The 1st ebay DP cue I purchased had a Radial Pin, and that was over 10 years ago. Paid around $350 for it I think, and I thought it was junk. Worst hitting cue I ever used. Silly me, I gave DP a few more chances over the years (because they were so cheap), and I have never been satisfied with a cue I received from him. One of them was a sneaky pete, and the butt cracked all by itself the 1st night I used it. DP blamed me on it though. Anyways, yeah, he had been doing the Radial Pin joint (on his ebay cues) for a lot longer then 3 to 4 years.
I bought one DP cue off ebay in 2008 and still my playing cue and love it.
I bought another one in 2012 just for fun with a stage IV shaft and it is crap, may have been bad luck bought would have kept buying if it was like the 1st.