. They play consistently for years. When you're running a business where player experience is everything, that consistency is worth paying for.
Calculating the Risk
When I was weighing the decision to switch to Simonis across our 12-table facility, I did the math carefully. The upside was better play, fewer complaints, and lower long-term cost. The risk was a higher upfront spend of about $1,800 across all tables. I kept asking myself: is that upfront save worth potentially having to re-cloth six tables within a year? The numbers said no.
And there was a moment where my gut conflicted with the data. Every spreadsheet I ran showed Simonis was the better long-term bet. But something in me hesitated—the typical procurement instinct to keep the number on the purchase order low. That 'budget worry' almost made me ignore the data. Glad I didn't. The decision to switch in Q2 2023 has saved us roughly $3,200 annually in re-cloth costs and player retention.
What About the Cleaner?
A quick note on maintenance. A good cloth needs proper care. We use Simonis X1 cleaner—it's specifically formulated for their cloth. Some operators try to save $15 by using generic felt cleaner. But that $15 'savings' can void the cloth's performance or even damage it. The X1 cleaner extends the life of the cloth, which is basically a small investment that protects a much bigger one.
Responding to the Obvious Question
I can hear it coming: 'But what if my budget just can't handle the higher upfront cost?' I get it. Not every operation has the cash flow to premium-level everything. Here's my take: don't buy cheap cloth. Buy better cloth less frequently. A single roll of Simonis 860 on your busiest table will outperform three cheap replacements on two tables. Prioritize where the quality matters most—your league tables, your tournament table, the ones that drive revenue.
That said, I should note this approach works best for high-traffic commercial settings. For a home table that sees light use, the cost benefit might be different. But for operators like me who manage real budgets with real consequences, the math is clear.
So my final position is this: stop looking at cloth as a commodity to be bought at the lowest price. Look at it as an investment in your tables, your players, and your bottom line. The cheap option has hidden costs that show up in your P&L six months down the road. The quality option—like Simonis—pays for itself in performance and longevity.
Prices referenced as of January 2025 based on current supplier quotes. Verify current pricing with your distributor, as rates may vary.