Warranty?

J

James2003

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just wondering why some companies are able to offer lifetime warranty on $100-$300 or more cues. When some custom cue makes do not?
When I had my matching set of custom cues one shaft had a slight roll to it when I sold them. Which was going to cost about $150 for a new shaft.

Just doesn't make sense that a $3000 cue will not have a lifetime warranty for shaft warpage.


Maybe one of you can shed some light on this for me
 
James2003 said:
Just wondering why some companies are able to offer lifetime warranty on $100-$300 or more cues. When some custom cue makes do not?
When I had my matching set of custom cues one shaft had a slight roll to it when I sold them. Which was going to cost about $150 for a new shaft.

Just doesn't make sense that a $3000 cue will not have a lifetime warranty for shaft warpage.


Maybe one of you can shed some light on this for me
Click to expand...


Custom makers are usually guys either doing it as a hobby, or there are a few that do cue making solely for a living. In that situation, production and replacement costs are way higher than production makers. They are choosier about the woods they use, some taking several cuts over several years to see if the wood is going to move etc. Every piece of wood that leaves the shop as a cue has the material cost and a huge time investment to it.
Production cue companies, especially the imported cues like Players, Lucasi etc have much cheaper material and production costs. They make their money off of volume with a modicum of quality. They use a broader selection of shaft wood, and dont spend as much time cutting them down typically. (there are of course exceptions like Schon, Pechauer, Jacoby etc who are much lower volume compared to say Players) So while the warranty seems like they are making a promise that it wont warp, they are really saying if it does, its a cheap replacement.
Notice the ones that I named as exceptions arent the ones offering the warpage warranty. You cant promise that wood wont move, its just the nature of the material, and you dont know how the end user will store and take care of it. So while those $100 cues offer a warpage warranty that might cost them say 10-20 bucks to replace a shaft (guesstimating here no real data), the custom makers spend hours of time over a period of years to try and make sure its moved as much as it will before it leaves the shop.
Hope this makes sense
Chuck
 
Well that makes sense. But still hard to believe that a year old shaft had a roll to it. And a shaft off of three different players cues are dead straight after anywhere from 6-8 years. All have been stored in the same case in same conditions. I never play with them if they are cold I let them warm up first. I don't leave them in the car pretty much from house to car to pool hall back home.

Maybe it was just a bad shaft from the go. I dunno. But even the buyer was worried about it before he even looked at them. The buyer is also a well known que seller. So apprently he knew there has been issues with that makers shafts.

Anyways thanks for the reply it did help shead some light on it.
 
On another note I just looked at your link for your cases. Can you pm me some info on prices for 3x6. Nothing too crazy on tooling. I was looking at getting another Case for my next custom cue. And new Brel cue
 
James2003 said:
Just wondering why some companies are able to offer lifetime warranty on $100-$300 or more cues. When some custom cue makes do not?
When I had my matching set of custom cues one shaft had a slight roll to it when I sold them. Which was going to cost about $150 for a new shaft.

Just doesn't make sense that a $3000 cue will not have a lifetime warranty for shaft warpage.


Maybe one of you can shed some light on this for me
Click to expand...

Knock off cues are mass produced and cost next to Zero to duplicate, custom made cues are just that. Like any Business situation, communication ''up front'' is KEY. There is no guarantee any piece of wood will stay straight for life. Where pool players put their cue stick when not in use is extremely important. One time in the hot sun/car/trunk/or if you leave your cue at home laying on an exterior wall, the day/night temp changes can also do you in.
 
James2003 said:
Well that makes sense. But still hard to believe that a year old shaft had a roll to it. And a shaft off of three different players cues are dead straight after anywhere from 6-8 years. All have been stored in the same case in same conditions. I never play with them if they are cold I let them warm up first. I don't leave them in the car pretty much from house to car to pool hall back home.

Maybe it was just a bad shaft from the go. I dunno. But even the buyer was worried about it before he even looked at them. The buyer is also a well known que seller. So apprently he knew there has been issues with that makers shafts.

Anyways thanks for the reply it did help shead some light on it.
Click to expand...
You might get 6 hours before a Meucci warps. True story. Took a young player on a few road trips. Kid had no money. We chipped in and got him a cue. Shaft warped before closing. What warranty.
 
Take a good looking shaft blank and turn it down for the first cut,,still looks good after the turning. Turn it down the second time,,still looks good,,after the third cutting..you might start seeing problems with the blank that makes it unsuitable to be used...What I'm pointing to, is this...even if the blank is first grade, top material..one never knows what lays just under the surface of a turned piece of wood...could still be a great blank,,or could be something hiding under there that makes it junk...how would the cue maker,,or why would a cue maker be responsible for that...
 
Island Drive said:
Knock off cues are mass produced and cost next to Zero to duplicate, custom made cues are just that. Like any Business situation, communication ''up front'' is KEY. There is no guarantee any piece of wood will stay straight for life. Where pool players put their cue stick when not in use is extremely important. One time in the hot sun/car/trunk/or if you leave your cue at home laying on an exterior wall, the day/night temp changes can also do you in.
Click to expand...

This is basically it. Production costs in a factory environment for a replacement shaft is next to nil, compared to a small custom shop.

Most custom makers I know will replace a shaft on a new or reasonably new cue free of charge to the original owner, if there is a problem. If it changes hands though (sometimes multiple times) or the cue is years old, it's an unrealistic expectation to expect a maker to warranty something like that free of charge. You can never tell how the cue was treated/stored. Most will probably still offer some kind of 'deal' though on a replacement.

We once sold a brand new cue to a customer who told us he was unhappy that the shaft was warped. We arranged for it to be shipped back to the maker and when he received it and chucked it in his lathe, he measured it with an indicator and it wasn't even out 2 thousandths of an inch. That couldn't be seen by the naked eye. He made the customer another shaft, and he was satisfied with the replacement.

Fact is, wood is 'alive' and will move back and forth to some degree with atmospheric conditions. Most people's playing cues have shafts on them that are out a few to several thousandths of an inch. They don't let it bother them, though, or they don't even realize it. (In other words, it's acceptable and 'straight enough' to them).

That touches on another aspect that the big companies with factories understand. Nearly everyone who buys a production cue is not going to be that nit-picky or peculiar about shaft straightness, so the volume of returns is therefore minimal.
 
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