OB Warranty Charges

J

JimSabatke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I love OB shafts and am thinking about buying an OB cue

I had an experience with an OB shaft that I bought new from a local dealer. As I do on most purchases, I tried to negotiate a lower price. The dealer almost matched the ebay ads I pointed to, but explained that he had a business to run, and the costs of business made it so that he couldn't match on-line sellers who didn't have brick and mortar stores. Of course, most of the online sellers do have physical stores, but I do like to support local businesses. I also like knowing where I'm going to take it to for service.

After about 3 years of use, the UNILOC joint on the shaft failed. The shaft wouldn't tighten and spun on the butt. So, I took it back to the store, where I had also had expensive tips installed. They told me they didn't think they could do anything for me as they don't warrant any equipment they sell. (Master Z's in Waukesha, WI if you care who did this). They charged me $25 to ship the shaft back to OB and said OB would contact me directly for repair charges. OB determined that it was faulty and that they would replace it and ship it back ... no charge. When the store notified me that they had it back, they charged me the $25 for the one-way shipment before I could take it. I protested pretty loudly, and I reminded them that they sold it at a higher price because they had a business to run, and taking care of customers' problems like this ARE part of the costs of running a business (at least that's what I learned in MBA school). So, needing the shaft I paid and left, very unhappy. I told them I would be contacting OB and they said "fine".

OB got back to me and they were not happy over this, and they stated that this was a legitimate cost of doing business, and they called Master Z's. Master Z's wouldn't really back down, but they offered me $25 in store credit, which i never picked up because I never want to do business with them again.

This came to mind because today I was "window shopping" on ebay. I saw a beautiful OB cocobolo and bird's eye maple cue, and it had "sharp" points on the inlay instead of the usual machined points that are rounded. If I pay more than a few hundred for a cue, it's going to have some eye appeal quality to it. The seller had it marked down 15% and again, "I can't do more because I have a business". I imagine that OB may be controlling discounts, and I certainly can't blame OB for my previous bad experience (they did everything right on their end), but I'm leery of sellers, especially distant ones, that aren't offering any service other than selling it to me. They even wanted full price to put a Kamui tip on it.

Any thoughts on this?

Jim
 
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Personally, if I bought a shaft 3 yrs ago and something went wrong with it and I had to ship it out,,,, if it cost me a whole 25 bucks and it got fixed, I would of been extremely happy and would of bought the guy at the store a coffee!

Maybe I'm wrong in this way of thinking, but if you really think about how much abuse a shaft goes through, if it last more than a couple yrs, you did good! A lot of people really don't understand how much stress a shaft goes through in play! For 200 bucks, I'm not sure what people are complaining about!

Now, if I were spending over 1k for a shaft,,,,, that's a different story! But a couple hundred?!?!

Sorry if this is offends you, I'm not trying to, I'm just amazed at the nickel and dime BS that people do! ALSO,,,,, if it was a few months after the purchase,,,,, I would tell him to take the 25 and shove it up his ass!!! There is a difference within a few months and 3 yrs!

Eli
 
JimSabatke said:
I had an experience with an OB shaft that I bought new from a local dealer. As I do on most purchases, I tried to negotiate a lower price. The dealer almost matched the ebay ads I pointed to, but explained that he had a business to run, and the costs of business made it so that he couldn't match on-line sellers who didn't have brick and mortar stores. Of course, most of the online sellers do have physical stores, but I do like to support local businesses. I also like knowing where I'm going to take it to for service.

After about 3 years of use, the UNILOC joint on the shaft failed. The shaft wouldn't tighten and spun on the butt. So, I took it back to the store, where I had also had expensive tips installed. They told me they didn't think they could do anything for me as they don't warrant any equipment they sell. (Master Z's in Waukesha, WI if you care who did this). They charged me $25 to ship the shaft back to OB and said OB would contact me directly for repair charges. OB determined that it was faulty and that they would replace it and ship it back ... no charge. When the store notified me that they had it back, they charged me the $25 for the one-way shipment before I could take it. I protested pretty loudly, and I reminded them that they sold it at a higher price because they had a business to run, and taking care of customers' problems like this ARE part of the costs of running a business (at least that's what I learned in MBA school). So, needing the shaft I paid and left, very unhappy. I told them I would be contacting OB and they said "fine".

