Where to start? About 5 months ago, I picked up an Omen cue through a trade. I had never heard of Pete's cues until joining AZB and even then, it was rare to see one for sale. I thought I would give it a try to see how I liked the hit and feel. Boy...I was impressed within the first two balls, so much so, I ended up buying another Omen the following week.
I bought the second Omen off of Ebay and knew it had a few issues including the need for a refinish and a new wrap. What I didn't know was the "A" joint needed a repair and both shafts were 28 1/2". The cue still played amazing and I liked the wood combo of Ebony and Burl better than the first Omen which was Ebony, curly Maple, and Pink Ivory. The second Omen was also one of Pete's older cue, a 2001, which I thought was cool.
I decided I would have Pete restore the 2001 Omen and sell/trade the first Omen to help fund the restoration project. Here I need to thank Bill of Cornerstone and Matt for some quick deals and helping me to be able to acomplish this prodject.
This is the first time I have ever had direct contact with a cuebuilder or have one do a prodject of this magnitude. I had no idea what to expect or what kind of ride it was going to be for me. You can imagine my suprise and shock over the first phone conversation I had with Pete after he received my cue.
Pete told me via phone that my cue may have been stolen a few years ago and the owner was still looking for it. This put us both in a bad spot because this customer had another cue on order that Pete was building for him and I might be out close to a grand. This was a situation that involved money as well as integrity.
Pete and I both agreed the only thing to do was contact the person looking for the cue to find out one way or the other if this was the stolen cue. In no way was I going to put our reputations, honor or word at risk over a little money. I was prepared to give up the cue and my money to do the right thing, chalk it all up to the risk you take buying online, and take solice in the fact that somebody out there got an awesome cue back. I, at least, could sleep at night. Pete was going to be out the money he would have made from me and maybe even the new cue he was building....bad deal all the way around for the both of us.
The cue came back as the sister cue to the one that was stolen by the original owner's room mate and probably pawned it off at some point. The determining factor was the ring work in mine was just a little bit different than that of the stolen cue. This was a big deal for me to have never talked to a full time cuebuilder and have gone though this experience right from the get go! Thanks to Pete, this whole process only took about 24-48 hrs to clear up. I lost 5 yrs off of my life stressing over this situation and wondering what kind of person Pete thought he was dealing with.
I bought the second Omen off of Ebay and knew it had a few issues including the need for a refinish and a new wrap. What I didn't know was the "A" joint needed a repair and both shafts were 28 1/2". The cue still played amazing and I liked the wood combo of Ebony and Burl better than the first Omen which was Ebony, curly Maple, and Pink Ivory. The second Omen was also one of Pete's older cue, a 2001, which I thought was cool.
I decided I would have Pete restore the 2001 Omen and sell/trade the first Omen to help fund the restoration project. Here I need to thank Bill of Cornerstone and Matt for some quick deals and helping me to be able to acomplish this prodject.
This is the first time I have ever had direct contact with a cuebuilder or have one do a prodject of this magnitude. I had no idea what to expect or what kind of ride it was going to be for me. You can imagine my suprise and shock over the first phone conversation I had with Pete after he received my cue.
Pete told me via phone that my cue may have been stolen a few years ago and the owner was still looking for it. This put us both in a bad spot because this customer had another cue on order that Pete was building for him and I might be out close to a grand. This was a situation that involved money as well as integrity.
Pete and I both agreed the only thing to do was contact the person looking for the cue to find out one way or the other if this was the stolen cue. In no way was I going to put our reputations, honor or word at risk over a little money. I was prepared to give up the cue and my money to do the right thing, chalk it all up to the risk you take buying online, and take solice in the fact that somebody out there got an awesome cue back. I, at least, could sleep at night. Pete was going to be out the money he would have made from me and maybe even the new cue he was building....bad deal all the way around for the both of us.
The cue came back as the sister cue to the one that was stolen by the original owner's room mate and probably pawned it off at some point. The determining factor was the ring work in mine was just a little bit different than that of the stolen cue. This was a big deal for me to have never talked to a full time cuebuilder and have gone though this experience right from the get go! Thanks to Pete, this whole process only took about 24-48 hrs to clear up. I lost 5 yrs off of my life stressing over this situation and wondering what kind of person Pete thought he was dealing with.
