Dale perry rant

[scdiveteam]

Hi,

3500.00 to 100.00. Something smells rotten in Denmark!

Does he claim that all cues are made in USA? When I sold cues in my pool hall I sold Nick Varners and they were from overseas. Some of those were only 22.00 dealer price. Selling them for 100.00 would have been a hell of a profit.

RG

 

[The Clever Set]

There is nothing rotten in Denmark. All DPs are made in Florida by Dale or one of his "protoges" who work with him in his shop. These days, it's more likely that you'll get something made by one of the "protoges."

The drastic price drop didn't happen overnight, it happened over a period of 10 years. Dale did indeed sell very beautiful, high dollar cues in the mid-90's, and even into the late 90's. A friend I used to shoot with bought a DP in 1996 and it is still one of the finest cues I've ever seen, bar none. And it wasn't cheap, I think he paid around $2000 for it. The price drop started happening when he began selling a few of his cues on eBay in the early 2000's, which eventually led to him selling lots of cues on eBay.

His eBay cues are a good buy, and he'll even make you a very nice custom cue for a reasonable price now if you ask him to. The problem is that you'll likely never get your money back out of it because some people can't seem to tell the difference between a three or four point cue made with a wide radius CNC bit and 12 inlays and a six, seven or 12 point cue made with a very small radius CNC bit with 40, 50 or 60 inlays.

As has been said at least 100 times before on this board, the reason behind the Dale Perry hate is not that he makes bad cues, even now, but because his dealers and the people who bought his cues hoping to see a return on their investment got screwed when he started selling on eBay. Dale's response to this has been "Screw them!" And to some degree he is right. He didn't see any extra money when someone bought a cue from him for $1000 and sold it for $1400. And he also wasn't seeing all of the money his cues were selling for when they were expensive. He was selling to dealers, who were giving him 30-50% of what they were selling them for. That was Dale's fault because he chose to sell his cues through a dealer network, rather than directly to buyers, as most other "prestigious" cue makers did (and do).

For Dale, the most important factor is that he still sells cues and therefore still has money in the bank, not what a bunch of collectors think of his cues. Cuemaking can be a tough way to make a living, if you're not one of the "chosen few." When I worked with John Guffey in the mid-90's selling cues, it was pretty hard to expand his business, and eventually he decided it was more lucrative to sell furniture than make cues. He was not alone.

Personally, I like Dale's cues because they hit well and I'm not a collector. I don't buy his eBay cues, but have two older DPs and a newer, early 2000's "custom made" DP with 6 points and 60 inlays that I shoot with all the time. And I'd buy more, if the price was right. Buy I don't expect ever to make any money on any of them.

Hi,

3500.00 to 100.00. Something smells rotten in Denmark!

Does he claim that all cues are made in USA? When I sold cues in my pool hall I sold Nick Varners and they were from overseas. Some of those were only 22.00 dealer price. Selling them for 100.00 would have been a hell of a profit.

RG

 

[The Clever Set]

His older cues were well made and sharp as hell.

The "value" of a cue on the secondary market is set by collectors, who eventually hope to see a profit on their investment. If they don't expect to make any money, they're not going to invest in a particular cuemaker. Since Dale Perry queered his secondary market by selling cues on eBay, even his older cues have suffered.

His eBay cues are not as elaborate as his older cues and the woods he uses now are less "exotic" than in the 90's. As in my previous post, any of his cues made in the 90's are pre-eBay and after the early 2000's, he started selling his cues on eBay. Early on, he sold some pretty sharp cues on eBay, too.

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?

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Say what you will, I own 2 and my wife has 2. They are excellent players and as far as I can tell, the 4 that we have are all well made. My wife plays with hers and I take mine out for a test spin on occasion. For someone getting into their first custom cue, you can't go wrong with a DP for the price.

 

[Underclocked]

Doesn't look or feel bad to me.

 

[K Knight]

I just bought a Dale Perry for $9.00

(It was a raffle)

 

[RICK0928]

that is a fair price for a Dale Perry!

 

[Underclocked]

If you can find more Dale Perry's that are of the same quality as the one Kevin won for $9, I'll take them all and order more. What nonsense!

Hope you like the cue, Kevin. If you've never hit with a Perry I think you are in for a pleasant surprise. He does put LePro tips on them and those are hardly all the same quality - so if it doesn't hit to suit you slap a good Triangle (or tip of your own choosing) on there. I'm just an ignorant old hillbilly but I do recognize great values once in awhile.

