When is it ok to cancel a custom cue - already paid half price

[middleofnowhere]

It's interesting most of the replies side with the cuemaker. These are the same guys that you send them a repair that they promised to be back in 2 weeks and 3 months later they haven't started on it yet.

Or you order a cue they said they could deliver in 6 to 9 months and 2 years later they haven't started on it yet. Meantime they've got your deposit. Cuemakers are not really famous for their promissory honesty.

Having said that, that's the whole point of the deposit is to be sure you follow through with your end of the deal. Now what you got to do is see if the cuemaker follows through with his end of the deal. I'm betting you don't have the cues in the time frame quoted. At that point you might have something to complain about.

 

[John oleson]

You made the right decision to pay for the two cues!

 

[philly]

It's interesting most of the replies side with the cuemaker. These are the same guys that you send them a repair that they promised to be back in 2 weeks and 3 months later they haven't started on it yet.

Or you order a cue they said they could deliver in 6 to 9 months and 2 years later they haven't started on it yet. Meantime they've got your deposit. Cuemakers are not really famous for their promissory honesty.

Having said that, that's the whole point of the deposit is to be sure you follow through with your end of the deal. Now what you got to do is see if the cuemaker follows through with his end of the deal. I'm betting you don't have the cues in the time frame quoted. At that point you might have something to complain about.

Personally when I place an order for any billiard equipment to be made it is important to correctly assess
the integrity of the person you have contracted to do your work.
I have had one custom cue made and it was delivered on time and communications were open the whole process.
Of course I tried not to bother him much.
Have to control the antsiness.
Just received custom joint protectors from Jim Baxter, one butt and four shafts.
Done on time.
Recently had three of those shafts and two of my sons cleaned, sealed, and retipped by Proficient Billiards.
Done on time.

Yup, all sorts of stories out there.
I have gotten lucky apparently.
Sometimes you get more with honey than you do with vinegar.

 

[middleofnowhere]

Personally when I place an order for any billiard equipment to be made it is important to correctly assess
the integrity of the person you have contracted to do your work.
I have had one custom cue made and it was delivered on time and communications were open the whole process.
Of course I tried not to bother him much.
Have to control the antsiness.
Just received custom joint protectors from Jim Baxter, one butt and four shafts.
Done on time.
Recently had three of those shafts and two of my sons cleaned, sealed, and retipped by Proficient Billiards.
Done on time.

Yup, all sorts of stories out there.
I have gotten lucky apparently.
Sometimes you get more with honey than you do with vinegar.

In regards to dealing with cuemakers, on this forum you would be way in the minority. Getting screwed around by a cuemaker has always been a very common topic.

A few years back and probably currently, building and repairing cues became a popular hobby. With availability of equipment and information from people like cueman, Prather and others anybody could call themselves a cue maker.

I think many may have gave the business somewhat of a bad name. Creating the standard assumption cuemakers could not be trusted. Even on here you see comments about taking delivery times with a grain of salt.

Regarding the original question, the buyer needs to either complete the transaction or forfit his deposit.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Can not judge any profession by like oh Eddie Wheat, or Tony Zinzola.

Many Cuemakers are very professional.

 

[maha]

all that should have been agreed upon when making the order. ask if you can cancel if he isnt finished on time or a short period after like one month. and return policy. you do that when you buy any big purchase at a store.
then decide if you still want to do business with him.

for me unless one of the very most reliable cue makers i would not put up but a tiny good faith deposit. and more after a picture of an almost finished cue. and would only pay by credit card with a time frame where you cancel if cheated.
its bullshit that they need money for materials. if they really do, they are a shoestring shop and you dont want to do business with them in the first place.

since you didnt you gave him a blank check to do as he pleases. so call him and ask what is his policy on changing your order. you made a contract and if he follow through you should as well. your word is your bond.

 

[Swighey]

The whole point of deposits/part payments is that you can cancel and the seller cuts his losses (and also has a cue he can still sell). You can cancel at any time. Put me in the same situation and I would follow through with the deal and either sell the custom cues on or sell the other one (or more likely keep them all). But it's your business and not mine or anyone else's. Your stance on a business decision is your own.

 

[jimmyco]

It's interesting most of the replies side with the cuemaker. These are the same guys that you send them a repair that they promised to be back in 2 weeks and 3 months later they haven't started on it yet.

Or you order a cue they said they could deliver in 6 to 9 months and 2 years later they haven't started on it yet. Meantime they've got your deposit. Cuemakers are not really famous for their promissory honesty.

Having said that, that's the whole point of the deposit is to be sure you follow through with your end of the deal. Now what you got to do is see if the cuemaker follows through with his end of the deal. I'm betting you don't have the cues in the time frame quoted. At that point you might have something to complain about.

Painting with broad strokes again.

Is the reason you feel that way because the few rare instances you crawl out from NPR is to drop in here where it seems the only time we hear about cuemakers is in the feeble snivel and whimper threads?

There are plenty of honest cue builders and plenty of praise for them.

As always, you are clueless.

 

[maha]

if you put a deposit that helps hold you to the deal. but a deal is a contract and a deposit forfeited doesnt release you from completing the deal.

 

[middleofnowhere]

if you put a deposit that helps hold you to the deal. but a deal is a contract and a deposit forfeited doesnt release you from completing the deal.

