Dale Perry Cues - 2 questions

jmizzo

jmizzo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My question is how many cues can a company put out a year, and still be a custom shop? I ask because I just received my new DP cue from Ebay. I know what your gonna say, but I paid 350 for it after adding the dp-r shaft and two day air shipping. Cue is 8 Point with awesome but inlays as well. Have four trident and four shorter normal points. After sitting and thinking about it. This is my second DP cue, and this one is amazing. No flaws and hits like a dream. I prefer the hit to any other cue I have tried and got it for a basement price. Pic Below.

But now to my question. Dale sells about 15 of these week on Ebay, plus any custom orders. This being said I would estimate about 900 - 1100 cues a year are produced. Now this is much less than a McDermott or Viking or anything. But you get a much nicer looking cue that hits amazing for cheaper.

He has said that cue dealers get there cues from large cue outfits for next to nothing, I interpreted the conversation as they get them for 25-30% of cue msrp. He stated he sells them on ebay because cue shops wanted the same pricing on his, and instead of selling them like that so someone else profits, he decided to sell straight to the consumer. I understand he was gaining a following like McDermott in the 80's. So I could see the shops asking this.

I guess heres my question. #1 - Does the pricing scheme make sense? Do the shops really make that kind of markup? I will point out that the cue could go for any price as I got it on ebay, but I didnt pay near what its worth.

Question 2 - How many cues can a cuemaker make and still be considered non production? I understand most of his cues are custom, not in a made for the consumer, but that the inlay/wood combos arent the same. But most designed are the same. This one is different than any I have seen so far.

Thanks for the discussion, and sorry for the rambling. Bored on a Monday morning. Also in no way is this post a slight to Mr. Perry. I would tell anyone to buy one as they are great. I have had nice Schon's and Jacoby's, but like this cue way more. Hits amazing.
 

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jmizzo said:
#1 - Does the pricing scheme make sense? Do the shops really make that kind of markup? I will point out that the cue could go for any price as I got it on ebay, but I didnt pay near what its worth.

Question 2 - How many cues can a cuemaker make and still be considered non production? I understand most of his cues are custom, not in a made for the consumer, but that the inlay/wood combos arent the same. But most designed are the same. This one is different than any I have seen so far.
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#1 - Yes , for him. No for his whole previous dealer network and the thousands of people who paid what they did years ago and now have valueless cues.

As for mark up , no. Not real business' with overhead insurance , employess and etc. These are the same arguements all 'direct' internet/Ebayers use make them better than local dealers. . . the same people they put out of business , the same people that are there when "you" need a tip or wrap done for tonights league match. :cool: But hey , you saved a few bucks so it's all good right ?

#2 - His cues are production cues IMO. They are prodomantly machine made in high volume with no particular customer input. Just because two "design" are different do not make them "custom" in my opinion.

I'm sure you love your cue , if it's hits great and your are happy I am very happy for you. In regards to overall 'cost' IMO , you have a very simple CNC built cue and obvious un-dressed CNC'd inlays. They can probably turn out 2 dozen of those cues a day easily and all have 'different' designs.

I just want to say to you directly that if my post sounds harsh , I know it does , it is NOT at all directed at you sir I promise. It's just an opinion on the 'subject' , and my opinion probably will mean little to most. :)

Jay.
 
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Lol

RRfireblade said:
#1 - Yes , for him. No for his whole previous dealer network and the thousands of people who paid what they did years ago and now have valueless cues.

As for mark up , no. Not real business' with overhead insurance , employess and etc. These are the same arguements all 'direct' internet/Ebayers use make them better than local dealers. . . the same people they put out of business , the same people that are there when "you" need a tip or wrap done for tonights league match. :cool: But hey , you saved a few bucks so it's all good right ?

#2 - His cues are production cues IMO. They are prodomantly machine made in high volume with no particular customer input. Just because two "design" are different do not make them "custom" in my opinion.

I'm sure you love your cue , if it's hits great and your are happy I am very happy for you. In regards to overall 'cost' IMO , you have a very simple CNC built cue and obvious un-dressed CNC'd inlays. They can probably turn out 2 dozen of those cues a day easily and all have 'different' designs.

I just want to say to you directly that if my post sounds harsh , I know it does , it is NOT at all directed at you sir I promise. It's just an opinion on the 'subject' , and my opinion probably will mean little to most. :)

Jay.
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LOL , I guess that makes Dale Perry cues twice as good as Southwest cues, as they only have one design.....

:rolleyes:

Ken
 
jmizzo said:
He has said that cue dealers get there cues from large cue outfits for next to nothing, I interpreted the conversation as they get them for 25-30% of cue msrp.
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I believe it's closer to 50% of cue msrp, after looking at the latest dealer catalogue.. Except for the higher ends of the lines (Viking F02, etc) where it's closer to 30%.
 
Ken_4fun said:
LOL , I guess that makes Dale Perry cues twice as good as Southwest cues, as they only have one design.....

:rolleyes:

Ken
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And he has a much shorter waiting list.

Wonder why that is . . . . Strange.
 
RRfireblade said:
And he has a much shorter waiting list.

Wonder why that is . . . . Strange.
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And yet Cuetec has more world titles with their cues. Even stranger............
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
And yet Cuetec has more world titles with their cues. Even stranger............
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Not really. They have like a billion cues in the market and offer alot of sponsorships. It's just a numbers game.

