Dale perry rant

Well you know what I am happy for you, really. For a lot of poolplayers finding the right cue is a long journey and some even, they never find "the one." I wish you look with your cue, may it serve you well.
 
Hi,

My friend buys DPs online all the time. He brings them to me and I put on ivory ferrules and a moori tip. With the purchase, ferrule and tip, he usually has about 200.00 invested.

He sells them locally for about $ 400.00 each. I know he has done this at least 6 times.

He makes more money than DP makes to build them. That's capitalism working at its best!

Dale has the right to sell his cues for what ever price he wants and god bless him if he is making money. I just can't understand why your would put all that work in for such a low price?

I would not prep and spray a finish on a cue for the price he is selling them for. Something does not add up!

Rick G :)
 
The main thing to remember here is not all cues are bought for investment reasons. I love my DP and will not sell it even for profit if it was there because I like the way the cue plays. I like the way it looks. Hell I just downright like the cue. They are made to be put to tables and play the game of pool with. Not sit in a closet and "hopefully" value over time. Shoot with a DP and you will see what I mean. Best bang for the buck if you ask me.
 
> Personally,I don't wish to discuss his sales methods,but this is what I think about his cues,based on my limited hands-on experience.

I was asked to tell a friend about a cue a mutual friend was selling. It was one of Dale's Speedster models,although a 1 of 1 variation. The cue was being sold for 125.00 with 2 shafts. I told him to buy it,and eventually bought it from him myself.

The cue itself was his typical thin-walled SS collar sleeved over black phenolic and wood,with the Radial pin. The base wood was a really nice medium blonde piece of curly maple with moderately breathtaking figure. The very edges of the maple were translucent,to the point of almost giving the long edges of the points a jagged appearance. This was only visible up VERY close.

The point wood and butt section were ebony,and either this was from some "secret stash" source,or stained/dyed,but whatever it was it was truly black,no visible grain to speak of. It had some simple white,MAYBE ivory diamonds in the points,and 4 broach-type inlays above the butt cap with the same material. The inlay work was good but not great. The woods used were top-shelf.

The shafts had not been sanded much if at all,and were pretty beefy,just a little over true 13mm at .516 and .518,the nice part was both shafts were so close. The shaftwood was fairly nice,little darker than some like but VERY clear,and tight. The shafts had a pretty stocky taper,enough that if someone wanted they could have then turned down by actually taking a cut on it rather than having to sand it all off. Both shafts had melamine ferrules and unknown tips.

The hit was pretty stiff for a "production" cue due to the diameter of the shafts and the taper,and had a pleasant amount of "ping",even with the flat-faced joint. The only thing I was unhappy with was the butt was a tad to thick where I gripped it.

I wound up selling it for 275.00 because that cue was truly a gem and the guy that bought it knew it.

For what I paid,that was the best cue I've ever seen in that price range even versus new cues.

His low-end cues are about 150.00 off his Ebay store,and I seriously doubt there is a better cue available for that price,unless the R360's are as good as what people say. Tommy D.
 
Just adding my .02 to the redundant list of comments. DP cues are a great cue for the amount of $$$ spent. One of my employees has one and absolutely loves it. But......no money to be made on it, EVER. If you buy it, keep it, play with it they're a super deal. On a side note, I only WISH I had the knowledge and talent to make a cue as nice as a DP. Until I do, I'm not going to trash the quality of his cues.
 
Are you guys sure you have this right. Viking McDermott, Meucci, are all production cues that are mass produced. Do they go up in value. Yes they do. Do you really think that Dale's cues are not going to skyrocket when he isn't making them anymore. Those 2-3000 cues will probably be worth 4000 then. I have a Viking cue that I got in about 1986. It was 185 dollars new. You know how much it's worth now. at least 1000 it was worth 850 5-8 years ago. That means my mass produced Viking appreciated more % wise than that 1500 dollar cue you bought in 86. So maybe you should give the guy a break because I have had great customer service from him. Maybe that's because I want my taper specific and a better ferrule though. Who knows?

You might want to look around at cue prices bud. I bought a Meucci HP-3 about 3 years ago this Christmas. I bought it because my shaft for my older Meucci was misplaced at a repair shop and they couldnt find it. I freaked out and bought the HP-3. I paid $350 or $380 I forget which. I traded the cue in for an older Meucci for $100 just 2 years after I bought it. So how did the price value go up?? I could have held out and the value would just continue to go down. They were selling on eBay for $180 tops brand new, so how could I sell mine for more?

Last time I checked $380 is more than $180 so the value DID go down, not UP! It has continued to go down the longer we talk.

