How is Dale Perry able to make such beautiful inlaid cues & sell them for under $150

People's attitudes don't necessarily reflect the quality of their craftsmanship. And as a person that has owned his own business, the stress of all that you have to manage is a stone b****. That being said, you lose a lot of customers if you're an a$$, regardless of quality.

I'll admit even the low-end Ebay DP cues ($100-200) look stunning in the pics. Tip improperly installed? Fairly easy fix. Ferrule or butt falling off? That would be a problem.

It seems fairly consistent here that while there may be finish problems, the hit is still very good on these cheaper cues. I just looked at one of his auctions, no mention is made of a warranty, and only a 14 day return policy. It comes with a certificate of authenticity. 7000+ transactions with a 99.8% positive feedback. True, there's variables at play with feedback.

I honestly don't know. $150 for a true inlaid cue with a good hit is a great deal. But I may end up getting one of the "bad" ones with only two weeks to return plus my dime for the shipping. The fact that he'll adjust the weight, shaft size and taper to my preference for no charge is something I honestly didn't notice before. I'm having a hard time finding any cues, production or not, in that price range with an 11.5-12mm tip conical taper. Or pro taper, for that matter.

I will need to ponder this. :cool:
 
Chopdoc said:
Well I guess I will find out. It's not fa rat all, so no big deal. It's just hard for me to make time for such things. I don't have any illusions or big expectations so it would be hard to be disappointed by such a visit.

As far as people upset about the value of their cues...if they were planning on selling I guess I understand, but the cue one bought back then is the same cue still and didn't suddenly become a bad cue when his prices went down.


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Let us know if you see any sawdust!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
KJ, I don't know if you're mocking me or agreeing with me or saying "well, that's technology".

Does it matter? You have a huge markup on materials alone. You inlay a dowel with ivory, slice it up for rings, and all of a sudden X ivory inlays becomes 4X ivory inlays. And all you did was slice wafers. Novice cuemakers galore crowd your field with cheap product. You know why. How do you like Mike Sigel selling his marked up product while his Maryland buds tell everyone he makes a great cue and worked hard on his "craft" LOL.

There's good, bad, and a whooole bunch of mediocrity. You know it, I know it. I don't know where you are, but frankly I didn't have YOU in mind when I posted. If you're Gutierrez or Prewitt or Schick or Hercek or name-your-maker level, you shouldn't be offended, they do their own fine work and they would know I'm not talking about them. Heck, they're probably having a good laugh at the "Elite Cuemakers Club" monthly meetings.

I'm sure the level of offense taken is in inverse proportion to the craft of the builder.


KJ Cues said:
Of course the machinery does ALL the work. You don't think that we 'whittle' a shaft to final-taper do you?
Hand inlaid, man, what were they thinking???
And all those hours of hands-on labor that CMs try to pass on to the buyer; actually, that's the hours that
the epoxy is curing and the finish is drying. Think about it, we're getting paid BIG bucks to watch paint dry.
There you have the reason that so many newbs are becoming cue-makers. It's free money!!!
As fate would have it, you've figured us out so I have no problems with admitting to it.
Once you've got the magical cue-making machine paid for and you've laid-in a nice stock of cheap wood,
your only expense from there forward is gas for the buggy to carry the bag of checks to the bank.
I usually let the wife do that though. She so luvs handling other people's money. The more, the better.
I'm now her hero.





You are absolutely correct but please bare in mind that Dale is WAY behind the curve.
I guess he just doesn't need the money. Fact is, I don't really think he does.
Why pay the INFLATED price??? Buy a $150 DP and beat those greedy CMs at their own game.
Please don't let some trivial adage sway you. Like: "you get what you pay for."

Are you convinced yet???
You're certainly welcome to go out and buy a shop-full of machinery (and a shop to put it in).
Then buy a couple of videos and cue-making books and you're in business.
Don't worry about falling on your face. At least you'll be doing something for the economy.

KJ
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DP ebay cues start at $99 and would sell for $99 if only 1 person bid. Do not go overboard when bidding. If you do want one keep it around $125-150 tops. The list price of $1799 is manure.

EDIT...they did start at $99. Looks like $109 is the opening bid. Don't go nuts with these cues. Bid low...buy low.
 
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Black-Balled said:
I knew this girl in high-school, now famous actress and she was a biaaaaatch!
But you all love her anyway.
af91015103c3477
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Blue Hog ridr said:
Who is dat?
If she doesn't chew, then I probably won't like her.
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Neil said:
Sandra Bullock??
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C'mon, Black-Balled, answer the question! Inquiring minds want to know!:D:D:D

(P.S. Looks like Angie Harmon to me.)
 
