Need Help in Phoenix

Dale Teague...

Well here is something some people know and do not know. He used to live in Washington and ripped off a bunch of people there and he has done this here in Arizona also. I have a good friend whose buddies ordered cues from him and he never delivered.

He was accused in Washington of selling plastic as micarta and taking import cues and representing them as customs after he would sand them down and remark them. I personally do not know why people in Arizona deal with him, the guy is a POS.

Before you say what do I know first hand, well here is what happened to me. In OTRs beginning Eye Shafts was a sponsor which Dale Teague makes, I promoted the shafts on my site and had a banner up on the site for about 8-9 months and it was an agreement of X amount of dollars a month. Since I am a nice guy I agreed to take shafts in trade for the advertising and I never got anything. I emailed Dale, called him and when I ran into him finally at Kolby's he was speaking to someone and told me he would talk to me in a bit and then he took off.

I know of other people who have been burnt by him also. Here is a thread with some more info, the more you search Teague the more you can find out about this guy. To those people dealing with him should know this, I am sure he does not burn everyone but its about 50/50 it seems. Wish people who were ripped off and screwed over by this guy would chime in.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=134650&highlight=teague

I've known Dale for quite sometime as well. He's played in various leagues that I've been in, and made many cues of players I play with every day. (I tried one out for a few months and didn't like the front balance weight so I gave it back).

He does have just 1 shop now and it's out of River City on Bell and 11th street in Phoenix. It's actually pretty close to my office and I could pop over there on Friday afternoon and ask a few questions.

Can you PM me your name, info on the cue, etc. So I can ask about it?

I did hear that he was out of the state for a month or two this summer, but that he was back in PHX as of a few weeks ago.

As far as the EyeShafts, I know he has sponsored a few players (Frost, Gus, Bobby ....) and I wonder what kind of compensation they got. I know they all sported his shirts at various events (and on many streams).

Systim6 said:

Oh wow isn't that funny....I made a new email with a random fake name and sent Teague a email asking about pricing on building a cue. Guess what he replied to that email in about 10 min after I sent it. But he wont respond to any of my emails from my email address I originally ordered my cue. I think I'm going to have to be making a trip down to phoenix.

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I think your TRIP IDEA is the BEST WAY TO GO.

I'm originally from WA state and have heard many bad stories about him, I would never let him touch my cue.

Systim6 said:

I need some help from anyone that lives in the phoenix area, PLEASE!
I ordered a Cue from Dale Teague back in feb or march and last time i talked to him was about 3 weeks ago when he said my cue was done and maybe it needed one more coat of finish. Well since then I've been trying to get in touch with him via email and phone. I can't get him to return my call or email. If you know where his shop is located at could you please go down there and see whats up. I don't know if maybe something bad happened to him or if he is just ignoring me. I'm pretty close to driving 6 hours away to check for myself if I can't get any help lol.

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I am sorry to hear about your trouble and their is nothing I can do to help. But, you are not alone by a long shot, I live in Washington State and that guy have taken advantage of many many people in thie area. I hope you did not lose to much money and I hope things work out but I have a bad feeling about anything this guy is involved with.

He has Ripped Off other Cue Makers, and companies selling Wood and supplies his behavior certainly has a Pattern, I would recommend that anyone else that can should steer clear of this Guy he is Bad Bad News.

JIMO

manwon said:

I am sorry to hear about your trouble and their is nothing I can do to help. But, you are not alone by a long shot, I live in Washington State and that guy have taken advantage of many many people in thie area. I hope you did not lose to much money and I hope things work out but I have a bad feeling about anything this guy is involved with.

He has Ripped Off other Cue Makers, and companies selling Wood and supplies his behavior certainly has a Pattern, I would recommend that anyone else that can should steer clear of this Guy he is Bad Bad News.

JIMO

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Yes you are right he has ripped off other cue makers whom have lent him supplies and never returned nor repaid them. I know there are guys on here from Arizona who are on good terms with him either from buying cues or playing pool but they need to understand the guy has ripped off countless people and is not a good guy.

Fast Lenny said:

Yes you are right he has ripped off other cue makers whom have lent him supplies and never returned nor repaid them. I know there are guys on here from Arizona who are on good terms with him either from buying cues or playing pool but they need to understand the guy has ripped off countless people and is not a good guy.

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Well, I guess it's time I spoke up. You're right, Lenny. He can't be trusted. I let him get to me...TWICE. I guess that second time was my fault? That's what I get for being too trusting.

