First let me say that I have never had a deal on a cue from an AZ seller go bad, but then I am not nit pickin' crazy either, and probably lucky from all the threads I've read about deals gone bad. The last cue I bought from a seller on AZ I drove over 300 miles to see the cue and do a trade in person. There's a cue I am interested in, and I will make arangements to meet the seller in person to inspect the cue before I hand over the cash. All of this is because of all the threads about problems that I have read on AZ. I wonder how many other people on here have decided as I have to only conduct business in person after reading about all the problems people have buying and selling on this forum? I can't even imagine sending someone I've never met 10k for a cue I've never seen except in pictures. Sounds crazy to me.
Why I only buy cues in person.
- Thread starter lstevedus
- Start date
you make some good points and I to would like to examine the merchandise
Prior to handing over the $ but that is not always possible.
I think the forum does a pretty good job of informing its members of the bad apples and bad deals also I think buyers tend to buy from sellers they have a good history with and visa a versa.
MCP
Prior to handing over the $ but that is not always possible.
I think the forum does a pretty good job of informing its members of the bad apples and bad deals also I think buyers tend to buy from sellers they have a good history with and visa a versa.
MCP
Leaning your way!
I have not been beat yet, but if its a name I dont know, I too want to meet you or I'll pass on the deal.
There are so many good brokers out there, it would have to be a really good deal or a very special cue for me to go through the changes, but it takes the unknon out of the deal.
I have not been beat yet, but if its a name I dont know, I too want to meet you or I'll pass on the deal.
There are so many good brokers out there, it would have to be a really good deal or a very special cue for me to go through the changes, but it takes the unknon out of the deal.
I would deal with you...you have a great rep. And maybe one or two others here.100% trader is everything.
If I was spending a lot on a cue I really wanted I'd have to use an escrow service.
Buyers should talk to the seller and get a feel for who they are dealing with if big money is involved.
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You have to BUY the seller first.
Then you will be at ease with the rest of the transaction.
Then you will be at ease with the rest of the transaction.
I have done $20,000 deals on cues i never saw before, however i had good referals to who i was doing biz with and also the cue(s) were not for playing with full time. I want to play with a cue before I buy it as a player. bad deals are because people dont do their homework IMO.
Dean is rock solid, we did a $20K deal once, yay!:thumbup: and sadly i have never met him in person
The biggest deal I have ever done with someone who i never met in person online was $445,000 for 3 Pateks(watches) in 06. Trent wired $445,000 to me based on one phone call from a mutual watch dealer. The next day after the $$ posted I sent out the 3 watches(ref 5101, 5970 RG, 3970 WG) I made about $75,000 on the deal. These days they are probably worth over $600,000. I did meet him a few months after the deal, for him it wasnt a big deal-for me it was. Point is the internet is like anything else, gotta do your homework. I could have held out on him and kept the $445K, spent $50 on lawyers defending myself, destroyed my reputation and eventually lost and paid up. My reputation is worth a lot more the $500,000 to me. $500,000,000 yeah I might make a move with that much $$-but not less.
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Agree
I feel the same way about buying a cue in person, for me it is not about being taken advantage of as much as me making sure I like the cue.I agree with Troy about buying the seller that is a big plus when buying a cue with only pictures to go by.I have had experience's where I liked one cue better then the other in a picture but had reverse feelings when seeing them in person.I came as close as you could come to making a big deal on a high end cue by falling in love with the pictures of it, several weeks later at the SBE I saw it in person and was very relieved I had not done the deal.I think it works best for the collectors who buy and sell a lot, I myself usually buy to keep it.
I feel the same way about buying a cue in person, for me it is not about being taken advantage of as much as me making sure I like the cue.I agree with Troy about buying the seller that is a big plus when buying a cue with only pictures to go by.I have had experience's where I liked one cue better then the other in a picture but had reverse feelings when seeing them in person.I came as close as you could come to making a big deal on a high end cue by falling in love with the pictures of it, several weeks later at the SBE I saw it in person and was very relieved I had not done the deal.I think it works best for the collectors who buy and sell a lot, I myself usually buy to keep it.
I'm not so sure about this.
Perhaps it makes more sense if you are offering the cue, (eg: more demand than supply) as opposed to selling the cue (eg : out on the open market against competition)
I need to trust the seller B-4 he gets my $$$ for ANYTHING. To send money blindly to someone I do not know seems foolish. If one shoots a lot of pool, you have no problems finding cues for sale at poolhalls, and events/tournaments. You can also drive to a secondary dealer to play the cue before you decide to buy. (I ilke this option the best.) :smile:
sorry if this post makes me seem nasty toward buying on-line, it is just about trust.
And if you want to handle the cue to see how it plays before sending the money?
Oh that's right.
You can just chalk the picture up and hit a couple of balls with it.
