Cuemakers Taking Orders

[Still want to shoot]

我想我可以自豪地說，我的所有客戶都按時收到了他們的提示，許多人甚至提前收到了他們的提示。

I am not asking for myself, but because i have seen discussion before with people not know how to go about it.
How do people start the process with you? messenger on facebook?
Also, and i may be mistaken but i was under the impression that you had a pretty long waitlist.

 

[Still want to shoot]

My friend just ordered a cue from Tascarella and he’ll get the cue in mid - 2025 or next Labor Day (2025). It is too soon to confirm since the design was just being finalized. A cue maker to consider is Garten Bierbower (Bierbower Custom Cues). I’m sure he wouldn’t have a 2 yr. wait list. Bob Frey has a couple of Garten’s custom cues, if I’m not mistaken.

That is not bad at all for a maker like tascarella, but how long was he on waitlist before being able to place an order?

 

[Bavafongoul]

That is not bad at all for a maker like tascarella, but how long was he on waitlist before being able to place an order?

He originally called 2 weeks ago and placed his order last week. It is a basic player’s design with a Hoppe ring.
Simple inlays in points with veneers but the butt is ebony with the single ring. He is debating adding rings at the
joint collar and above/ below the wrap. He was told this would affect the anticipated completion date pushing it
back. How far depends on how many rings and the design complexity. Fancier designs obviously take a lot longer.

 

[Colonel]

Bob Frey has a couple of Garten’s custom cues, if I’m not mistaken.

?. I think you’re mistaken. Bob was my cue maker from the time he left Scruggs until he retired. He was a phenomenal cue maker but I never knew him to play pool. Don’t know what he’d be doing with another makers cue.

 

[Cue Alchemist]

I put down a 900 bucks deposit in May 2018 with Cohen, still waiting for the cue...

He connects about once a year and explains that something came up, but soon my cue will be done.

Anyone who asks for deposit.is probably going take a very long time.and with that kind of money on the line,it must be some cue. I hope you get it soon!!!! I only done it a couple times.both were ok.I paid 150 upfront. (I would not pay any more than that) and cues where completed on time. I wait around 6 to 8 months. I wait any more than that.I know that my money will be gone, on other things. So I always would ask upfront.what's your waiting list like. but I like it, a lot more,when they just build the cue,no strings attached. My most recent experience,has been my best though.
how you guys wait two years or more, your very patient.

 

[Bavafongoul]

?. I think you’re mistaken. Bob was my cue maker from the time he left Scruggs until he retired. He was a phenomenal cue maker but I never knew him to play pool. Don’t know what he’d be doing with another makers cue.

You are correct……I misspoke or more correctly, mistyped……Bob Farr.

 

[Bavafongoul]

Anyone who asks for deposit.is probably going take a very long time.and with that kind of money on the line,it must be some cue. I hope you get it soon!!!! I only done it a couple times.both were ok.I paid 150 upfront. (I would not pay any more than that) and cues where completed on time. I wait around 6 to 8 months. I wait any more than that.I know that my money will be gone, on other things. So I always would ask upfront.what's your waiting list like. but I like it, a lot more,when they just build the cue,no strings attached. My most recent experience,has been my best though.
how you guys wait two years or more, your very patient.

Too big of a down payment and way too long to wait for any Cohen cue. His workmanship doesn’t command that much patience from a customer to wait that long for “any” design by him. However, he does make beautiful cues.

 

[maha]

if the cuemaker that has long waiting lists cant sell one he made for a customer even if its a special one for the same or more than he quoted. that means you are over paying for his cue and long wait time.

so really no deposit should be required except for a small good faith one. or a larger one upon some point in the completion as it nears.

 

[Bavafongoul]

Anyone who asks for deposit.is probably going take a very long time.and with that kind of money on the line,it must be some cue. I hope you get it soon!!!! I only done it a couple times.both were ok.I paid 150 upfront. (I would not pay any more than that) and cues where completed on time. I wait around 6 to 8 months. I wait any more than that.I know that my money will be gone, on other things. So I always would ask upfront.what's your waiting list like. but I like it, a lot more,when they just build the cue,no strings attached. My most recent experience,has been my best though.
how you guys wait two years or more, your very patient.

Down payment are requirements every business uses. The down payment must be proportional to the cue price.
You aren’t going to get a $3000 cue built with a $150 down payment. More like a $500 down payment seems in line
and progress payments as the cue is built. A cue maker doesn’t want to get stuck with a cancelled order mid-way in
the cue build. He has inventory costs, overhead, labor, and more real business expenses than a customer understands.

$150 down payment for a $700-$800 cue maybe but a cue costing a couple grand or especially more, I don’t think so.

 

[Cue Alchemist]

Down payment are requirements every business uses. The down payment must be proportional to the cue price.
You aren’t going to get a $3000 cue built with a $150 down payment. More like a $500 down payment seems in line
and progress payments as the cue is built. A cue maker doesn’t want to get stuck with a cancelled order mid-way in
the cue build. He has inventory costs, overhead, labor, and more real business expenses than a customer understands.

$150 down payment for a $700-$800 cue maybe but a cue costing a couple grand or especially more, I don’t think so.

yeah those where for the value of just over a $1000.with cuemakers with relatively small following.
As I said,that 900 down payment. Must be some cue. At the end of the day, it's what your happy with doing.

 

[maha]

most small cue makers that never seem to get done, tend to take deposits and live off your deposit not use it for materials.
and if he is two years out then he isnt spending your deposit money on anything but his personal choices.

ive had houses built and remolded and never have paid for anything in advance. ive never let a builder get ahead of me.
most times paid once a month for the work completed.

unless your cue order is for an obnoxious one. a maker in demand can sell your cue in a split second if you back out.

 

[Terry Aeschliman]

I have had 4 very well known cuemakers build cues for me and not one asked for, or would even accept a deposit!!
What on earth am I doing wrong????









w

 

[brunswick1901]

In the late 1960s the first good cue I bought was a used Tad for $40.

$40 doesn't sound like much today but back then I was going to Junior College and working part time making $1.65 an hour before taxes.

Because the better players had an extra shaft I thought I should have an extra shaft so anytime someone was selling a shaft from a Tad cue I would try it on my Tad but none of the shafts I tried felt the same as my original shaft. I mention this because as others have said every cue feels different.

I finally saved up the cost of a new shaft from Tad, again while it is not much today, it cost me another $40. The new shaft was great and it played exactly like my original shaft.

I still have the cue, somewhere, but I do not think anyone would play with it today. It weighed a little over 20 ounces and the shafts were a little over 13 mm.

Back then billiard cloth was thick and you needed a heavy cue to get the cue ball around the table.

Modern equipment has changed the way pool is played and like me the cue is a dinosaur.

 

[Bavafongoul]

As a fellow dinosaur, I completely understand what you mean. In the 60’s thru early 80’s, pool cues were generally
heavier. My Runde Schon, completed in early 1985, weighs 20.4 ozs. A 19 oz.cue back then was considered light.

 

[troi]

I’ve had great experiences with Tim Prince, Ariel Carmeli and Keith Josey. I have multiple cues from each and all 3 cue makers delivered on time, no issues.

Had a drunk guy trip over one of my customs and dented it . Honest mistake but now I never leave the house with any of my customs. From then on I’ve used less expensive cues at the pool hall.