Roger

Roger Long said:

Well, I guess it's time I spoke up. You're right, Lenny. He can't be trusted. I let him get to me...TWICE. I guess that second time was my fault? That's what I get for being too trusting.

Roger

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Roger, your a good guy and do your best to support pool and the people in it. I believe karma will make right the wrongs that are done to people. :wink:

Up here in Washington State, he ripped off another cue maker for many thousands of dollars. The guy was getting started in the business and trying to assemble wood and equipment. Some how he got in touch with this individual and did not know what he was getting into, and it cost him very dearly in many ways.

It appears that this guy is very convincing and appears to be trust worthy and then he sticks it to you. His cue are also well know up here for falling apart, I have personally put a few of them back together for customers. Now the cues I have seen were made years ago so he may be building a better cue now, I mean we all improve with time even me.


But, this guy is a con-artist and can not be trusted this thread should be a sticky because people need to know about this shit so that they can protect themselves.

Take care

I will validate Fast Lenny's story about Dale up here in WA as both my brother and I were ripped off of over 3k combined. I gave Dale a downpayment of 650.00 to build my custom design about 13 years ago and he left WA with his girlfriend, Marni Duprey, and initially settled in Yuma prior to moving to Phoenix.

I usually don't drag a person's name through the mud but when I see others being swindled by this guy, I have to speak up. Dale does build a decent hitting cue when he is "thinking straight" (use your imagination) but many of his cues that he produced up here had serious flaws due to inconsistent building methods.

I wouldn't trust him for anything, and I am a pretty trusting type of guy. I hope Dale reads this, because what goes around comes around. And BTW, Dale, your personal playing cue my brother took from you prior to you leaving WA plays very nice. Although it doesn't make up for the 2k you stole from him on a supposed Balabushka deal that you USED me to help set up for you. I've already tried finding you twice in Phoenix over the past 2 years but unfortunately your previous landlords booted you out before I could confront you. Anyways, you may recall I was a student at WSU that used to come visit you at your place in Sultan, WA. Regards! :thumbup:

Oh, by the way, is my custom cue ready for pick up yet?? Just checking...about time people finally spoke up and black-balled you from the cuemaking community.

Unfortunately i feel obligated to post this

I wonder if the OP ever got his cue???

It really is a quite interesting phenomenon with this guy....He (on the surface) seems like a very normal individual that is very intelligent. He does actually make cues for people..I have seen them..I don't know what sets this guy off. Prior to my fiasco..I had him do various cue work all the time...He fixed a couple problems I had with cues as I watched...He seems to know his way around in the shop. I never had a problem with him for the longest time...and it was convenient for me since his shop was near my work.

However...I was also dinged by this guy....I asked him to make me a Ebony Jump/Break cue...I got the cue but it had a warp in the handle section and the "ebony" looked a bit different than I have ever seen before....He told me that sometimes wood moves and that I should play with it for a while to see if it moves back......I played along.....but that should have been my alarm....He also said that ebony comes in different shades....I don't know much about wood so I said OK.

In the meantime....I had hit some balls with a players cue that he made (for himself) and it hit really good....I had my own design that I wanted for a cue that was similar to the design of one of his that I tried.... My preference for a players cue is a BCM but the design had some inlays. (Bryan is not big into inlay). Dale said he could do them (and seemed quite interested in the design). I asked him how much?......He gave me a price that was quite a bit more reasonable than I expected...I made a deposit to have him start the cue.

About 6 months went by and I stopped by to see how things were going and to ask about the (still warped) jump/break cue...There was no sign of the cue he was supposedly making for me. He told me that it was ready for assembly but that the components were all at a different shop.....no problem.

While I was there....I asked about the j/b cue...(warpage).....he looked at it and then put the shaft on the lathe and re-faced it....then he did the forearm joint......Both individual sections seemed to roll straight apart, but together there was a serious wobble....He then pulled the pin and checked to see if it was bent....nope..not the pin....He then put the butt on a lathe and started sanding the forearm near the joint....Strangly the "ebony" started to look like maple where he was sanding......I was thinking..."WTF".... but I never said a word about it.....I think he may have realized that I noticed this very maple looking ebony and all of a sudden took the butt out of the lathe and threw it in a scrap box under the lathe...he basically said "screw it I will just make you a new one"....ummm....ok??