OB got back to me and they were not happy over this, and they stated that this was a legitimate cost of doing business, and they called Master Z's. Master Z's wouldn't really back down, but they offered me $25 in store credit, which i never picked up because I never want to do business with them again.

This came to mind because today I was "window shopping" on ebay. I saw a beautiful OB cocobolo and bird's eye maple cue, and it had "sharp" points on the inlay instead of the usual machined points that are rounded. If I pay more than a few hundred for a cue, it's going to have some eye appeal quality to it. The seller had it marked down 15% and again, "I can't do more because I have a business". I imagine that OB may be controlling discounts, and I certainly can't blame OB for my previous bad experience (they did everything right on their end), but I'm leery of sellers, especially distant ones, that aren't offering any service other than selling it to me. They even wanted full price to put a Kamui tip on it.

Any thoughts on this?

Jim
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You could have contacted OB yourself and sent it to them for $12 insured like I did with my shaft. Does not sound like you have a lot to complain about really, you were out $13 over 3 years.

And this was not an OB warranty charge the way your post makes it sound, the title makes it seem like OB charged you for warranty service.
 
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I would have contacted and shipped it back to OB directly instead of messing with the store. You got three years out of it and this happened so $25 is not too bad IMO.
 
Your title is misleading, or I'm confused.
Sounds like a problem with the retailer, not OB cues.
 
Well, OB advertises a "lifetime warranty" against all defects, even warping (for my model), which hardly any other shaft manufacturers do. When I talked to OB, they were quite angry about how I was treated, so it's not just me. I never abused the shaft, and under the terms of the warranty, it has no time limit for normal use. If shafts take a lot of stress, they have designed it to handle normal wear and stresses. OB also has clear, online instructions, that warranty problems should be handled by the dealer, which I followed. I don't care how much or how little it cost me to get it fixed, the weak link was the dealer, who did not follow OB's policies. Furthermore, the amount of cost is not the issue. Add up enough people having problems with expensive equipment, then to find out the dealer claims to "not support any warranties", and that is the real problem, and people need to speak up about that. Further, I live on Social Security, so even small amounts of money are significant to me, so statements about quibbling over minor amounts of money are a bit uncalled for. I've since learned that this business does these kinds of things to just about everyone who has any kind of a quality issue, and that again, is a big problem.
 
Maxx said:
Your title is misleading, or I'm confused.
Sounds like a problem with the retailer, not OB cues.
Click to expand...

Actually, I couldn't be happier with OB, so you have a point. The title isn't "OB cues are bad" or anything similar though. I did have a problem with an OB cue, but the dealer was the weak link, and I probably could have asked one question that was on my mind when I originally posted, but forgot to put in, was, does this happen with UNILOC joints often, or was this an unusual happening.

Jim
 
JimSabatke said:
Well, OB advertises a "lifetime warranty" against all defects, even warping (for my model), which hardly any other shaft manufacturers do. When I talked to OB, they were quite angry about how I was treated, so it's not just me. I never abused the shaft, and under the terms of the warranty, it has no time limit for normal use. If shafts take a lot of stress, they have designed it to handle normal wear and stresses. OB also has clear, online instructions, that warranty problems should be handled by the dealer, which I followed. I don't care how much or how little it cost me to get it fixed, the weak link was the dealer, who did not follow OB's policies. Furthermore, the amount of cost is not the issue. Add up enough people having problems with expensive equipment, then to find out the dealer claims to "not support any warranties", and that is the real problem, and people need to speak up about that. Further, I live on Social Security, so even small amounts of money are significant to me, so statements about quibbling over minor amounts of money are a bit uncalled for. I've since learned that this business does these kinds of things to just about everyone who has any kind of a quality issue, and that again, is a big problem.
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I'm still a bit confused about what the issue was with the dealer. He charged you for shipping on a shaft you got 3 years ago to send back for the free repair from OB. If you sent it you would have spend about that $25 for shipping and buying a tube for it. Think of it like walking into a UPS store and saying "package and ship this", that's pretty much what the store did for you.

