Alton is the king when it comes to custom protectors......but Jim Baxter is very accomodating and does great work and is trustworthy and on that last note, all the more reason to avoid pipe1976 (Lonnie.Wilbur)......I got screwed out of $125 by refunding Ray Feliciano for a protector set Pipe1976 was going to make for my Joss West cue that I sold Ray. Lonnie hadn't yet stated the set which I had paid for in advance and I had previously ordered prior sets from Lonnie without any problems. Since I included the cost of the protector set in the cue price. I told Ray to work directly with Lonnie on the design he wanted. Well, after the sale, Ray contacts me and said he had received the protector set from Lonnie & it was poorly made. i.e., major flaws. I had never had that experience with Lonnie and so I gave Ray back the $125 since it was included in the cue sales price.
I informed Lonnie about the set before refunding Ray $125 since I thought it was best he handle the refund. Lonnie said he didn't have the funds available at that moment because of a inventory purchase he had just made. I told Lonnie I would just have Ray return the set and I'd refund the $125 I paid Lonnie for that set. As I was getting a new cue after my upcoming rotator cuff surgery, I would simply have Lonnie make a set for that cue and we'd call it all even. Well, I had surgery, buy the cue and Lonnie disappears on me despite repeated attempts to reach him. So after a year of not hearing back, I started demanding a refund.......more years go by and still no word from Lonnie and nary a red cent either. Based upon my financial loss from doing business with Lonnie, I suggest my fellow Azers should heed........CAVEAT EMPTOR w/Pipe1976.
Matt B.
