I'm the office administrator who handles purchasing for a mid-sized pool hall and retail chain. I manage about $150k annually across 8 vendors. And I have a strong opinion: if you're buying pool table cloth based on initial price alone, you're bleeding money.
The Argument: TCO over Initial Price
I know, it's tempting. A new vendor offers a wool-nylon blend at $180 per roll. Simonis 860 Tournament Blue runs $350. The math seems simple. But that's where the trap is.
The initial cost is just the tip of the iceberg. The real cost—what I call Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)—includes installation labor, cloth lifespan, downtime for replacement, and even the cost of a bad playing experience that chases away customers.
The Proof: Three Arguments for TCO
1. The fake Simonis disaster
In 2022, I found a great price on what looked like Simonis cloth—$240 per roll. "What's the harm?" I thought. "It's probably a grey import." I bought 10 rolls for a new tournament venue.
Within 5 months, the cloth started pilling. After 12 months, it showed significant wear and had a slightly different finish. Players complained. One called it "junk." I had to replace every table. Between the new cloth (this time genuine Simonis 860), installation labor, and lost revenue during the 3-day replacement, that "deal" ended up costing me nearly $8,000. Seriously—that one bad decision got me in trouble with my VP.
Lesson: cheap imitations aren't cheap. They're expensive lessons.
2. Lifespan: the real comparison
Simonis 860 Tournament Blue, when properly installed and maintained, easily lasts 3-5 years in a busy commercial setting. That cheaper blend? Maybe 18 months.
Let's do the math for a 10-table hall over 5 years:
- Simonis scenario: 1 cloth change × $350/roll + $100/table installation = $4,500 total. Cloth lasts 5 years.
- Cheap blend scenario: 3 cloth changes × $180/roll + $100/table installation = $8,400. And that's not counting the lost revenue during re-felting each time (roughly 2 days × $1,000/day = $2,000 per change). So total: $14,400+.
To be fair, the cheap blend has a lower entry price. But the Simonis option saves nearly $10,000 over 5 years. Plus, your customers have a consistently great playing surface.
3. The hidden cost of inconsistency
One thing I didn't expect: inconsistent playing surfaces hurt repeat business. Players who compete in tournaments recognize a quality cloth. When your tables have cheap felt that plays slow or unevenly, they go somewhere else. That's a customer acquisition cost you'll never see on an invoice.
Anticipating Objections
I get it. You might be thinking: "But I don't have $350 per table in my budget right now." Or: "My customers aren't that picky."
Totally valid concerns. To be fair, if you're running a bar where tables get casual use maybe 5 hours a day, a mid-range cloth might be fine. But in a commercial tournament hall or a high-traffic pool room, the math is brutal. The cheap cloth will cost you more in the long run. That's not an opinion—it's arithmetic.
I'm not 100% sure about exact regional variations in labor costs, but even accounting for that, the TCO of Simonis 860 almost always wins. Roughly speaking, you need to see at least 3 years of use to justify the premium.
So What Should You Do?
Bottom line: when you're comparing cloth quotes, don't just look at the price tag. Calculate the TCO. Include installation costs, predicted lifespan (base on actual data, not vendor promises), downtime for replacements, and the intangible cost of a poor playing experience.
If you're buying for a commercial setting, Simonis 860 Tournament Blue is the cheapest option over 5 years. The upfront cost feels like a lot, but that's the price of playing it smart.
Granted, switching to TCO thinking requires a shift in how you evaluate purchases. But once you start, you'll see how many other buying decisions—cleaning supplies, lighting, even chairs—benefit from the same framework. It's saved our business a ton of money.