I have diligently saved my money to buy a nice custom cue from a cuemaker.
I have not found a cuemaker that will build me a cue and guarantee it for life. When cuemakers stand behind their product i will buy, until then....................
I have a question for you:
Should a cuemaker guarantee his product against abuse?
Against misuse because the buyer hasn't learned proper cue care?
If you want a cue that is guaranteed for life and you are saying that you are willing to spend a lot for this, even though you will have to save for a long time...then I respect your view. You are only seeking a cuemaker who puts as much confidence in his cue as he demands in cost from you.
Your complaint, if I understand your post correctly, is that none of the high dollar cues have lifetime replacement warranties but less costly production cues do offer these guarantees.
If a production company buys cheap cues that are made overseas, they can afford to replace those that warp or fail. If a production company sacrefices playability to use materials that never warp, they can nearly eliminate claims and offer an impressive warranty. If a company sacrefices beauty by substituting plastic for ivory, decals for points, durability for collectability, they can offer all kinds of warranty promises!
Show me a really ugly woman and I'll guarantee you fidelity in your relationship! (OK that was an ill conceived remark)
The fact here is that custom cues are labor intensive and use costly components that give you better playability, beauty and value on the second-hand market.
If a custom cue is unconditionally guaranteed for life, and some buyer leaves it in their trunk for a year, it will warp and the cuemaker will have to shell out thousands in time and materials to repair replace the cue. This does not mean the cue was not top quality...it means it was specialized for playability and beauty. Not to withstand heat and humidity change.
My first cues warped...all of them...because I was a moron who sanded the shafts every time my hands got sticky. I would open the wood grain and eventually, the shafts would warp and show taper rolls from my sanding. None of these defects are the cuemaker's fault. None of these things are controlled by the cuemaker. Why should he warranty them?
Learn how to care for your cue. Learn how to store your cue. When you know what to do, warpage is no longer an issue with a good custom cue. As far as workmanship, many cuemakers DO warranty their work for life. They just don't warranty their product against the actions of morons...
Custom cuemakers tend to have the class not to say it that way. But if the end user lacks the respect of a product to care for it properly, it is probably best that they lose their entire investment, or get pushed toward the production cues and their promises.