Custom Cues pay up front wait years?

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
I've read a lot lately about custom cues. One of the many reasons I've never bought one is the wait and I went from bar to bar to find action or hustle. All the bar tables in the East were Valley's that have the raised metal corners that tear up your cue. Another reason is most, if not all want you to pay 100% up front. Forget about the problems of the cue being made wrong or something is not right when you get it after 1 to 5 years, what about if the cuemaker gets sick, has a bad car crash, or God forbid dies when your cue is half finished? Most of the custom cuemakers are one man shops. To me it makes no sense and is bad business paying 100% for anything up front. Johnnyt
 
I paid 100% up front once to have a custom sneaky made, and I was repeatadly lied to, and led on. I finally got the cue, and it was nowhere near worth what I paid. i learned my lesson the hard way. Never again.

Joe
 
My friend Jim Ingram took my custom order for a Titlist conversion with an Ivory joint on faith and turned it into a masterpiece. He finished it in about 2 months and it was awesome. He ended up charging me less than the agreed upon price and I tipped him to what I felt like it was worth which was above the original agreed upon price.

We are in a time that quality craftsmen are in short supply. Lots of people can assemble cues. But few do it to the point that the very top of the chain are willing to do or can do. Anyone can import a cue from China. But who are you willing to allow to cut into your prized cue to fix a rattle? Make friends with your cuemaker. If for no other reason than to support pool in your area.

If you have a quality cuemaker in your area. Do what you can to keep them in business and I know they will take care of you.
 
I sent my custom design ( a szamboti-sh old schooler) to Lee at LP Customs along with 1/2 up front. Cue was delivered in 3 months as ordered.......at a cost LESS then the most basic Schon cue! His work is awsome IMO.

can't ask more then that!

As far as getting on a multi year waiting list and paying a ton for a name?......nope. I have played with and owned ALL the big name cues, and I don't see myself waiting for years for anyone.

Harley Davidson did the same thing to its customers about 10 years ago. Get on a waiting list for $500 and they would call you when they got bikes in....might not even be what you want? they wouldnt even take orders! What happened to them?.....smart bike builders started filling the gap, and a few years later Harley was calling customers that they snubbed years before and begged them to buy a bike.....no thanks. Play the supply and demand game with some other sucker! :)

If ANY company has a multiyear waiting list.....hire more people! Besides waiting for some sacred tree to grow, there is no reason to wait 7 years for a cue......maybe to collect or show to youre buddys?
 
I will never again pay for anything, deposit or total price, on any cue or case. I've been burned too many times. I'm still waiting for a sneaky pete from a very well known cuemaker. I paid in full when I ordered it. I was told I'd get the cue in 4 months, when I made the order. That's been 4 years ago. I've now just given up on getting it. Someday it may drift in... I hope it does. But no matter, I will never contact the maker again. I have already charged it off as a loss. It's simply not worth letting this maker add stress to what is otherwise my great life.

No one will get a penny from me until the item is ready to ship. Any cues in my future will probable be production cues. There's no hassle that way. Walk into a pool store, pick it out... pay for it, and walk out with a cue.
 
I can not remember when the last was I had to pay a deposit on a cue...let alone pay upfront. I tried to pay the makers in advance, but they refused and said they would call when the cue was ready to ship, for payment at that time.

Mind you, with the one maker, his policy typically is a 50% deposit, but because I was a repeat customer, and the trust had already been established, my deposit was waived.

Y'all dealing with the wrong makers. (jkng) Seriously, I will not pay for a cue in advance, partly due to the horror stories here. Once they have your money, there is little incentive to get the cue completed in a timely manner...if at all.

Lisa ====> been VERY lucky to work with good makers.
 
I have yet to come across a custom cue maker....

I havent come across a cuemaker yet that has required full payment for the cue up front before completion. Whether Ernie G, E. Prewitt, Judd, etc...they all just require 20% of the agreed final total price for the project upront to begin. You can either pay in different amounts whenever you'd like until payment is complete or you can pay the remaining balance when they notify you the completion of the cue.
 
PistolPat said:
I havent come across a cuemaker yet that has required full payment for the cue up front before completion. Whether Ernie G, E. Prewitt, Judd, etc...they all just require 20% of the agreed final total price for the project upront to begin. You can either pay in different amounts whenever you'd like until payment is complete or you can pay the remaining balance when they notify you the completion of the cue.
Click to expand...

Well then I'm wrong about the 100% up front, but I have saw many threads on here over the years that stated just that. If its only 20% down on a custom cue then that part is very fair IMO. 50% not so much...again JMO. Johnnyt
 
I require a 50% deposit to start a cue.
Why is that a problem?
To me the deposit shows you are a serious buyer and at that point
you have a vested interest in the cue.
I do admit that all upfront is not a good idea. I did that on a few occasions and it blew up in my face.
I'm not sure I understand why there would not be a problem with 20% down, but there is a problem with 50% down. Other than 30%, whats the difference. A deposit is a deposit.

Thanks
Lee
 
Doctor copay...

