Are Pool Tables a Good Investment?

As a financial investment, a pool table is usually a poor one. Most used slate pool tables in the UK sell for a fraction of their original price, partly because moving one is costly. As an investment in your home life, though, a table you play every week can be worth every penny.

That's the short answer, so you can stop here if it's all you needed. If you want the evidence, and how to decide whether a table is worth it for you, read on.

This article explains how pool tables hold their value. It isn't financial advice.

Do pool tables hold their value?

Mostly, no. A pool table loses most of its price once it leaves the showroom, and the resale market shows it clearly.

To check, we looked at the first page of Gumtree results for "slate pool table" on 20 October 2026. Of the 20 used slate pool tables listed, the middle asking price was £587.50, and 19 of them were priced at £1,000 or less. One 8ft slate table was listed free, with a warning that it would take several people to remove.

For comparison, our 7ft FMF Spirit Tournament costs £2,595.00 new. That middle Gumtree price is roughly a fifth of it. And those are asking prices, so the money sellers accept can be lower still.

One seller noted their 7ft pub table cost £1,400 and said they would accept £500.

The pattern is the same overseas. In an October 2024 AzBilliards thread, one owner said he sold a table that cost a little over $3,000 new for $800, even in excellent condition. Another gave his away after 12 years, and a third couldn't find a buyer and sold to a friend for a couple of hundred dollars.

So if your plan is to buy now and sell later at a profit, you'll almost certainly be disappointed.

Why do used pool tables sell for so little?

Because the buyer has to pay twice. They pay you for the table, and then they pay to have it taken apart, moved, rebuilt and levelled.

A slate table is far too heavy to carry out in one piece, so it has to be dismantled first. As one AzBilliards member put it, the drive is the easy part.

Two Gumtree sellers said the same in their ads. Both warned that their table was extremely heavy and would need professional movers or several people.

Then there's demand. Very few people are looking for a used pool table at any given moment, and fewer still have the room for one. On Pinside's games room forum, one member summed it up bluntly: you should view buying a pool table as a sunk cost, because most used tables are worth next to nothing.

Your table's condition matters too. Worn cloth, dead cushions or a damp-stained frame will push your price down further, because the buyer is also pricing in repairs.

Do antique pool tables go up in value?

Some hold their value, but you shouldn't count on growth. A fine table by a famous maker can sell well, yet it is still a heavy piece of furniture with a small group of buyers.

In January 2025, a late 19th-century Burroughes and Watts full-size billiard table with a thick slate bed sold at a Scarborough auction for £1,800. That was within its estimate of £1,000 to £2,000. On top of that, the buyer paid a 25% premium plus VAT, then had to cover delivery and installation.

That is a strong result for a Victorian table, but it is not the kind of return people mean when they talk about investments. We cover age, makers and valuations in more detail in our guide to vintage pool tables.

Does a pool table add value to your house?

There's no good evidence that it does. Some guides say a pool table can raise your property's value, but I couldn't find any UK data to support that claim.

In practice, a table is usually moved or sold separately from the house.

One homeowner on Houzz described buying an expensive table new, rarely using it, and selling it to his tenant. When it came to selling the house, he decided that buying the table back to impress buyers was a bad idea.

So leave it out of your sums when you think about your home's value.

So when is a pool table worth the money?

When you'll actually play on it. The real return isn't financial, it's the evenings you get from it.

Think about a Friday night in your games room. Your friends are round, there's a drink on the side, and the game comes down to the last black.

Without a table, you'd be in a busy pub, waiting for your turn and feeding coins into the slot. With one, that evening happens at home whenever you like.

Here's a simple way to think about the cost. Our 7ft FMF Spirit Tournament costs £2,595.00. If you keep it for ten years and assume it's worth nothing at the end, that works out at £259.50 a year, or about £5 a week. To see what that price actually pays for, read why new pool tables cost so much.

If your table gets played every week by the family and friends, that's a fair price for a room that finally gets used.

I'll be honest: if you'll only play a few times a year, a new slate table is probably the wrong buy for you. A cheaper table, or a good used one, will serve you perfectly well. Owners in that AzBilliards thread warned that a table nobody plays soon ends up holding the laundry, and the Houzz owner said his gathered dust. If you'd rather skip pool altogether, compare these alternatives to a pool table.

What about a coin-operated table for a business?

That's a different question, because a pub or club table can earn money. Whether it pays for itself depends on how often it's played, the price per game and any agreement with the supplier. We cover the numbers in a separate guide on how much a coin-operated pool table can earn.

How can you lose less money on a pool table?

Buy the right table once, and look after it. You can't make a table into an investment, but you can keep your loss small. For the checks that help, see the guide to choosing the right pool table.

• Buy slate. In the AzBilliards thread, one experienced player said a quality commercial-style table should let you recoup at least half of what you paid.
• Choose a common size. 15 of the 20 Gumtree tables were 6ft or 7ft, so that's what most second-hand buyers are looking at.
• Keep it covered and dry. Clean cloth and sound cushions are what buyers check first.
• Keep the accessories. Cues, balls and any dining top make your listing more appealing.
• Consider buying used. The first owner has already absorbed the biggest drop in value.

FAQ

Is it cheaper to buy a used pool table?

Usually, yes. Most used slate tables in our Gumtree sample were asking under £800, but you'll need to add the cost of moving, rebuilding and levelling, and possibly new cloth.

Should you buy a pool table as an investment?

No. Buy one because you'll enjoy playing it, and treat any money you get back later as a bonus.

The verdict

A pool table is rarely a good financial investment, and most lose the bulk of their value once they leave the showroom. But if you and your family will play it every week, it's an investment in the evenings you spend together, and that's the reason to buy one.