A Cautionary Tale...

8-ball Rat

8-ball Rat

I'll eat you alive.....
Silver Member
All,

I'll preface this entire thread with the following statement: I AM P!SSED RIGHT NOW, but will calm down in a while, I'm sure.

I'll forego the long and boring version of the story, and cut to the important parts.

Recently, I came to the realization that I would be able to dabble in cues again. My current situation affords me the funds and ability (but not necessarily the time) to enjoy all the wonderful experiences AZB has to offer :rolleyes: .

To that end, I made a push to get one of my all-time favorite players back where it belongs...with me. Through a good friend, I was able to track the cue down and make the arrangements necessary to buy it back. And all seemed to be great. Communication with the seller through the process was great. Once all the small details were ironed out (weight, condition, whether or not specs had changed at all), I pulled the trigger. I paid for it. Handsomely. Uncommon to most sellers I've dealt with, I even received an e-mail with a photo of the shipping documents. That was a new one on me, and I was impressed. Then the waiting game began.
 
In my current geographical location, it takes 9-10 days to receive a USPS Priority Mail package. I blame El Nino and the price of gas for such a long lag-time...but I have it down to a science. 9-10 days. Period. End of sentence.

Exhibit A: The stamp date on the shipping docs is 14 Feb. Today is 24 Feb. By my math...that's 10 days. Same as it has taken to get 10 other boxes shipped to me...and same length of time it has taken 20 or so to be received by coworkers from the U.S.

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Sure enough...today was the 10th day...and my cue arrives. I take note of the condition of the box, and see that all sides are flat. No dings, dents, tears, scrapes, or pigeon dookie stains on it. The USPS Priority Mail tape on both ends is solid. No rips, no tape-overs, no strings to tie it all back together.

I write the seller and let him know, immediately, that the box has arrived, and seems to be well, by all outward appearances.

Exhibit B. This is the box, opened up in my room. The single cut lines on one end is from me opening it up.

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To what do my wondering eyes fall upon...but a cue case. NOT part of the deal, I assure you. Got blind-sided by a 1x2 cue case added to the mix...without knowing a thing about it. What could be better, right???

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That's where the happy stops. I pull the cue out, ready to revel in having it back. I mean...this cue was built for me. The cuemaker went out of his way to make it, and I had the very pleasant experience of picking it up from him, personally.

What I see, however, is not anywhere close to what I was told...and DEFINITELY not was I was expecting. I mean...we all have expectations, and rarely do they actually meet reality...but this was not even in the same zip code.

First, we'll talk about the shafts.

Ivory is supposed to clean up well, right. That's one of the wonderful things about it. It stays clean. NOPE. Not when they're scratched up all to hell. And yes...I did try to wipe them off and clean them up. The blue chalk stains are inside the scratches, and don't come out with typical care of a cue.

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Uh oh....

<-- thinks if the seller doesn't make it right, the cuemaker will... Looking forward to reading the rest and seeing pics.
 
A few more of the ferrules...and the shaft wood.

Speaking of...there's a perfectly linear scratch, in line with the bottom, about 1/8" below the ferrule...filled with chalk. Looks as though it fell victim to a quick DIY project.

Oh...and there are pock-mark holes all over one of the shafts. I lost count after 10 of them. If you look at it carefully, you can see 'em. My apologies for the crappy photos...I got a crappy camera.

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Let's move on, shall we?

Let's talk about the back end of the cue. I was informed that the cue was in...and I quote...great shape.

Last I checked...dings, scratches, dents, and scuffs did not equate to "great shape."

Now...in the spirit of fairness...one or two scuffs isn't a big deal. I mean, it's a player's cue. It's gonna receive a love rub or two.

I lost count after 25 pock-marks, dings, and scratches. See those ones that look almost perfectly circular? Like the kind you get if you were to drop it on rocks? At least 20 of those on the cue (which look VERY similar to the pock marks on the one shaft. Weird, huh?)

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But wait...there's more:

This is what the joint looked like when I pulled it out of the case. First thing I saw:

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Now for the best part:

THE SELLER SAYS THAT...ASIDE FROM SOME CHALK STAINING ON THE SHAFT FROM PLAY...THE CUE WAS NOT IN THAT CONDITION WHEN HE SHIPPED IT TO ME.
 
Here's the rub. There's always a rub, right? Here's mine.

The cuemaker made this cue for me about a year ago. After a couple months, I had one of my classic "gotta pay for s#!t" moments, and sold it for the quick money I needed. Hated to do it...was embarrassed to do it...regretted doing it. But I did.

This cue means something to me.

I am in a place where I have very little to enjoy and look forward to. I get to make a couple calls each week (on a good week), and I get to play some 9-ball (when I'm not...um...busy).

I wanted this cue back in the very worst way, so I did what I had to do to get it back.

I told the seller about the condition of the cue as soon as I opened the box. His response was "Send it back and I will refund your money. But it wasn't in that condition when I shipped it."
 
At the end of the day, I'm gonna eat the loss on this cue, and be done with it.

The fact that he offered a refund WOULD have been appreciated...if not for the fact that he actually expected me to believe that the cue magically deteriorated in-transit."

I'm at the point now where I do not trust him. At all. After seeing what he sent to me, after he knew what the cue meant to me...after I paid him his asking price for it...and after telling him about the issues only to be answered with "it wasn't like that when I shipped it," I will NOT put myself at risk in dealing with him anymore. On any level.
 
Murray Tucker said:
Just send it to me and all will be right with the world again.
Click to expand...

You are a man unlike any other! And I'm talking about your character and your integrity! Not about that pic of you in the dress.

You're a saint Master Tucker! :thumbup:
 
THE MORAL OF THE STORY, KIDS:

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH. DON'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, AND TAKE NOTHING ON FAITH (OR HOPE)...UNLESS YOU HAVE A SOLID HISTORY WITH THE PERSON YOU'RE DOING BUSINESS WITH.

Murray has assured me that he's gonna make it right...and for that, I thank him. He didn't have to...especially after I let it go the first time. Won't make that mistake again.

Be safe out there, young ones...some folks out there will bone ya!! (unless that's your thing...in which case, have fun!)
 
Please "out' the seller so that no one else gets burned.

Way to go, Murray!!

Scott
 
That really sucks Mark. This place never ceases to amaze me.

Last week I offered a cue in trade for another cue + cash. The other party comes back and says I can't add cash to my cue for the cue you are offering, but asks... what about another cue on your site + X amount of cash for my cue... I say sure, that sounds fair. He comes back later and says I found out my cue is worth more than I thought so I am backing out of my offer. But he goes on to say he will trade his cue for the original cue I offered but is has to be a straight up trade... I really liked his cue so I agreed and said let's do it!

He sends a PM back stating, and I quote, "We have a deal". We make shipping arrangements last Friday to ship out on Monday and all is good. Sunday I get a PM and he says, I got a better cash offer on the cue and I'm backing out of our deal!!! It wasn't like he asked... hey, I really need cash and I got a full cash offer. I know we have a deal and will stick to my word if you really want the cue, but I would appreciate it if you would let me sell it for cash, it would really help me out.

No... it was just... I got a better offer I'm backing out. I can't tell you how many times I have agreed to a trade or trade + cash, only to get a full cash offer right after I made the deal. But I have never backed out of a deal without asking the other party and giving them final option. When is a deal a deal anymore... and when will people start backing up their sales???? It is getting out of hand.

Props to you Murray for helping out a great AZ'er. That's the way it is supposed to happen.
 
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