Hell, I don't even like it when during certain doctors visits they ask for my copay prior to their rendering service. You should see the looks on a couple of the ladies faces when I've said, that if for any reason I die before the doctor sees me, will they please make sure my family gets that twenty-five bucks back. Watching them react takes some of the sting out of paying before they provide service.

They don't expect you to pay for your car's oil change until they change it, right?

Regarding custom cues, a reasonable good faith deposit seems absolutely fair but you should always leave a balance to be paid upon completion as this will give the cuemaker a reason to finish in a timely manner and, if for any unforeseen reason the deal blows up, you are only at risk for the deposit. It's smart business.

I am going to post a new thread later this morning highlighting probably the best custom cuemaking transaction I've ever had, which was just completed. There are still some good guys out there. :smile:

Best,
Brian kc
 
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Some cue makers will only ask for a fairly small materials fee to start work and will require the rest of the agreed upon price only when the cue is completed. The cue makers I'm lucky enough to be working with have stated that last part as Completed to your Satisfaction as they care about what they put out there and want you to be excited about what they have produced for you. Their reputations mean something to them. They want happy customers that become repeat customers who give referrals for new customers to come out of just about every deal.

I think 50% is also very fair to start a cue as Lee said it shows you are a serious customer. I also think an up front materials fee is a very fair practice. It definitely takes the pressure off the customer to have a small up front investment and off the cue maker if you had to back out of the deal as the initial costs incurred have been covered.

Don't let the horror stories deter you from having a custom cue made as those only represent a very few of the many great many options out there.

Oh and on the Valley bar tables sharp rail edges...You can always have a second or third extra shaft made that you only use on those cue marring rails. On my player I have a shaft that only gets used for that purpose and I keep it well burnished. If the rails are really horrible I have a piece of suede leather that I put on the rail where I lay the cue. It's actually a soft flat leather wood burnisher. Haven't gotten a nick since I started using the leather on the rail method. Good luck if you go the custom route and good shooting!
 
If I was a cuemaker, I'd take a non-refundable materials deposit.....which I'm guessing is around 20-30%......it makes sense, covers your cost, and is still a reasonable figure for a customer to pay.....you get the advantage of both a customer commitment and a reasonable price point for someone to order a nice cue.....additionally, if the customer backs out, everything but your labor is covered and you can still sell the cue, possibly making more money.....

Granted, I'm guessing someone offering a lower pricepoint cue might need 50%, depending on the cost of materials....
 
Not to hijack this thread but I inquired about having a cue made and I was told that since it's not a "big item" (below $500 I'm assuming) that he requires full payment upfront. Is there something wrong with this? This is the first time I'm having him make me a cue.
 
Deposit i dont mind at all. Heck right now im sitting at about 80% invested on a cue. It should be done in january if not it will suck. But i will give the guy some more time to finish. A year or even six months after the delivery date and a cue is not done yet. Well then its time to talk to cue maker. If nothing is done after that im very mad now. With the internet and all the forums you could dang near ruin a guy. I would guess most cue makers know this and will work something out. JMO. Although i have only dealt with one cue maker and its been a pleasure so far.
 
PistolPat said:
I havent come across a cuemaker yet that has required full payment for the cue up front before completion. Whether Ernie G, E. Prewitt, Judd, etc...they all just require 20% of the agreed final total price for the project upront to begin. You can either pay in different amounts whenever you'd like until payment is complete or you can pay the remaining balance when they notify you the completion of the cue.
Click to expand...

Joss East, Scruggs, two Southwests, Gulyassy, Tucker, all paid for on delivery. Nothing up front.
 
Based on my experience, i will not pay again 100% upfront on custom cue. As mentioned, no more incentive on finishing the cue in time, your excitement will turn into frustration.
 
I would never pay 100% up front for a custom cue, there are just too many horror stories out there.

I do however, like the idea of a "sliding" up front deposit. If you are ordering a cue that is going to be easy for the maker to sell if you bail out of the deal, the deposit should just cover the materials plus a small amount of money for the trouble of having to find another buyer for it... maybe 30%. If you have out of the ordinary ringwork or veneer colors, etc... something not mainstream ... then maybe you have to pay 60% up front. If you want hot pink inlays and balsa wood forearm ... well, you will have to pay 100% up front for that!
 
My take is that if a cuemaker has a well-known and reputable business, if a customer decides not to go through with the purchase, the cuemaker through his reputation will still be able to sell the cue, and for a profit to boot. For this reason I feel like no money paid until completion is the way to go. I will say that I paid Dave Jacoby a small deposit when he built my 31" butt to my specs, which weren't all that different from the stock catalog butt it was copied after.

I won't EVER send a cuemaker 100% of the cost upfront. You'd just be setting yourself up for a lot of unwanted stress!!!

Maniac
 
100% up front is not problem to me. yeah i also have been dissapointed with my experience, But i believe there is a good cuemaker up there. an honest and a true gentleman must appreciate if we give him our trust. he will take care about our order carefully.
Do not give up to trust anybody. if you fail to do this, it is your lost...

Best
Dedy
 
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