R.i.p

[cueman]

Always wondered years ago why there was so much secrecy involved within the cue making industry, this last week has answered most if not all of those questions! getting a reputation of a used car salesman, wonder how damaging all this will be in the long run. Thai cue makers are the big winners here, likely to get a lot of orders from the UK now knowing that most of what we are using was mostly made out there anyway.

[arbitrage]

Actually, I know exactly how much of my cue was done in Thailand and how much was done in the UK as I have already discussed this with the maker... I was expecting 100% UK but that is not what I got... to his credit he explained the reasons for his choice AND I admitted my naivety in not ascertaining the exact source of the shaft and we are all good so I suggest to you that I do indeed have a point after all...

But please feel free to maintain your opinion,
Mick

if you can't win in a court of law, then your point is moot and invalid. it is your own responsibility to ask before you purchase the item what exactly is in it or how it was made. if the seller doesn't divulge you have the option not to buy - and if he lies to you about the origin then you can sue him for false marketing

as explained before "handmade" is a subjective descriptor - it doesn't say by whose hand and where - if you are assuming that it is 100% made in the UK then that's your own problem, not the cuemaker's

[arbitrage]

Lets be clear, the LAW in Australia is different to the LAW in Hong Kong which is different to the LAW in the UK and if you think we should all just role over and accept that these practices are OK because they work in whatever unregulated market you propose is the benchmark then I'm sorry but you are mistaken
Mick

ok, if you feel so aggrieved then sue him or seek a legal opinion. I can bet you anything in Australia, Hong Kong or any other country, you won't even get beyond the lawyer since he'll tell you how frivolous your argument is (ok, he might not since he might want to sucker you in paying some fees). In any case, if you can't win in a court of law, you have no case

[laverda]

ok, if you feel so aggrieved then sue him or seek a legal opinion. I can bet you anything in Australia, Hong Kong or any other country, you won't even get beyond the lawyer since he'll tell you how frivolous your argument is (ok, he might not since he might want to sucker you in paying some fees). In any case, if you can't win in a court of law, you have no case

On the contrary, as I have already stated on this thread I have spoken with my cue maker about all this AND I am well satisfied that all is OK... HOWEVER my cue maker is not one of the guys who are making 100% of their business out of selling 100% Thai made cues which they then sell as handmade by themselves...

if you can't win in a court of law, then your point is moot and invalid. it is your own responsibility to ask before you purchase the item what exactly is in it or how it was made. if the seller doesn't divulge you have the option not to buy - and if he lies to you about the origin then you can sue him for false marketing

as explained before "handmade" is a subjective descriptor - it doesn't say by whose hand and where - if you are assuming that it is 100% made in the UK then that's your own problem, not the cuemaker's

So its the consumers fault for not asking a question that's answer is implied by the label? SO glad you enlightened us... I for one will sleep better now for your wisdom... nighty night xx
Mick

[itsnoteasy]

I have not been into snooker for that long but straight away with cues something strange took my eye, i couldnt understand why it took someone a few weeks for a hand made cue, yet others had a year waiting list, also i couldnt figure out why some cues were 200 pounds and others were 6-800 pounds for the same style, the conclusions i came to was you either get what you pay for, or the £800 pound guys are ripping you off, or as with a lot of things you pay a premium for the name, i am still not sure which one it is, as £200 for some of the nice cues now being ridiculed seems fair, they are not pretending to be top of the range, and the price reflects that, and the time they are made in should have given the experienced lads a clue something was wrong.
I think i have changed my mind about the fully hand made cue makers ripping off customers thats not fair when you think of the man hours and skill to make a fully handmade cue, and after all thats happened paying a premium for that badge may be well worth it.By the way i am not condoning anything that has gone on, i am just saying the clues were there wernt they? do we have to take a bit of the stick for thinking we were getting something on the cheap that looked top class, you can say you were cheated and that may be correct, but it wouldnt have taken much thought to have figured it out would it?, if offered a rolex for the price of a timex, would you believe its genuine.

[arbitrage]

So its the consumers fault for not asking a question that's answer is implied by the label? SO glad you enlightened us... I for one will sleep better now for your wisdom... nighty night xx
Mick

for the last time "handmade" implies nothing but that it was handmade, not by whom or where. get this into your thick head before you sleep please

[throtts]

if he lies to you about the origin then you can sue him for false marketing

You need that in writing too, verbal is no good. In fact, that would be a good route to take when ordering a cue, have the maker write down on paper what exactly you are getting, be a bit like a authenticity certificate which would be good for sell on and make ones cue making business a better and more valuable one.

[arbitrage]

You need that in writing too, verbal is no good. In fact, that would be a good route to take when ordering a cue, have the maker write down on paper what exactly you are getting, be a bit like a authenticity certificate which would be good for sell on and make ones cue making business a better and more valuable one.

'

right. probably the most sensible thing to do is to ask in an email if you have any questions e.g. do you hand plane the shaft yourself or do you outsource?

some interesting facts:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/fo...ad.php?t=79521
http://ezinearticles.com/?Two-Legal-...cts&id=5135843

[jykl2119]

Is it thai? the eyes don't look like a UK cat......

It's a SIAMESE cat lol

[sanman]

having read this thread and the previous thread by Cris I truly applaud him for standing up and raising his hand and speaking his mind. A lunatic as Andy Travis puts it!! Nah. An honest frustrated guy. Yes.... This rebadging and reworking of thai cues is huge business in UK. If you consider the amount of cuemakers in thailand relative to their local market then its clear that most of their cues end up abroad. And as can be seen by the responses to this thread its also contentious. Gotta love these threads.

[Inoffthered]

for the last time "handmade" implies nothing but that it was handmade, not by whom or where. get this into your thick head before you sleep please

Let's keep it friendly, eh..

[Samcheung001]

given that you are from hong kong, you should have seen labels in china which say "styled in france" etc. these are marketing gimmicks and if you are stupid enough to believe that "styled in france" is "made 100% in france" then you deserve to overpay. in any case, all food labeling in hong kong indicates not only origin but nutritional facts by LAW so that consumers have the necessary information to judge - so your example is not very applicable

What you mean then is customers are stupid enough to believe that 'handmade' cues implies 100% hand made by cue makers ?

What I mean is the general perception of 'California apple' should be apples planted in California, no ? Same to the GENERAL perception of 'handmade' cues should be at least the major processes, if not 100%, like tapering, splicing and finishing should be done by the cue makers by hand, no ? Hope I'm not complicating anything that should be straightforward and understood by the others. Sorry for any sidetrack of this thread affecting the others with valid points......

[golferson123]

hands up, who has googled thai cue makers?. grey haired chap looks familiar talking to owner,(tongue very firmly in cheek)

[prince07799]

I was just about to do that

[luke-h]

hands up, who has googled thai cue makers?. grey haired chap looks familiar talking to owner,(tongue very firmly in cheek)

haha i like it