I see 0 issues with OB or the guy that sent it for you to them. The store themselves does not warranty it as they said, it goes through OB. The only places I know of that would just take something in and give you a new one are places like Target and WalMart where they have 40,000 of them sitting in a warehouse and can write off a few million in lost/damaged inventory a year.

Are you upset they did not just give you a new shaft when you brought it over to them or fix it onsite?

I just sent my OB shaft in last week to get a ferrule replaced, I did think for a second to ask if they would pay for shipping, but seeing how they run a good company and I met the owners and like their style in how they are in person and in their posts, I quickly just paid the $12 and sent it to them.

I thought that OB charged you for the warranty work from the post title, as I'm sure most others did that saw the post.
 
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Well, maybe not the best service from a dealer, but overall, it isn't something I'd get worked up over. If you want to avoid the costs, send it in yourself. They have to pay for shipping and there is some transactional costs there. 3 years of solid service is a long time, if it cost me $25 after that period of time I'd think I got off pretty easy.

I've been to Master Z's, only purchased joint protectors from them so not much of a customer. They were decent, not great. But I got the last set of Schon joint protectors they had, so I was happy about that.
 
in the furniture business, that $25 freight in&out, is reimbursed under Warranty, to the dealer by the mfg. you now have your "ïn" with the mfg. go direct for next purchase. every Joe-Blow in the country has an etail account; it's not that hard to get wholesale - with same warranties.

it's a shame about the brick&mortar dealer, cause that's why we try to patronize them. but my etailers drop $3-$5K/mo on advertising & internet clicks for drop-ships - which is equal or surpasses my stores' overhead. sometimes the etailers have more power than the dealers. except you can't go kick-in their front door.
 
slide13 said:
Well, maybe not the best service from a dealer, but overall, it isn't something I'd get worked up over. If you want to avoid the costs, send it in yourself. They have to pay for shipping and there is some transactional costs there. 3 years of solid service is a long time, if it cost me $25 after that period of time I'd think I got off pretty easy.

I've been to Master Z's, only purchased joint protectors from them so not much of a customer. They were decent, not great. But I got the last set of Schon joint protectors they had, so I was happy about that.
Click to expand...

Since this happened about a year ago, I wouldn't calling it getting worked up. Quite truthfully I have been fighting a migraine today and didn't write my first message well. I was really intending, as I started to allude to, that I was looking at buying a cue that is nicer than my Lucasi butt, and I really admired the OB inlays. I was wondering if 15% is a good discount for a distant dealer, and the warranty started as an aside because I was maybe just a little worried about getting service, should I need it, from a Florida dealer, or should I look for more of a discount because I may not be able to count on service. BTW, I have dealt with Joe Rack 'Em on ebay since, and I am much happier with them than with my local store, though I haven't needed warranty work. No, $25 isn't worth going to Judge Judy over, and truthfully, I hadn't thought much about it until it popped into my head while writing about my lust for a new OB cue.

BTW, do you play at the Cue Club since it was sold a couple years ago?

Jim
 
I contacted OB on behalf of one of my customers who didn't buy the shaft from me and then I shipped the shaft to them. They replaced the shaft for no charge and I charged my customer the exact shipping it cost me.

My customers are really all friends and I do my business out of my house. But seriously lets hear it for OB's warranty is there a better more honorable company to deal with? And RBC freely answers questions about cue making like we are paying for answers. Its kinda unreal how great they are as far as customer relations go.
 
