Ethical purchse, or hot?
- Thread starter SeniorTom
- Start date
SeniorTom
Well-known member
Absolutely ! I think it would haunt me a lot if I suspected they might be stolen, and yes it would interfere with my game.
How many other screen names have you had on AZB?
SeniorTom
Well-known member
Not sure why you ask, this is my first time here and only time.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
I think a lot of people would gladly pay what the buyer paid to get a cue back. And a lot of people would refuse to accept payment from the previous owner.
There is adverse possession, squatting, and encumbrances on property. I don't think anything similar applies to cue, though.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
If theft is a predicate, none of these attach. Title to stolen property cannot be divested. I knew a cat who bought a hot car and had it for some time. The car was eventually seized, and the "purchaser" found himself out $15K. His remedy would have been to sue the seller for breach of warranty of title, but the seller was a corporation that had ceased doing business, The moral of the story is to do business with solvent businesses or obtain personal guarantees from solvent individuals, or both, or don't.
Was this in person or on the internet. How many cues in total? The brands you mentioned generally don't hold their value, so it might be a case of what you thought was too low was actually the price needed to sell.
Pool is also a tight community. Did he whisper in your ear he had some cues to sell in his trunk? Or did he take them all out and lay them on a table for the whole pool room to see? Stolen cue stories go around quick.
SeniorTom
Well-known member
He was a bit discreet as he laid them on the hall table, but it was only on my table I was playing on to see. It would be nice for individuals to have an online list of stolen cues. Don't know if that could ever work out ? I play golf as well, and club prices are very high. Often times golfers get their clubs stolen .
Not to hijack this thread but decades ago I sold used cars.Reminds me of my favorite Used Car warranty, "30 days or 30 feet", whichever comes first.
We had two different warranties.
50/50 if the car breaks in half you get to keep both halves.
Tail light warranty,as soon as the tail lights cleared the curb the warranty was over.
On the window was a large type disclaimer and on the buyers order the same that they had to sign.
"this vehicle is sold as is and there is no warranty"
You would be surprised at the whiners that came back wanting something fixed.
Do you not understand the meaning of as is and no warranty?
OK rant over carry on.
A few years ago I found a Joss cue in a leather Instroke case (2x4) at a pawn shop. I paid $150 for it then sold it on eBay for a little more than $350 I believe.
Anyhow, as I was packing the cue and case for shipping, I got a phone call from an old friend concerning the cue. She said it was hers, that someone had stolen it from her car. So when she heard that I'd found it at the pawn shop she figured she got lucky.
I told her I'd cancel the eBay transaction, but also told her I was going back to the pawn shop with the police. I just wanted my $150 back. She insisted that that wouldn't be neccessary, and she offered to pay me the $150 that I spent to get the cue.
Something didn't seem right. I got off the phone with her and called the pawn shop and explained that the cue had been stolen. Then I asked if they could tell me who pawned it, and to get a police officer involved. Come to find out, it was the girl herself, my old "friend".
She lied to me. The cue was NOT stolen, and the pawn shop told me she had had the cue in and out several times. All she had to do was pay $90 to redeem it, but she didn't pay and she lost it.
I called her back and told her I was not canceling the eBay transaction. Then I mailed the cue off to its new owner. Of course, she was furious with me. She told me she would've borrowed the money from her dad to pay me for the cue. I asked why she didn't just borrow the 90 to get it out of pawn in the first place.
Fact is, she tried to hustle me by playing the sympathetic friend card. She kept saying, "I can't believe you're not going to give my cue back...I thought we were friends..". I told her if she'd have been honest with me from the beginning, like a real friend, then she’d have gotten her cue back. But she lied.
It's sad, but people lie about shit all the time. The best you can do is believe that everything is on the up and up, until you have reason not to believe it.
Anyhow, as I was packing the cue and case for shipping, I got a phone call from an old friend concerning the cue. She said it was hers, that someone had stolen it from her car. So when she heard that I'd found it at the pawn shop she figured she got lucky.
I told her I'd cancel the eBay transaction, but also told her I was going back to the pawn shop with the police. I just wanted my $150 back. She insisted that that wouldn't be neccessary, and she offered to pay me the $150 that I spent to get the cue.
Something didn't seem right. I got off the phone with her and called the pawn shop and explained that the cue had been stolen. Then I asked if they could tell me who pawned it, and to get a police officer involved. Come to find out, it was the girl herself, my old "friend".
She lied to me. The cue was NOT stolen, and the pawn shop told me she had had the cue in and out several times. All she had to do was pay $90 to redeem it, but she didn't pay and she lost it.
I called her back and told her I was not canceling the eBay transaction. Then I mailed the cue off to its new owner. Of course, she was furious with me. She told me she would've borrowed the money from her dad to pay me for the cue. I asked why she didn't just borrow the 90 to get it out of pawn in the first place.
Fact is, she tried to hustle me by playing the sympathetic friend card. She kept saying, "I can't believe you're not going to give my cue back...I thought we were friends..". I told her if she'd have been honest with me from the beginning, like a real friend, then she’d have gotten her cue back. But she lied.
It's sad, but people lie about shit all the time. The best you can do is believe that everything is on the up and up, until you have reason not to believe it.
SeniorTom
Well-known member
Am I reading this comment wrong or does it actually contradict itself?
BC21 said:
I don't think it contradicts itself. I'm just saying, when buying a cue, someone could lie and say it isn't stolen. Or you could find one at a pawn shop or a yardsale, and the rightful owner finds out you have it and they lie and say it was a stolen from them.
So, honestly, the only thing a buyer can do is believe that the deal is clean/straight, unless there's a good reason to believe it's not.
SeniorTom
Well-known member
To me, a gut reason is sufficient enough.
I'm always a bit weary of things found in pawn shops or sold cheaply. There are a bunch of things posted on Reddit where people are asking abut the values or cues they randomly ended up with or bought for $100 at a pawn store when they are worth $300 even used. No person that actually owned a $300 value cue would sell it for 50/75 to a pawn shop instead of selling it for $200 to some local pool player.
SeniorTom
Well-known member
Exactly, I think you hit the nail on the head as to why I am leary of his offers. I just don't trust him after he offers quality cue sticks for discount prices.
they are not considered high value or quality cue sticks. just production cues. and those lose much of their value second hand.
it also isnt on you to judge if they are stolen or not. but you can protect yourself by getting his info and picture with the cues. if he still sells them then likely they are not stolen. and just because someone tells comes to you and says it is his stolen cue he must prove it. and then go to the police and only then you return it.
it also isnt on you to judge if they are stolen or not. but you can protect yourself by getting his info and picture with the cues. if he still sells them then likely they are not stolen. and just because someone tells comes to you and says it is his stolen cue he must prove it. and then go to the police and only then you return it.
You'd think that, but here are scenarios, some of which I've been the lucky beneficiary of.
Dead broke in Vegas and need going home $$. Grandpa passes on and the grandkids cleaning out the closet have never hit a ball. Drugs. (sigh)
Pissed off ex-spouses. Roommate flakes and bails, remaining guy sells the stuff, gotta cover the rent.
I have bought cues from pawnshops that I'm 95% sure are hot, yes. In those spots I accept the gamble that it would go back to where it
belongs if the owner is found.