The only Meucci cues that have half-assed kept their value were the Meucci-Originals that were made from 94-95 on back till Bob Meucci started the company. Any Meucci after 95 will VERY RARELY keep their value. I think I paid for my 95-17 (which is a highly liked Meucci design) for $250 and I guarantee you the original owner paid more than that for it brand new. So I'm not sure where you got the notion to think Meucci, Viking, etc. have gone up in value.

As for Dale Perry's Cues I cant say anything as I've never shot with one. I think I'm going to try one soon off eBay and see how they play. I know he can make some nice cues especially for the price. I like the fact he uses alot of turquoise as I want a cue with that inlayed in it. A man HAS to eat, so I cant blame him.
 
hmmmm i just read evey post...last time i checked this is america..if he wants to sell n ebay now....do it!!...i bought one of his sp cues off ebay 4 years ago sold for small profit..should have kept it...bought a dp-412 model of ebay(not from dale) with 2 shafts for 300. sold later for small profit(should have kept it played great!) i just bought one from him on ebay for 140 shipped with tax(i live in fl.) cue is dead nuts straight and perfect in evey way....while i admit he screwed alot of people that bought 1000+ cues that now his prices are cheap...there is no better cue out there for 150..NONE!...some of his designs are out there and every one that looks conventional sells for 130-180 you cant beat it at all....again just my worthless 2cents....if you need a 150.00 cue buy one...
 
I just got a DP cue off eBay for $160 and WOW... It playa so great. I've only owned a Lucasi sneaky Pete before this so I don't have a lot of experience with different cues but I can tell you the DP is perfect for me. The taper is a little awkward but I got used to it. I'm thinking about getting the DP-R or maybe an OB-1 for it. It wasn't an investment that I wanted to make money from, i just wanted a good cue for cheap money and at less than $200, the DP was the perfect choice.
 
> Personally,I don't wish to discuss his sales methods,but this is what I think about his cues,based on my limited hands-on experience.

I was asked to tell a friend about a cue a mutual friend was selling. It was one of Dale's Speedster models,although a 1 of 1 variation. The cue was being sold for 125.00 with 2 shafts. I told him to buy it,and eventually bought it from him myself.

The cue itself was his typical thin-walled SS collar sleeved over black phenolic and wood,with the Radial pin. The base wood was a really nice medium blonde piece of curly maple with moderately breathtaking figure. The very edges of the maple were translucent,to the point of almost giving the long edges of the points a jagged appearance. This was only visible up VERY close.

The point wood and butt section were ebony,and either this was from some "secret stash" source,or stained/dyed,but whatever it was it was truly black,no visible grain to speak of. It had some simple white,MAYBE ivory diamonds in the points,and 4 broach-type inlays above the butt cap with the same material. The inlay work was good but not great. The woods used were top-shelf.

The shafts had not been sanded much if at all,and were pretty beefy,just a little over true 13mm at .516 and .518,the nice part was both shafts were so close. The shaftwood was fairly nice,little darker than some like but VERY clear,and tight. The shafts had a pretty stocky taper,enough that if someone wanted they could have then turned down by actually taking a cut on it rather than having to sand it all off. Both shafts had melamine ferrules and unknown tips.

The hit was pretty stiff for a "production" cue due to the diameter of the shafts and the taper,and had a pleasant amount of "ping",even with the flat-faced joint. The only thing I was unhappy with was the butt was a tad to thick where I gripped it.

I wound up selling it for 275.00 because that cue was truly a gem and the guy that bought it knew it.

For what I paid,that was the best cue I've ever seen in that price range even versus new cues.

His low-end cues are about 150.00 off his Ebay store,and I seriously doubt there is a better cue available for that price,unless the R360's are as good as what people say. Tommy D.
Tommy....lol....I remeber this deal well...I actually held on to that cue for the guy after he bought another cue up until about 3 months ago....he sold it for what he had in it.....I agree with the there isn't much out there that can be had for what he is selling them for in the quality range....as a new aspiring cue maker I wouldn't do a house cue conversion for what he sells his cues for.....but he has the machines to pump them out in quaintity.......so for any new pool player they are great...and if you deside you want to move on up later...get your money back out of them and buy a biger better cue....preferably from an american custom cue maker that is starving because the cue market is hurting.....we need all the help we can get.:o
 
Keep going back to my DP

I personally own four DP's, 3 of the new ebay cheapy's and an older
sneaky pete with some weird looking trangle inlays at the bottom of it. I don't own any cues that are worth much more than 1K but I will say this much about my DP's, everytime I pull my Jacoby, Olivier, or Espiritu out of my case to hit some balls I find myself going back to my DP. Maybe he isn't a nice guy and maybe he screwed alot of collectors, but for the price I can't find anything close to a Dale Perry cue.
 
