:angry: red felt! We will have tournament blue simonis 860 I believe as the felt on their table. They are pretty much leaving it up to us to pick the table out within their budget. Like I said around here in Des Moines the only options are Muellers which is so far in the lead with an Olhausen table, Homemakers (lol Heritage crap table), Decked Outside which is the AE Schmidt rep in town and still waiting on their final pricing, and that spa overpriced place that we could get a Crown table for over the budget price. They are in their 70s and don't give a hoot on the table really as long as it looks decent. My wife and I care more for the quality so we can play on it. I will try to remember to post pictures after we get it.
It sounds like they really just want a piece of furniture to match the window seat or some such existing feature, and it being a pool table is a slightly distasteful secondary requirement.
I suggest they should buy a new (or tournament used) Diamond 7-foot Pro Am, perhaps even on the "No Excuses" payment plan. The full retail cost ($4k-4.5K tourney used?) is well over budget, but maybe not, when you look at either the payments they actually will make, or at their total investment less final resale value.
With the actuarial lifespan of men and women somewhere in the late 70s, in the old folk's life time the total of their payments could be less than their $3000 budget. If it is more than $3000, they can look to recover that extra cost when the table is sold - because at some point they will move to assisted living, or pass on, or encounter some other event that forces them to move out of that house. When that happens, suddenly the resale value of a barely-used 7 foot Diamond (Only used at Christmas and Easter when the kids visited!) comes into play, and it should be plenty enough to pay off any existing balance, and still have enough dough left over to get the total investment well under $3000.
And they get a brand new Diamond table, with choice of colors! On a No Excuses Payment Plan maybe! And the installer might be RealKingCobra, or one of his excellent trainees!
Why should they buy a 7-foot new Diamond Pro Am? It is a given that any Diamond Pro Am is a better table than anything other a GC custom modded by an expert.
But for this old couple, smaller is better: it is obvious they really don't want a pool table in the first place, they want a piece of furniture acceptable to their idea of what a pool table should look like. I doubt they have any idea how huge a 9-footer or even an 8 footer is when set up in any room in the house and accompanied by a couple of pool chairs and a cue & ball rack. It overpowers any room less than about 30'x30'.
But a 7 footer is small enough to not over power a room, assuing the room is big enough for a pool table in the first place. 7-footer space requirements are such that it could even be set off-center in some big rooms, a real fung shui consideration. A 7 foot pool table is just right for non-pros and for those who only occasionally play the game. It is small enough so they can make lots of balls, and with the good Diamond playability built in, the table will not make it harder than necessary for the kids and grand-kids to pocket balls. Just make sure the installer does not tighten up the pockets, the kids will he happy to make balls in the normal factory size pockets.
Last but not least - a Diamond Pro Am is a really great looking piece of furniture! And with such a wide selection of colors of Dymondwood mom is sure to find something to match the drapes and carpet already in the room!
But... and this is a big but... if you are trying to get a great 9-ft. pool table so you can play the game in their home but at their expense, and if you are not able or willing to make up any cost difference, then come to grips with the facts of life - you just can't do the job with only $3000 to spend, I mean get what is commonly recognized as a "good" 8 or 9 foot pool table, which at the same time is also a piece of brand-new furniture handsome enough to satisfy a 70 year old lady who no doubt has a certain sense of what fits into her home, thank you very much, and a 1970's era Gold Crown simply won't work, dear son, no matter how cleverly your fellow repainted it.
were you feeling a little left out cleary, so you just had to say something:thumbup:
board is for building a bigger break room...