How do you forfeit your deposit and also complete the deal? If you complete the deal you pay the balance an thats it. Where does the forfeit come in? The deposit represents part of the final balance. Do you think a deposit is a fee I pay up front exclusive of the total cost for the privilege of placing the order?

 

[gregcantrall]

Way back in the’70s I made furniture (waterbeds) I gave the sales people an advantage by taking custom orders. I ran the shop. For all custom orders I would speak with the customer and explain. What you picture and what I picture and what I build will all be different. I will build something that I feel confident will sell. If it’s not to your taste, I will keep it. No problem. Never had a customer that wasn’t satisfied and or thrilled.

 

[Bavafongoul]

You ordered something to be made....you have a contract.
If the cue-maker releases you, he still needs to cover his costs
and his time. He deserves being paid an hourly rate and his
time is every bit as valuable as a carpenter.....so how much?
$30/hr......$50/ hr.....$75/ hr.....plus materials. How long will it
take him to ever sell your cues to recover his time and income?

The cue maker can complete your cues and try selling them. If
he gets paid at least what you were being charged, then he can
refund your deposit from the sale proceeds. Personally, I think
you have a responsibility to fulfill the order & you can sell the cues.

I have ordered several customs and the cue maker deserves to be
compensated for all of his time and materials regardless of whether
I changed my mind. A contract is nonetheless binding in my mind
presuming you have the financial wherewithal to follow through. This
is exactly why cue makers are entitled to obtain a downpayment up
front and progress payments as your cue is being completed. Live &
learn from your experience but be a stand up guy at the same time.

 

[middleofnowhere]

You ordered something to be made....you have a contract.
If the cue-maker releases you, he still needs to cover his costs
and his time. He deserves being paid an hourly rate and his
time is every bit as valuable as a carpenter.....so how much?
$30/hr......$50/ hr.....$75/ hr.....plus materials. How long will it
take him to ever sell your cues to recover his time and income?

The cue maker can complete your cues and try selling them. If
he gets paid at least what you were being charged, then he can
refund your deposit from the sale proceeds. Personally, I think
you have a responsibility to fulfill the order & you can sell the cues.

I have ordered several customs and the cue maker deserves to be
compensated for all of his time and materials regardless of whether
I changed my mind. A contract is nonetheless binding in my mind
presuming you have the financial wherewithal to follow through. This
is exactly why cue makers are entitled to obtain a downpayment up
front and progress payments as your cue is being completed. Live &
learn from your experience but be a stand up guy at the same time.

if the cuemaker is good and their cues in demend they can sell every cue they can build. I got a nice cue from Scruggs that had been canceled and I was lucky to be there and get the cue. It was delivered in two weeks all it needed was a pair of shafts. Scruggs by the way did not take deposits, neither did Szamboti. Scruggs felt it gave the customer something over him. It gave them the right to be a pest and demanding.

Towards the end Scruggs would not even take any orders. He just built cues and offered them up for sale through agents. Cuemakers never take any loses on cues, if they are any good, they are always behind anyway.

 

[book collector]

You made a deal .

 

[9ball5032]

Depends how much the deposit is. If the cues are 1000 a piece and the deposit was half, that's 1000 to eat.
If you sell them both at 750, that's 1500. So, you loose 500. That's a lot better than loosing 1000.
Depends on if you want to fool with it or not. And depends on how much the demand is for his cues and how much and how fast you can get it back.

 

[ddg45]

So I’ll try to be brief. Back in February I ordered two custom cues not one; from a really good cue maker, he said the wait time is from 3 to 6 months so we are still within the wait time. i.e he’s not late on his delivery. However during that time period I found a cue that I really enjoy and love to the point where I don’t want to try something new.
I already paid half price which is a big chunk of money that I won’t say here, am I entitled for cancellation and getting my money back? Or is that not something that I can do? I’m asking so that I don’t do something that iam not allowed to do.

I mean I want the common courtesy in this situation! Can I still cancel even though the cue maker might done half the job and he didn’t do anything wrong or is that not nice to do and I must go through with my order and take the two cues even though I already found a cue that I like.

please I don’t want to make the cue maker unhappy which is why I made this post.

If he's started work I would expect him to keep the deposit at least, and if it's something out of the ordinary you asked for you should go through with the deal and pay him. That's unfortunate but reasonable. Whatever he decides to do is within his right. Try to work something out with him.

 

[u12armresl]

I got the point.. at first I wanted to cancel both cues as I mentioned I found a real good cue for me ... but as a curtsy for the cue maker I will take both. I dunno what else to do

You did a curtsy to the cue maker?

 

[SBC]

You changed your mind. Not his problem.

Either offer him a buyout of sell them once received.

 

[The_JV]

A deposit is meant to protect the seller from excessive loses, if the buyer backs out of the deal. It's not to hold your place in line or any of that garbage. Maybe the custom cue world is different in their expectations, I don't know. This wouldn't be the first time I've seen words used on the forum that have unique meanings in this place.

Feel free to cancel your order but I would not even consider asking for the deposit to be refunded. If the builder is suffering such a great loss that he cares, then he needs to rethink his deposit %.

All that said, I would go through with the deal....lol

 

[jimmyco]

When you're dead.