A Question for those that have ordered a custom cue...

macneilb

macneilb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a question for some of you on here who may have ordered a custom cue. Some may have been in this exact situation and I would like to know what would be the best way to proceed...

I'll try my best to condense the story to the important facts:

I ordered a custom cue from a cuemaker which took a few months to make, which he made, right on schedule. The cuemaker completed the cue, sent me pictures (it looked fantastic) and I was ready to pay for it, however I was told the next day that the helper of the cuemaker took a batch of completed cues out to sell, and mine was included in the batch and sold to another gentleman. He apologized and let me know since my cue was sold, he would continue to look for another piece of the wood used to make my cue (it is rare). He ended up locating it and made another cue, this time a little quicker. The question is - would you ask for, or expect a discount for the inconvenience? Would you still even want the cue?

I'm on the fence.. The most bothersome part of this to me wasn't the additional waiting, it is knowing that there is an exact copy of the cue I CUSTOM ordered for myself which was sold out from under me. The whole point of ordering something custom is so that it is unique...which mine is now not. What do you guys say??
 
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I can't know for sure, but it sounds odd. Someone was probable at his shop and saw it and paid more because they fell in love with it.

Now, if it's a cue maker that you really love and want a custom that you're really gonna love shooting with get it.
 
Name and shame, I hate this sort of BS!

The proper way to solve this is for the cuemaker or his helper to get the cue back from whoever bought it, explaining that that cue was not in fact for sale.
 
Wow that is pretty awful, especially considering the fact that you designed the cue yourself.
Even if it was an innocent mistake like he claims (unlikely), there is no excuse for selling off someone's custom project and every effort should have been made to recover the original cue.
 
Hard to beleive a cuemaker delivered on time... I normally expect at least a few months lag in an order past the original promised date... with that being siad, I would still probably pay full price as long as it isnt anything to extreme.

In regards to extreme... how long did it take to make the cue originally and how long did it take to make it the second time?
 
Seems like the shop helper would have known throughout the build it was custom ordered as he helped/watched it be built. Seems the cue maker would have known exactly what left the shop. Seems also you should have your that cue...
You said you got updates/photos of progress...was it perfect? Anything you would have changed about it? Added anything to it, changed ringwork ....anything? If so, then now may be the chance, and then it would be different from the other one you originally ordered. The cue maker may do the right thing...for no extra money! Throw in an extra shaft, throw in some ivory, something....if it truly was a mistake. And fire the helper.
 
If the wait for the next one is reasonable, I'd say no harm no foul.
If it bothers you that there will be another cue out there that will look like yours then I'd say find another cue maker. :smile:
 
macneilb said:
I have a question for some of you on here who may have ordered a custom cue. Some may have been in this exact situation and I would like to know what would be the best way to proceed...

I'll try my best to condense the story to the important facts:

I ordered a custom cue from a cuemaker which took a few months to make, which he made, right on schedule. The cuemaker completed the cue, sent me pictures (it looked fantastic) and I was ready to pay for it, however I was told the next day that the helper of the cuemaker took a batch of completed cues out to sell, and mine was included in the batch and sold to another gentleman. He apologized and let me know since my cue was sold, he would continue to look for another piece of the wood used to make my cue (it is rare). He ended up locating it and made another cue, this time a little quicker. The question is - would you ask for, or expect a discount for the inconvenience? Would you still even want the cue?

I'm on the fence.. The most bothersome part of this to me wasn't the additional waiting, it is knowing that there is an exact copy of the cue I CUSTOM ordered for myself which was sold out from under me. The whole point of ordering something custom is so that it is unique...which mine is now not. What do you guys say??
Click to expand...

It is kind of like the "Devil you know" question. Except for what ended up happening, the deals was OK. The cue was on time and the way you ordered it. The next cue maker may not be so reliable as many on here can attest to. Stick with the guy and give him another chance.
 
macneilb said:
I have a question for some of you on here who may have ordered a custom cue. Some may have been in this exact situation and I would like to know what would be the best way to proceed...

I'll try my best to condense the story to the important facts:

I ordered a custom cue from a cuemaker which took a few months to make, which he made, right on schedule. The cuemaker completed the cue, sent me pictures (it looked fantastic) and I was ready to pay for it, however I was told the next day that the helper of the cuemaker took a batch of completed cues out to sell, and mine was included in the batch and sold to another gentleman. He apologized and let me know since my cue was sold, he would continue to look for another piece of the wood used to make my cue (it is rare). He ended up locating it and made another cue, this time a little quicker. The question is - would you ask for, or expect a discount for the inconvenience? Would you still even want the cue?

I'm on the fence.. The most bothersome part of this to me wasn't the additional waiting, it is knowing that there is an exact copy of the cue I CUSTOM ordered for myself which was sold out from under me. The whole point of ordering something custom is so that it is unique...which mine is now not. What do you guys say??
Click to expand...

I would tell the cuemaker that he needs to pay attention better, ask for a full refund, and never bother with him again. Second chances are fine, for simple mistakes, but this is just careless. I would be uneasy if all of a sudden, he could build a second cue faster than the first cue. Unless the helper was putting prices on cues, the cuemaker would have known that cue was in the batch going out.

Now, we probably aren't hearing the ENTIRE story (we rarely do), so I'd rather not see this turn into a cuemaker bashing thread, but if what you say is true, bash him all you want. That was a stupid thing for him to do.

Grantstew said:
Name and shame, I hate this sort of BS!

The proper way to solve this is for the cuemaker or his helper to get the cue back from whoever bought it, explaining that that cue was not in fact for sale.
Click to expand...