GoldCrown said:
The list price of $1799 is manure.

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The MSRP for most cues is a fantasy from what I see.

It looks like the does that to keep dealers away. I might be reading between the lines too much but it looks like he broke away from dealers specifically/intentionally and does not want to deal with them.


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Chopdoc said:
I might be reading between the lines too much but it looks like he broke away from dealers specifically/intentionally and does not want to deal with them.
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I wonder if he broke away from the dealers or vice versa, considering how many people here have commented on his not exactly being a "people person". But without a dealer's input it's all conjecture.

I really didn't pay that much attention to MSRP when I had my business, I charged what I considered to be a fair price for the product sold, which was almost always below MSRP. I remember one t-shirt distributor recommended $24.99 for their screen printed shirts. I sold them for much less and still made a nice profit. Happier customers, too.
 
i do not know mr perry, but

if you pay $125.00 for a cue, then i think most of the time you are going to get a cue worth $125.00 or less
 
txironhead said:
I wonder if he broke away from the dealers or vice versa, considering how many people here have commented on his not exactly being a "people person". But without a dealer's input it's all conjecture.

I really didn't pay that much attention to MSRP when I had my business, I charged what I considered to be a fair price for the product sold, which was almost always below MSRP. I remember one t-shirt distributor recommended $24.99 for their screen printed shirts. I sold them for much less and still made a nice profit. Happier customers, too.
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Dale Perry doesn't pay any attention to the nonsense of these forums.:thumbup:

He has customers all over the USA that are happy with his cues.

And yes, you can go by his feedback on Ebay. This is not something Dale Perry can control. A negative feedback can not just go away on Ebay like some people on these forums think.

What other cue can you get for $125 with real inlays and points:D? Oh yeah...a cue from the Philippines with the beautiful wood shafts that roll like a surf board.... :thumbup:
 
I recently won a DP cue in a raffle. It was a benefit for a friend that has leukemia. The guy that bought the cue said it's value is $1700 retail. I have no idea about cue values. It is well made. points rings and all parts line up well. Glue lines are some of the best I've seen (I don't really pay attention to other cues). It's obviously a CNC inlaid cue due to rounded points. The ring work is interesting with the inlaid stars/diamonds ? in the layers.

What do you guys think this cue is worth? It's not really for sale...yet.

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chevybob20 said:
I recently won a DP cue in a raffle. It was a benefit for a friend that has leukemia. The guy that bought the cue said it's value is $1700 retail. I have no idea about cue values. It is well made. points rings and all parts line up well. Glue lines are some of the best I've seen (I don't really pay attention to other cues). It's obviously a CNC inlaid cue due to rounded points. The ring work is interesting with the inlaid stars/diamonds ? in the layers.

What do you guys think this cue is worth? It's not really for sale...yet.

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It is the typical cue that sells on Ebay for $150-$200.

Still a good cue.
 
Thanks, I was wondering about that. I can't tell the difference between an expensiv cue and a cheap one. It does look good though.
 
I just went to ebay and checked out DP cues. I honestly understand why you guys are pissed at DP cues. He's selling cues for under $200 with inlay and ring work that most other cue makers would charge much more for. If I had invested in a high end cue from his shop before he started doing this ebay stuff, I would be resistant to purchasing from DP again. He is ruining the resale value of his more expensive cues. But, if someone asks for a good cue for a good price, DP can't be beat.

I'm not a cue guy and I like plain Jane cues and currently play with a Predator Sneaky Pete. I had already put this cue in the rack with the rest of my house cues.
 
Dale Perry when he made customs, 1996 1/1

Here is a example of what Dale made when he did custom work. This is the cue I paid $2500 for in 1996.
 

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(in response to chevybob20)

It does look good. The stars in the rings are interesting. Not sure I'd have used that combination of main woods, but it's a nice cue.

All that being said, it was for a very good cause and I hope it raised a ton of money.
 
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I think Dale Perry is loving this thread if he is aware of it. And he probably is.
Love him or hate him look at all the free advertising he is getting. And probably a few people that have read this thread will buy one of his cues.
We all know by now that the quality of these flea bay cues are a little hit or miss but for $150 or less you can get a bar banger or main player if that's all you can spend.
And I think his cues look pretty good for what he gets for them.
Would I buy one? No I wouldn't. I have no need for a cue like this.
 
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