JimSabatke said:
Since this happened about a year ago, I wouldn't calling it getting worked up. Quite truthfully I have been fighting a migraine today and didn't write my first message well. I was really intending, as I started to allude to, that I was looking at buying a cue that is nicer than my Lucasi butt, and I really admired the OB inlays. I was wondering if 15% is a good discount for a distant dealer, and the warranty started as an aside because I was maybe just a little worried about getting service, should I need it, from a Florida dealer, or should I look for more of a discount because I may not be able to count on service. BTW, I have dealt with Joe Rack 'Em on ebay since, and I am much happier with them than with my local store, though I haven't needed warranty work. No, $25 isn't worth going to Judge Judy over, and truthfully, I hadn't thought much about it until it popped into my head while writing about my lust for a new OB cue.

BTW, do you play at the Cue Club since it was sold a couple years ago?

Jim
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Click on the AZB Marketplace link up top, they have OB Cues listed there and see the prices. Seyberts is great to by from and you'll be supporting AZB and their advertisers. I'd buy from there even if I can save a few dollars elsewhere. Same reason I almost always buy a beer at my regular pool rooms even if I don't always want one. Pay $7 for a tournament and play from 7 to about 11, they deserve something on top.
 
JimSabatke said:
BTW, do you play at the Cue Club since it was sold a couple years ago?
Click to expand...

No, I play at the Brass Ring in Madison. I live in Sun Prairie so don't often make it over to the Milwaukee area. But I really wanted Schon joint protectors once, so I drove over to Master Z's just for that.
 
If you do have time in Waukesha, the Cue Club is a fantastic place to play. Their food alone is worth the trip.

Jim
 
PINKLADY said:
in the furniture business, that $25 freight in&out, is reimbursed under Warranty, to the dealer by the mfg. you now have your "ïn" with the mfg. go direct for next purchase. every Joe-Blow in the country has an etail account; it's not that hard to get wholesale - with same warranties.

it's a shame about the brick&mortar dealer, cause that's why we try to patronize them. but my etailers drop $3-$5K/mo on advertising & internet clicks for drop-ships - which is equal or surpasses my stores' overhead. sometimes the etailers have more power than the dealers. except you can't go kick-in their front door.
Click to expand...

Actually, I try to support local businesses and I will pay some more for products to support them.
 
hang-the-9 said:
I'm still a bit confused about what the issue was with the dealer. He charged you for shipping on a shaft you got 3 years ago to send back for the free repair from OB. If you sent it you would have spend about that $25 for shipping and buying a tube for it. Think of it like walking into a UPS store and saying "package and ship this", that's pretty much what the store did for you.

I see 0 issues with OB or the guy that sent it for you to them. The store themselves does not warranty it as they said, it goes through OB. The only places I know of that would just take something in and give you a new one are places like Target and WalMart where they have 40,000 of them sitting in a warehouse and can write off a few million in lost/damaged inventory a year.

Are you upset they did not just give you a new shaft when you brought it over to them or fix it onsite?

I just sent my OB shaft in last week to get a ferrule replaced, I did think for a second to ask if they would pay for shipping, but seeing how they run a good company and I met the owners and like their style in how they are in person and in their posts, I quickly just paid the $12 and sent it to them.

I thought that OB charged you for the warranty work from the post title, as I'm sure most others did that saw the post.
Click to expand...


No, it's nothing like going to UPS and asking them to ship it. OB's policy with dealers is they pay shipping on valid warranty issues ... period, and no amount of reframing the issue can change that.
 
hang-the-9 said:
Click on the AZB Marketplace link up top, they have OB Cues listed there and see the prices. Seyberts is great to by from and you'll be supporting AZB and their advertisers. I'd buy from there even if I can save a few dollars elsewhere. Same reason I almost always buy a beer at my regular pool rooms even if I don't always want one. Pay $7 for a tournament and play from 7 to about 11, they deserve something on top.
Click to expand...

I will check that out. Thanks. I get a lot out of this forum (aside from occasional misdirected hostility).

Jim
 
I checked out the OB cues in the for sale section. There are some stunning ones there, and the prices are really good. The modifications prices are also really reasonable!


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