If you sold me a cue, then come back and say, "I wasn't supposed to sell that cue, can I buy it back?" I might sell it back to you. Depends on the truth of the story.
 
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I am not a cue maker, just a collector who buys and sells a bit. I cannot imagine a situation where I would sell a cue by "mistake", so it's a bit different.
 
macneilb said:
I have a question for some of you on here who may have ordered a custom cue. Some may have been in this exact situation and I would like to know what would be the best way to proceed...

I'll try my best to condense the story to the important facts:

I ordered a custom cue from a cuemaker which took a few months to make, which he made, right on schedule. The cuemaker completed the cue, sent me pictures (it looked fantastic) and I was ready to pay for it, however I was told the next day that the helper of the cuemaker took a batch of completed cues out to sell, and mine was included in the batch and sold to another gentleman. He apologized and let me know since my cue was sold, he would continue to look for another piece of the wood used to make my cue (it is rare). He ended up locating it and made another cue, this time a little quicker. The question is - would you ask for, or expect a discount for the inconvenience? Would you still even want the cue?

I'm on the fence.. The most bothersome part of this to me wasn't the additional waiting, it is knowing that there is an exact copy of the cue I CUSTOM ordered for myself which was sold out from under me. The whole point of ordering something custom is so that it is unique...which mine is now not. What do you guys say??
Click to expand...


Why would you even consider doing business with the cue maker again? What do you think will stop the cue maker from doing it again? Ask yourself why this happened? Do you honestly believe the story you were told? I am not buying the cue makers story for a minute. Demand the return of all your money, after all the cue was sold so you can be pretty sure he's got the money. Then tell the members who it is once you have your cash in hand. If you don't do that the cue maker has the green light to do the very same again until someone steps up and does the right thing. In all likelihood someone saw the cue and offered him some extra cash and now has your cue. I have no clue where the ethics have gone in this country!
 
It's a fine story from the cue maker, maybe even true. I'm more inclined to believe it is bs. Not knowing which cue maker makes it harder to believe.
 
First thing is (for me anyway...) if he can't get it back, I'd change something about the cue so it was once again unique since he is going to have to start over it sh9ouldn't be a big problem, and I don't know what he might be willing to do but I think I'd expect some kind of concession, some sort of discount, a free second shaft, a nice set of custom joint protectors to go along with it, something.
You don't sound like you're to terribly annoyed, If you did demand a refund and went to another cue maker the wait time would likely increase.
Next time you speak with your guy you might just ask if he's going to do anything for you because your original, singularly unique, one of a kind cue was sold to someone else.
 
I am pretty easy going and not bothered too much with minor things.

So, I personally would accept the second cue and kind of expect a discount or
some added bonus (like an extra shaft) for my longer waiting time.

I am going to assume you did not explicitely order a 1/1 cue from the cuemaker
so there is nothing stopping him making the same cue again anyway so that part
would not bother me at all.

gr. Dave
 
900 Cuemakers In The USA and Counting

My reaction to this story is that you are dealing with someone inexperienced and unprofessional.

A professional would have gotten the cue back and delivered it you, even if he had to pay a premium to do so. Then he would have the option of making another cue for that buyer.

I have other opinions about this story, but that is the core of what I think about the person you contracted to make a cue for you.
 
macneilb said:
I have a question for some of you on here who may have ordered a custom cue. Some may have been in this exact situation and I would like to know what would be the best way to proceed...

I'll try my best to condense the story to the important facts:

I ordered a custom cue from a cuemaker which took a few months to make, which he made, right on schedule. The cuemaker completed the cue, sent me pictures (it looked fantastic) and I was ready to pay for it, however I was told the next day that the helper of the cuemaker took a batch of completed cues out to sell, and mine was included in the batch and sold to another gentleman. He apologized and let me know since my cue was sold, he would continue to look for another piece of the wood used to make my cue (it is rare). He ended up locating it and made another cue, this time a little quicker. The question is - would you ask for, or expect a discount for the inconvenience? Would you still even want the cue?

I'm on the fence.. The most bothersome part of this to me wasn't the additional waiting, it is knowing that there is an exact copy of the cue I CUSTOM ordered for myself which was sold out from under me. The whole point of ordering something custom is so that it is unique...which mine is now not. What do you guys say??
Click to expand...

At the time the cuemaker informed you of his error, you had every right to demand a full refund and, if you felt the need to vent, or to warn others, the right to post a 'caveat emptor' to alert others who might deal with them. At that point the cuemaker should have made every effort to reacquire the cue, providing it was still in 'virgin' condition, and that you would be ok with its short absence.

You're not in that position now, though. You allowed the cuemaker the time to reacquire the 'difficult' piece of wood, during which time you could easily have request any changes to ensure your final product would remain unique, and then allowed him to fully reproduce your order with no changes. You gave tacit approval by never communicating a request to terminate or alter the order, so the cuemaker has duly fulfilled his obligation to you, and has the right to seek conclusion of your deal. That said, if you voice your misgivings to him this late, it is likely he may still refund your money and just sell the cue elsewhere, since he clearly had no problem doing so the first time.

While not obligated to provide anything extra, it would be a sign of good customer service on his part, of course, to provide some form of discount or lagniappe for your troubles - e.g., an extra shaft, custom JP's, etc.
 
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I would be po'd and insulted. Would want a refund. The maker took the fun out of it.
 
Type79 said:
My reaction to this story is that you are dealing with someone inexperienced and unprofessional.

A professional would have gotten the cue back and delivered it you, .
Click to expand...

An ethical person would not let this happen. He knew what was going on. Since when is the helper the boss?? That was not a mistake. Just an opportunity to make a sale. The are craftsman...and there are shit merchants,
 
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