I personally own four DP's, 3 of the new ebay cheapy's and an older
sneaky pete with some weird looking trangle inlays at the bottom of it. I don't own any cues that are worth much more than 1K but I will say this much about my DP's, everytime I pull my Jacoby, Olivier, or Espiritu out of my case to hit some balls I find myself going back to my DP. Maybe he isn't a nice guy and maybe he screwed alot of collectors, but for the price I can't find anything close to a Dale Perry cue.

thats about the long and short of it..well said!!!!
 
I just bought a DP cue off of ebay but i hadn't seen this forum before i did. the pics are very nice, i should get it today via ups. ill repost after ive had a chance to play with it. seems as though people either really like them or dont like them at all. kinda upset that the whole 1/1 thing appears to be a fraud.
 
im not comparing them to any upper echelon custom cues but in this day and age when you can get an american made cue 1/1 for under $300 .

DP says that no wood grain is identical so therefore every stick he makes is a 1 of 1.
 
dale perry rant

I received my DP cue in less time than anticipated. After shooting some with it i have to say that i am very pleased. Now, my skill may not be at the level it takes to notice subtle differences in materials or joint type, but i feel that my DP cue hits and plays every bit as good as my schon stl16. Many people are upset with the fact that he is selling custom cues for so cheap and i am of two minds on the matter. Either he has lost his mind selling cues with a good amount of inlay work and very nice looking woods for very cheap and will have very little profit margin, or, the other cue makers have an extremely high markup in the cues that they are selling. Im not trying to slight or offend any custom cue makers out there, but when i see very plain cues with no inlays selling for several hundred dollars, then i see the cues dale is offering, i have to say that his is a far better deal especially considering that my schon retails for over a thousand dollars, depending where you buy it. Its nice to know that people with a smaller cue budget can get nice cues with inlays for a far better price than what most plain production or custom cues cost. On a negative note, when i called to specify weight and shaft diameter, the guy i spoke with, not Dale, was kinda rude and acted like he had better things to do than talk to a customer. The cue has one extremely small blemish in the finish, but is not noticeable unless you really look for it. As far a the certificate that comes with the cue is concerned, i gotta say its kinda worthless, especially with the typo that says "cues producted in the USA." not a big deal though. Im not clear on the 1/1 issue, as i have read that he considers every cue to be a 1/1 due to the different grain patterns in each piece of wood. Overall, very happy, and will probably be buying more in the future. Just my .02.
 
DP says that no wood grain is identical so therefore every stick he makes is a 1 of 1.

Same can be said for Meucci or anyother maker...

I've seen a Dale Perry Cue I really liked the other day that sold for $300 on here. Was a great looking cue.
 
I'm quite tempted to buy one but there's no way I'm paying $100 for international delivery - now that is extortionate.
 
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I love the way a DP hits(unilock or radial)! Its like the J&J J/B for cues! Best bang for your buck! I would never buy one though lol.
 
Actually I believe they are a great buy for a playing cue. Generally they don't hit bad for a production cue especially at the price they can be purchased for. Many people, especially those who were dealers for him and helped him get his start are upset for the thousands of dollars they lost when he started selling on e-bay at such a discount. Now the quality of his cues are nowhere what it used to be but never-the-less, the owners of his original CUSTOM cues can no longer sell them for anything near what they paid for them.

Did these people buy a custom cue for the way it plays or just for the value it might have?
I recommend buying a custom cue to be a playing cue.
Speculating in the cue market is worse than the stock market.
Those that bought a custom cue from Dale Perry and liked the way it plays got their money's worth.
The ones that gambled on the value rising and making a profit by selling it ... lost.
It is called the free market and that is the way it works.

Willee
 
DP rant

I'm confused, DP sold cues for $3500.00 ? The buyers must have thought at the time they were as well made or better made than other high end cues or they would have bought another makers cue? Now he makes cues for $100.00 ? They can't possibly be as well made as the $3500.00 ones , or are they? If they are not I don't see why the value of the better made ones went down so drastically , they are still as good as they were when he made them. As far as explanation to people who are not knowledgeable explain that his cues are pre e-bay and post e-bay? Can anyone help me understand this?
 
DP rant

I'm confused, DP sold cues for $3500.00 ? The buyers must have thought at the time they were as well made or better made than other high end cues or they would have bought another makers cue? Now he makes cues for $100.00 ? They can't possibly be as well made as the $3500.00 ones , or are they? If they are not I don't see why the value of the better made ones went down so drastically , they are still as good as they were when he made them. As far as explanation to people who are not knowledgeable explain that his cues are pre e-bay and post e-bay? Can anyone help me understand this?
 
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