How to pay for a custom cue?

nksmfamjp

nksmfamjp

Refugee...
Silver Member
I was going to put this in the ask the cuemaker area, but I also would like to hear from customers. . .

In most business arrangements where commitment on both ends can be brought into question, or there are other types of risk, the payment looks like this, I believe.

First, the customer pays a design fee or retaining fee to the designer/builder.

Then they pay a material fee to gather materials and start production.

Last, the balance is paid on completion or delivery.

In the middle, there are change fees if the customer makes changes after a certain deadline, new tooling fees if a customer asks for the vendor to make something requiring specialized tooling, etc.

It seems like in cuemaking, customers want to ask a million questions, develop a design, maybe even build the cue and then be able to walk away.

On the other hand, I think most cuemakers would like to get paid up front. . .as it makes eating easier! :roflmao:

So, how do you pay/want paid for a custom cue?

Does this sound reasonable:
- $50 design fee (To pay for Q&A time, design time, calling around about materials,. . .)

- 25 - 50% after the design is agreed. (Should depend on what you are asked to make. If I ask you to make a purple dinosaur cue with Barney inlays, you are gonna take a bath selling it if I walk away. Most designs would be 25%)

- 25 - 50% when completed and customer has approved pictures.

- Balance paid when received and a few balls are hit.

Of course the cue can be changed at any time before the design is agreed to. Excessive pre-agreement change and time would of course make the cuemaker back out and give you your $50 back. Cahnges after would result in possible cost to the customer. For example, if you want inlays after finish is applied, some refinish cost and inlay cost would be paid, but less than if you received it and asked for the change.
 
For custom orders 25% deposit when design is agreed upon and the balance when the cue is picked up or before it is shipped.
 
Whatever you do, do not pay for it in full up front. I have only had one bad experience w/a cuemaker, and that was why. I also had a friend get screwed doing the same from a very well known cuemaker.

If they insist on a deposit and you want the cue, pay it. There are some that will take the order w/o payment up front because it's too much hasstle and they know they can sell the cue if the buyer bails. For example: Ernie Martinez will make a cue w/o deposit, you only pay when it's completed.

Good luck,

Dave
 
I've paid 50% down and 50% when it was done and I have done it with no down payment. Both worked out fine on both ends.

I only do the down payment with reputable cue makers and I definitely wouldn't give full payment to anyone, but the absolute most reputable (those who do not have a single blemish against em in 10 or more years).
 
nksmfamjp said:
I was going to put this in the ask the cuemaker area, but I also would like to hear from customers. . .

In most business arrangements where commitment on both ends can be brought into question, or there are other types of risk, the payment looks like this, I believe.

First, the customer pays a design fee or retaining fee to the designer/builder.

Then they pay a material fee to gather materials and start production.

Last, the balance is paid on completion or delivery.

In the middle, there are change fees if the customer makes changes after a certain deadline, new tooling fees if a customer asks for the vendor to make something requiring specialized tooling, etc.

It seems like in cuemaking, customers want to ask a million questions, develop a design, maybe even build the cue and then be able to walk away.

On the other hand, I think most cuemakers would like to get paid up front. . .as it makes eating easier! :roflmao:

So, how do you pay/want paid for a custom cue?

Does this sound reasonable:
- $50 design fee (To pay for Q&A time, design time, calling around about materials,. . .)

- 25 - 50% after the design is agreed. (Should depend on what you are asked to make. If I ask you to make a purple dinosaur cue with Barney inlays, you are gonna take a bath selling it if I walk away. Most designs would be 25%)

- 25 - 50% when completed and customer has approved pictures.

- Balance paid when received and a few balls are hit.

Of course the cue can be changed at any time before the design is agreed to. Excessive pre-agreement change and time would of course make the cuemaker back out and give you your $50 back. Cahnges after would result in possible cost to the customer. For example, if you want inlays after finish is applied, some refinish cost and inlay cost would be paid, but less than if you received it and asked for the change.
Click to expand...

heres ow it goes at my place lol

first i invite you out to my house (all my sales are usually local)
we have a few beers and play a few games and discuss hit and i watch ow that person plays to get a better understanding of how the person plays. and what there looking for in a cue.

then after all the talk we walk over to the wood room and they pick out the woods that look apealing to them and i explain as best i can what the wood joint pin combo they want will hit like, and then explain what i can and cant do as far as cue making. i havent built thousands of cue but ive owned over 1000 all with diffrent hits.
you pick out the wood
and then put 20-25% down
and anymore the way the economy is i take payments like one guy is giving 50 bucks every 2 weeks until the cue is done and i keep track in my computer and give receipts. or they pay in full on delivery.

and there welcome to come over any time and see progress on the cue (if there is any very slow 3 kids about to be 4 and a full time job with the army) and hit some balls and throw a few back which is something most people like to do.

usually goes pretty smooth ive had a couple times where someone has ran out of money and has paid half and alot of times i just end up giving them a cheaper cue or holding it for them till they get it.
 
cueman said:
For custom orders 25% deposit when design is agreed upon and the balance when the cue is picked up or before it is shipped.
Click to expand...

I do the same as Chris if I have a spot available. I'm trying not to take on too many orders because I'm currently behind, but getting myself closer to being caught up.

Once we agree on a price for the cue, I ask for a 25% deposit or $500 (whichever is greater). If the Buyer is a repeat customer, I normally don't ask for a deposit.

I ask once. If I don't hear back or get the deposit, I just move on to somebody else.
 
Interesting. . .seems like you are all over the place on this one. I think ideally, a customer doesn't want to be much more than 25% into a cue before they can see finished pics, or hold it.
 
Custom Guitar Maker's Perspective...

I think I answered this before, but when I was doing custom guitars, I received 50% down at time of order. The initial meeting(s) could be long and drawn out, dependent on if the customer actually knew what they wanted or if the just want "A custom guitar". I might bring an example of what I think a potential customer might like to one of the later meetings, perhaps see their band play and let them rip a set on what I brought (if they were so inclined) to try and nail down what they really want. Usually they came to the shop and saw what I had lying around either complete, in progress or in boards on the rack.

The deposit is important in the case of guitars because I could be outlaying several hundred dollars for hardware and pickups, and in the case of the pickups, may be in for a LONG lead time (so they have to be ordered right away). Basically, you (the customer) pay for all the materials up front, and then pay me for my labor upon completion (although I generally spent more than I made in profit). This way, if you flake out on me (which Guitarists are known to do) I am not sitting on a bunch of custom stuff no one else may ever want wondering what the hell I'm going to do with it!

Once under contract (and I feel there should always be a proper written contract in place when a deposit has been received), any changes that can be made easily (gold hardware as opposed to nickel for example) are easily changed with only the increase in material cost required. If you want to change the fingerboard wood to ebony and I've already attached the Wenge fingerboard you initially chose, you are probably SOL. In these cases, I would work with the person to the best of my ability, but generally it requires selling off the 'wrong' guitar (after completion) and then starting over on the 'right' one, so we need to all be on the same page...

I am not in a position to sell custom cues, and I expect that I will complete cues and then offer them for sale when I feel ready to do so. If you don't like what I have, wait for more and maybe you will like those. If you don't like full splice cues with 5/16-14 pins, you may have a VERY long wait...

I won't get rich this way; however I won't get ulcers either...:thumbup:
 
Everyone does it differently, but it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Myself, I don't ask for anything up front. I don't make anything for anyone I don't feel comfortable with. Also, I don't make anything that I don't feel comfortable making. As long as this is understood by both parties, your WORD is all that is needed.
 
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