How do you handle this?

JB Cases

JB Cases

www.jbcases.com
Silver Member
Cue makers..... I have a friend in a sort of bad catch-22 position regarding a cue.

There will be NO NAMES mentioned so don't ask. :-)

Like Law and Order this is a story based on real events but not intended to out any particular person. Hopefully all will eventually work out between all parties to this story.

So on to the situation.

1. about 10 years ago cue is sold to a dealer and the dealer sells it on to a customer shortly thereafter.

2. customer complains about the quality and cue maker agree to make it right.

3. Cue gets sent to cue maker and is never returned.

4. After a length of time dealer makes good to customer with another cue. Customer is happy.

5. Recently cue is FINALLY returned to dealer and it is in horrible condition (videos and pictures attest to it) Not only is the finish horrible with inlays popping but the workmanship is awful and the butt is warped.

6. Cue is essentially unsellable for anywhere close to it's original four figure price in it's current condition.

Here is the catch-22: The cue is signed and if it's refinished/rebuilt by another maker then the signature will probably come off. Also of course the refinish will have to be disclosed further reducing the value. If the cue is given back to the maker then it's almost certain to be a problem and with the history of the cue being held for 10 years it may not ever be given back again.

As far as I know the cue was BRAND NEW when it was first sold to the consumer and not that old when it was sold to the dealer.

This cue is nearly worthless at this point. The dealer has no fault as far as I can see.

What would you do as a cue maker in this situation?

Edit: The signature is "worth" a lot although the cue maker's name is on the cue in another way.
 
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I'm not a cue maker, but my opinion on what to do as the dealer:

If the cuemaker is THAT bad, the signature is worthless. Send it to a different maker to refinish nicely enough to make it worth something to someone.
 
hello JB, tough situation there. i'd have to think the original cuemakers market may be on its way out if this is the care he gives to his work. i do think there is more behind the scenes than meets the eye, but that's immaterial. at this point it may be better to have a more responsible cuemaker address the problems. even a "360" can gain value if properly refurbished by the right cuemaker. this would at least return some of the loss the dealer took to stand by his reputation. by the way, were you at the SBE this year? if so, i'm sorry i didn't get a chance to say "HI".

to answer your question "What would you do as a cue maker in this situation?" i would have tackled the problem right away. the longer this sits----the worse it gets.....for EVERYONE
 
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What would you do as a cue maker in this situation?
..........................................................................

This is the only question I found in your post. You have effectively Charlie Rose'd
me into replying... I would make a replacement cue.

Dale
 
pdcue said:
What would you do as a cue maker in this situation?
..........................................................................

This is the only question I found in your post. You have effectively Charlie Rose'd
me into replying... I would make a replacement cue.

Dale
Click to expand...

Well since it's important for you to know the situation to accurately answer the question I laid it out as straightforward as I could.
 
JB Cases said:
Well since it's important for you to know the situation to accurately answer the question I laid it out as straightforward as I could.
Click to expand...

Yes you did - and just like Charlie does, the only reasonable answer is the one you wanted.

Dale
 
Take the butt of the cue with you when you go see the guy. The situation could get ugly an you may need it!

Seriously though, tough situation. :frown:
 
DoubleD said:
Wait, how does the dealer have no fault in this?

He bought a cue that was poorly made.

He sold the same cue that was poorly made for a lot of money.

If the cue was so poorly made, the dealer should never have bought it and he should have definitely never have sold it at a premium price.

There are two possible reasons this cuemaker's wares bring such high prices:

1. Artificial demand created by dealers and collectors

2. His stuff is actually high quality.

Let's assume that #2 is the reason he is famous. If that is the case he either let a cue get out of his shop that was subpar, in which case #2 is no longer true, or he delivered a fine cue that was abused and due to neglect some problems developed on the cue.

Being that it was a used cue, I don't see how a cuemaker would take responsibility for what may have happened since the cue left his shop.

BTW, this sounds a lot like stories I heard about a cuemaker who was having his son build cues around the same time. Problem was, the son hadn't mastered the craft and the father was allowing the cues to leave the shop regardless.

dld
Click to expand...

When the dealer sent out the cue he felt it was ok. The customer however did not feel that way and on closer inspection the dealer agreed with the customer and the cue maker agreed to make it right.

In the situation you are referring to the end result was the same as this situation - top name cue with many flaws.

Assume for the sake of this discussion that the cue in question was new and unplayed when it arrived at the customer's house. The customer inspected it and found it lacking.
 
pdcue said:
Yes you did - and just like Charlie does, the only reasonable answer is the one you wanted.

Dale
Click to expand...

I think that there are other answers but yours is the one I almost always choose when something is out there with name on it that doesn't measure up to my standards.

I certainly would not give back a case in anything less than stellar condition.

What I can't figure out is why this person did when the flaws were obvious.
 
JB Cases said:
Cue makers..... I have a friend in a sort of bad catch-22 position regarding a cue.

There will be NO NAMES mentioned so don't ask. :-)

Like Law and Order this is a story based on real events but not intended to out any particular person. Hopefully all will eventually work out between all parties to this story.

So on to the situation.

1. about 10 years ago cue is sold to a dealer and the dealer sells it on to a customer shortly thereafter.

2. customer complains about the quality and cue maker agree to make it right.

3. Cue gets sent to cue maker and is never returned.

4. After a length of time dealer makes good to customer with another cue. Customer is happy.

5. Recently cue is FINALLY returned to dealer and it is in horrible condition (videos and pictures attest to it) Not only is the finish horrible with inlays popping but the workmanship is awful and the butt is warped.

6. Cue is essentially unsellable for anywhere close to it's original four figure price in it's current condition.

Here is the catch-22: The cue is signed and if it's refinished/rebuilt by another maker then the signature will probably come off. Also of course the refinish will have to be disclosed further reducing the value. If the cue is given back to the maker then it's almost certain to be a problem and with the history of the cue being held for 10 years it may not ever be given back again.

As far as I know the cue was BRAND NEW when it was first sold to the consumer and not that old when it was sold to the dealer.

This cue is nearly worthless at this point. The dealer has no fault as far as I can see.

What would you do as a cue maker in this situation?

Edit: The signature is "worth" a lot although the cue maker's name is on the cue in another way.
Click to expand...

i havent read any replies
here is my opinion
the cue maker should make it right
or
bewilling to suffer the consequences of a youtube video of his/her work
 
John the best result is you make me another case as nice as the one you just made for me.
 
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I was a Cue Maker in a similar position. I made things right by the customer as the customer is always right.

When all communication is shut down, everyone loses.
 
bbb said:
i havent read any replies
here is my opinion
the cue maker should make it right
or
bewilling to suffer the consequences of a youtube video of his/her work
Click to expand...

Well I hope it doesn't come to that. I realize that this is a difficult thread for cue makers to read and reply to.
 
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