A few more months went by (longer than it took him to make me the first JB cue) and I stopped by to see how things were going...He had moved his shop...his new shop was now in a pool room

There was now no sign of either cue...(other than the shaft from the original JB cue)...When I inquired...I was told they were in the other shop and the air was to humid to move the cues...(granted it was getting close to monsoon season)...I played along...I checked back from time to time..but never seemed to see any sign of a cue being made....He always had some reason for either cues not being there.

A couple times he actually told me he wanted me to come by his shop so that he can adjust the balance of the cue before it gets final assembly....Never was there any sign of the cue when I got there....and there was always some reason why it was not there....To humid...guy not there with the keys to the shop...etc. etc.

After many follow ups over a long period of time (of a cue that was supposedly ready for final assembly)....and offers to drive to wherever was needed to help transport cue components.. I gave up and asked what is going on.

It seemed like he ran out of excuses because he got angry and basically told me that he does not need my money and asked if I wanted my money back...I thought for about 1 second and said...that sounds like a good idea.

As I was getting my money back, he was mumbling about how it takes Southwest 6 years to make a cue and nobody complains...but if I take even 1 year to make a cue I get complaints.....I did not have the heart to tell him that it does not take SW 6 years to make a cue....It takes them 6 years to get to your cue order....

I did get my deposit back but not the money for the JB cue...I have seen him one time since then when he was subbing for a league team...He approached me and said that my cues were almost done if I still wanted them....I said...just give me a call when they are ready and I will come by.

I have yet to get that call....:wink:

In the meantime....I had Terry Mcfadden make me a Jump/Break cue that was 100Xs better than the original DT Jump/Break cue and it only took Terry about a month to make it...(Granted Terry already had core components turned so it was mostly just assembly and finish work)

Also in the meantime.....and what I should have done in the first place......I came up with a new design that fits the type of work BCM (Bryan) does....and the cue is in progress.....And I have actually seen pics of the progress......:thumbup:

manwon said:

Up here in Washington State, he ripped off another cue maker for many thousands of dollars. The guy was getting started in the business and trying to assemble wood and equipment. Some how he got in touch with this individual and did not know what he was getting into, and it cost him very dearly in many ways.

It appears that this guy is very convincing and appears to be trust worthy and then he sticks it to you. His cue are also well know up here for falling apart, I have personally put a few of them back together for customers. Now the cues I have seen were made years ago so he may be building a better cue now, I mean we all improve with time even me.


But, this guy is a con-artist and can not be trusted this thread should be a sticky because people need to know about this shit so that they can protect themselves.

Take care

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I may have a pretty good clue as to who this maker is...and yes, Dale Teague is a pariah in these parts.

You may wish to contact the AZ Attorney General's Office and report him if you get no satisfaction. You paid for services and he is failing to render them...which is still considered theft. Others who have been ripped off by him need to do likewise...otherwise, he will continue to prey on those uninformed players/makers.

Remember this guy? http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=766432&postcount=1

These scam artists can be dealt with, but the authorities need to be made aware.

Lisa

Folks, Dale Teague only cares about one thing in his life, himself, and will continue his ways regardless of how many people he takes advantage of and hurts.

Please HEED OUR WORDS! If after reading this thread you decide to do business with Dale, do so at your own risk. But, if you end up like many of us have, please don't come whining and complaining to these boards. I will be the first one to slam you with "TOLD YOU SO, IDIOT!" I'm outspoken that way...

Anyways, I am now having my dream cue made, the same design that Dale failed to deliver on, by Wayne Holme's of Wayne's Custom Cues. If you're looking for a true ambassador to the art of cue making, then include Wayne on your list of considerations. The guy is outstanding!

And if Marnie Teague (Duprey) reads these boards, or if anyone knows Dale's wife, please give her our regards from the PNW. We miss having you in the area, with some of us still in shock that you fell for a guy like Dale.

Ok, on to more positive things. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! Happy Shooting, all!

Cueball981

Dale teague- ripoff artist

I used to work in a cue shop in Everett, WA. Dale used to hang around the area and buy tips and supplies from us. After a few purchases, he asked if we could add some stuff to our next order, as he was not a wholesale customer of the companies we bought from.

Long story short, when the order came in he had no money, but if he had the supplies he could complete the jobs and then pay... Anyway he still owes us about $250.00!!!!!

I hope to see him someday, I'm sure he'll pay me on the spot!!!LOL

Gordon
425-275-8255

good post, i was considering a cue from him about a year ago, good thing i didn't order from him