 

[harmy76]

I have a dale perry, and it is an alright cue. I bought it off ebay for $215. It is cocobola and curly maple and looks and plays nice. I realize it isn't going to appreciate it, but I just keep it as a house cue for my pool room in my house. I would highly recommend one to a newby that doesn't have much to spend and wants something that looks nice and plays ok. You can buy some of his for under $130. I have ordered 2 of them, (sold one two cover a bet I lost..lol). I had heard, and don't quote me this is just hearsay that he gutted his prices because the market turned so lousy with our economy. He had a stockpile of cues he needed to unload to keep the doors open. Found out he could make money whoring out his cues on ebay and never stopped. If anyone know more about the authenticity of that statement. Like I said that is just internet heresay!

 

[classiccues]

As has been said at least 100 times before on this board, the reason behind the Dale Perry hate is not that he makes bad cues, even now, but because his dealers and the people who bought his cues hoping to see a return on their investment got screwed when he started selling on eBay. Dale's response to this has been "Screw them!" And to some degree he is right. He didn't see any extra money when someone bought a cue from him for $1000 and sold it for $1400. And he also wasn't seeing all of the money his cues were selling for when they were expensive. He was selling to dealers, who were giving him 30-50% of what they were selling them for. That was Dale's fault because he chose to sell his cues through a dealer network, rather than directly to buyers, as most other "prestigious" cue makers did (and do).

For Dale, the most important factor is that he still sells cues and therefore still has money in the bank, not what a bunch of collectors think of his cues. Cuemaking can be a tough way to make a living, if you're not one of the "chosen few." When I worked with John Guffey in the mid-90's selling cues, it was pretty hard to expand his business, and eventually he decided it was more lucrative to sell furniture than make cues. He was not alone.

Personally, I like Dale's cues because they hit well and I'm not a collector. I don't buy his eBay cues, but have two older DPs and a newer, early 2000's "custom made" DP with 6 points and 60 inlays that I shoot with all the time. And I'd buy more, if the price was right. Buy I don't expect ever to make any money on any of them.

I was never one of his dealers, but I can't help wonder what you see as the problem. A dealer makes a deal with a cuemaker at a certain % of the cue's retail price. The cue dealer then lists the cue at that price. He is under no obligation to give more to the cuemaker when he sells the cue. That's how he makes his money on the profit and that's why the initial deal is in place to begin with. If Dale chose to discount his cues at 30-50%, and then regretted it, well, I bet he didn't mind when dealers were laying all that cash out for him.

Dale screwed whomever had cues in stock and ALL of those that bought those cues at a high price. However, I don't think that's a tremendous amount of screwing, IMHO.

JV

 

[BallKnocker]

Okay.. so I know I am new here, and likely may ruffle a few fine fella's feathers a bit, but I assure you I am not just trolling for some online arguments... just sharing my points of view.

So Hi, I'm Kevin.

I myself found this discussion as I was researching DP cues as I just became an owner... or will be when it gets here, of a DP ebay special.

I have owned and played Cokers, Jacboy's, Schons, certainly a fair share of McDerm's & a few others... so I have some credibility in my mind when it comes to cues... not a pro, but a working understanding...

Well as I read through pages 1-4 of this discussion, I could not help but notice that nobody had called out the obvious. Maybe it was on page 5!

But the obvious discussion that should be had (prepare feathers for ruffling) is that the fellas who are irrate at the cue maker ($1799 cue owners) only have themselves to blame for the misfortune of spending so much on something not truly worth the price they paid.

They listened to "market" pricing, which is nothing more than made up opinions from the rest of us about true value on an item. I mean was the 900% markup even considered in shelling out the clams? Because that is what they bought, a giant markup based on namesake & market chatter.

Now don't get me wrong, I'd be pretty ticked myself because it was the guy who reaped all the cash rewards that made sure you would never do the same off that cue you own, which is crap and earns him a bad rep.

But in real life terms, you handed over way too much money for a piece of pretty wood because other people told you it was worth that much.

Now on the hating side of things, I am already put off by DP's attitude. I sent a nicely crafted message about my excitement in getting the cue & inquired about customed turned joint protectors, and the response I received fell WAAAY short of anybody that gave a sh#t about satisfying the customer, in any way.

To that I say oh well though, I know I now own a piece of his soul & hard work for $138 & will at least look good handing you the 7 in our next set!!

I don't get out of bed for less than $139 a day, so I am already $1 richer than him and nobody is badmouthing me (yet) in online forums!