You sell billions , I sell 7. :) Who's are going to show up more. ;)

Anyway, this discussion is NOT AT ALL about that. Nothing to do with playability , quality , pro players , sponsorships etc. I've owned and hit with quite a few DPs and most they hit very well IMO. It was a simple question as to why you can buy a DP so 'comparitively' cheap and how that relates to value. You want to guess at the manufacuring costs of a Cuetec ? :D
 
RRfireblade said:
Not really. They have like a billion cues in the market and offer alot of sponsorships. It's just a numbers game.

You sell billions , I sell 7. :) Who's are going to show up more. ;)

Anyway, this discussion is NOT AT ALL about that. Nothing to do with playability , quality , pro players , sponsorships etc. I've owned and hit with quite a few DPs and most they hit very well IMO. It was a simple question as to why you can buy a DP so 'comparitively' cheap and how that relates to value. You want to guess at the manufacuring costs of a Cuetec ? :D
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LOL. How many professional players play with a Cuetec? Used to be 3. How many professionals play with a Southwest? All of Asia, a few Filipinos, and some Americans. Seems like Cuetec had less irons in the fire - just better PLAYERS, I guess.
 
the markup is more than 30%. if u look at the dealer pricing, dealers usually get the cues from all manufacturers such as schon, mcdermott, viking etc. for somewhere between 40-50% off of the either the MAP or MSRP price. i forget which one since it's been a while since i last looked at the pricing, i think it's 40-50% off MAP tho.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
LOL. How many professional players play with a Cuetec? Used to be 3. How many professionals play with a Southwest? All of Asia, a few Filipinos, and some Americans. Seems like Cuetec had less irons in the fire - just better PLAYERS, I guess.
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Wow only 3 Pros in the entire world playing with Cuetecs. I woulda guess 1or 2 more. And all those Champoinships too , they must be the bestas cues eva. :)

I guess I'm lost tho , where are you going with this ? Does this support DPs desirablilty and value or against it ? Or are we just throwing out random facts and figures about Cuetec ?
 
RRfireblade said:
Wow only 3 Pros in the entire world playing with Cuetecs. I woulda guess 1or 2 more. And all those Champoinships too , they must be the bestas cues eva. :)

I guess I'm lost tho , where are you going with this ? Does this support DPs desirablilty and value or against it ? Or are we just throwing out random facts and figures about Cuetec ?
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You came back with Southwest having a longer wait list than Dale Perry. Why did you bring this up? I could only assume what you were getting at was that Southwest might build a better cue?

My point was, one man's crap can be another man's treasure. If this guy thinks his DP hits better than anything he's played with, that's his right as a consumer. The whole "custom" versus production debate has become old. Just because the cuemaker's CNC machine only turns out 10 shafts a week, or only inlays 100 cues a year hardly makes him more custom than Schon, Joss or Lucasi.
 
Shawn Armstrong said:
You came back with Southwest having a longer wait list than Dale Perry. Why did you bring this up? I could only assume what you were getting at was that Southwest might build a better cue?

My point was, one man's crap can be another man's treasure. If this guy thinks his DP hits better than anything he's played with, that's his right as a consumer. The whole "custom" versus production debate has become old. Just because the cuemaker's CNC machine only turns out 10 shafts a week, or only inlays 100 cues a year hardly makes him more custom than Schon, Joss or Lucasi.
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For I guess the 3rd time this thread I'll state I'm not making a negative comment about hit or quality or someones happiness with thier cues. I 'thought' I was clear on that but I may have over estimated the reading comprehension of the thread. :)

The SW comment was in response to someone else bringing up SW not myself. Even then I thought my comment was on point in regards to cost, value and desirablilty as well as , uh. . . fact when compared to DP.

And lastly , I still stand behind my opinions on a 'custom' versus production. Having two different inlays on 2 cues do not make them custom IMO.
 
RRfireblade said:
For I guess the 3rd time this thread I'll state I'm not making a negative comment about hit or quality or someones happiness with thier cues. I 'thought' I was clear on that but I may have over estimated the reading comprehension of the thread. :)

The SW comment was in response to someone else bringing up SW not myself. Even then I thought my comment was on point in regards to cost, value and desirablilty as well as , uh. . . fact when compared to DP.

And lastly , I still stand behind my opinions on a 'custom' versus production. Having two different inlays on 2 cues do not make them custom IMO.
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Yet Southwest can make two identical cues, and both are custom?

I wish the industry would make up its mind as to what the hell custom means. To me, in the pool industry, custom = low volume production. There is nothing custom about a 6 point Southwest that looks like and has the exact same specs as the other 6 point Southwest. The only difference between Schon and Southwest is availability and price. Southwest makes cues their way, Schon the same. They both have repeatable tapers. They can both make a one of a kind cue. They both have more than one person working for them. They both have machines that carry out 80% of the work. What makes Southwest any more custom than a Joss? Or a Viking? Nothing. But there's this "clique" on the board that feels the need to attach "custom" to any cue not made by the 100s or 1000s. Custom, to me, is a meaningless term, as more than 70% of the cues make by "custom" cuemakers are not made with the end buyer's needs in mind. That puts them right on par with Pechauer, Joss and Schon in every regard. They just make less of them per year.
 
Where did I say SW was custom ?

I said they were desireable and maintained strong value.

Custom is not the determining factor in that.

If this whole time you just wanted to argue about custom vs production you should have come out with that right up front. :)
 
I don't care about custom vs production or manufacturing costs vs mark-ups. All I want to say, and what is important, is that you have a beautiful cue and you bought it at a great price. Plus, you really like the hit. Good luck and good shooting.
 
I own one...I find it to be a cue worth the money.Most people on here,if anyone bothers to notice,actually find them to well worth the money (those who own/buy them I mean).

He gets his bad press here for reasons other the quality and price.
 
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