Hey Dragon,
I'm from the Dallas area and have been watching pool tables on Craigslist for the past several months. I'm not quite ready to buy, 'cause the room isn't ready, but I still enjoy looking.
Anyway....they are practically giving away good used tables in the DFW metroplex. (at least on Craigslist)
Here's some advice:
Don't buy the first one you see. The more you look, the more you will learn about buying a used table.
Stay away from off-brands.
Get on Craigslist and start looking. Start out with just the ads that have pictures. If the pic looks good, call the seller. Try to get enough info from him to determine the make and model of the table. Then look it up on the net and see what it sells for.
If you are interested in one, go over and look at in person. Give it a thorough going over. Look for broken or missing parts. Crawl underneath and see what it looks like under there. Look for all wood construction. Do not buy anything with particle board on it. Make certain the bed is slate.
Don't worry if the cloth is crappy or even missing. You will replace it when you set the table up at your house.
If the table is set up, roll some balls around on it. See how it plays. Dead cushions, rails out of alignment, etc will be easy to spot.
Make sure your prospective location at home will accomodate the table you choose.
In that price range, or less, there will be several very old, but really good quality tables. You might get lucky and pick up a great old table for a song. It will probably need some maintenance and repair attention by a pro. And, hire a pro if you can. You can get some good referrals on this forum.
Don't impulse buy. Take the time to research any table you think about buying. If you miss a good one because you didn't act soon enough, don't worry. Next week there will be fifty more for sale. Your dream table might just be one of them.
Well, there's more, but this'll get you started.
Again, good luck. If you take your time, you will end up with a great table.
Joe