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I just don't feel comfortable at this point sending $$ to a person I don't know for something whose hit is subjective. If I was buying because I was collecting cues and I had positive feedback from someone I trusted about the seller that would be a different story. Fortunately I have a cue maker who lives an hour away from me whose cues I know. I shoot with one and have been to his shop and home where we have discussed cues and played pool together. I have shot with many of his cues and the hit is really, really consistant. Consequently, I can be in his shop and see a board or a square and fall in love with piece of wood and order on the spot. I know when I get the cue a year or two later what I will be getting. If I didn't have access to an arrangement like this I would probably only buy at a Trade Show or Expo. Just my nature.
i build and sell cues
i think i have solved this problem, i will send a customer one of my cues, let him shoot a FEW racks, if he likes it he then pays me, if not just return the cue. i have not been screwed by anyone on azb.
BUT, those are my $350 to $500 cues. i would think twice about sending a $5000.00 cue to someone without payment.
chuck starkey
i think i have solved this problem, i will send a customer one of my cues, let him shoot a FEW racks, if he likes it he then pays me, if not just return the cue. i have not been screwed by anyone on azb.
BUT, those are my $350 to $500 cues. i would think twice about sending a $5000.00 cue to someone without payment.
chuck starkey
And if you want to handle the cue to see how it plays before sending the money?
Oh that's right.
You can just chalk the picture up and hit a couple of balls with it.
outside of a cue not being straight, for a given brand/model of cue how exactly is it going to "play" differently than any other cue of that brand/model?
Anyone can answer this one, I just honestly can't see how 2 different McDermott TC1s with the same weight, original shaft and straight will play different. Beyond that, I can't say I've ever gotten a real feel for a cue in the first rack or two shooting with it either and I've never gone for a cue deal where I ended up playing for a couple hours against other people with it beforehand.
I have bought many cues over AZer, they were all players, several by the same cuemaker. But they don't always play the exact way. Could be the wood in the shaft, the tips, the weight. I would pay another 100-200 to be able to play with a cue before I bought it. Just to see if I like how a certain cue plays. Again I am buying a player not a collectors cue. I have not had a bad experience buying or selling so far. Tom
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And if you want to handle the cue to see how it plays before sending the money?
Oh that's right.
You can just chalk the picture up and hit a couple of balls with it.
On a cue that's been used, the buyer just need to ask for a mutually agreeable evaluation period and a complete satisfaction guarantee.
This is not rocket science.
Most of the bad deals we see on AZ were caused by buyers and sellers being too-shorted sighted to discuss what happens if the buyer is unhappy with the item he has bought sight unseen BEFORE the cue was shipped
or
the buyer paid in a non-reversible manner.
Any reputable mail-order company offers their buyers the safety of a satisfaction or return guarantee and accepts payments that are reversible. Its the only way to do business as a buyer if you haven't physically inspected the item you are buying.
We are doing business on AZ in the internet age and paying with antiquated methods and once or twice a day we see threads decrying the results.
Satisfaction guarantees and reversible payments are business. Relying on someone you don't know's evaluation and paying in what is essentially cash, is gambling. Even the best gamblers lose some.
Thanks
Kevin
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jjollie
OK, now you've bought your 5 figure cue and you are all ready to fly back home with it. What are you going to do? Accept the Airline's maximum coverage of $3300 (which they will NEVER pay you) and hand that cue over at the baggage counter and watch them toss in on the belt with a couple of suitcases on top?
Thanks
Kevin
TheCueHunter
Banned
This way of doing business may work with silverware and cats, but it's hard with cues and here's why.
The market is tough right now....I list a cue (top maker) at a steal of a price.
I get 4 pms saying "I'll take it!" Fr full price....I sell to the first guy who replied. I tell the other three "sorry" cue sold. I ship it to the guy after getting payment, and the guy HATES the way it plays.
He wants to return it. The cue was as described, but just plays bad to him (subjective).
Well, because HE knows hits are subjective, instead of telling me that in order for me to take the return, he tells me that the cue has some "issue" other than it just plays bad.
I take it back.
I relist it on AZ.....everyone and there Mom, knows the cue just sold. I contact the three other people who said they would take it and now they say "hell no, cause obviously something is wrong with it"
I say nope, the guy just hates the the way it plays lol. NOW NO ONE will ever buy it.
So am I know stuck forever with the cue cause I was offering a satisfaction guarantee?
It is rocket science on here to some.
This has happened to me and many others....I'm not short sighted, but I know buyers remorse, and I know when the guy hates the way a cue plays, but yet makes up some other reason for me to take it back.
Funny is this only happens when I list a cheapy cue I take in trying to help somebody out.....NEVER on a 2k plus deal. This happens even when the payment is credit card backed by paypal from his neighbors moms, cousins, uncles, sister in laws second cousins great uncle.