Buying Blind?

[snookerball]

Anyone here bought a cue off amazon/ebay etc? Has it turned out alright or would you recommend going into an actual cue shop and sucking up the extra cost?

[Stevie1]

All depends on what your budget is

[frazz]

Go to greenbaize or buy a gbl cue online but tell stu wat u want and he will find a cue u will like, best range of cues, best value, cues as good as you'll find anywhere else

[fkhan]

Try and buy is any day better. If you cannot, buy from a trusted online seller.

[Ninja.cues]

Know two people that have got cues from Amazon and both were good for the money.

[Mark187187]

Go to greenbaize or buy a gbl cue online but tell stu wat u want and he will find a cue u will like, best range of cues, best value, cues as good as you'll find anywhere else

This ^^ Stu picked me out a cue better than I could have done myself. And was honest enough to do it for half the budget I gave him.

[magicman]

I'd never buy a cue I've not hit a ball with. The feel of a cue is the be all and end all

[The Artful Dodger]

I'd never buy a cue I've not hit a ball with. The feel of a cue is the be all and end all

Absultely agree with that - thats the starting point in picking a new cue out.. does it feel right !!

Funnily enough had a few shots with a GBL a little while ago.. nice cue, 1 piece..about 18.5oz with lovely grain.. but did not feel right for me.

[magicman]

I don't understand players buying cues online, or ordering this look, that splice etc. Unless they're collecting cues, fair enough, but for themselves, as their own playing cue, very odd imo.

I've had tons with rack cues and barely been able to pot a ball with a Parris Ultimate. A good friend of mine won the World Amateur with a rack cue he'd taken up using. Hendry won title after title with a piece of driftwood.

[The Artful Dodger]

I don't understand players buying cues online, or ordering this look, that splice etc. Unless they're collecting cues, fair enough, but for themselves, as their own playing cue, very odd imo.

I've had tons with rack cues and barely been able to pot a ball with a Parris Ultimate. A good friend of mine won the World Amateur with a rack cue he'd taken up using. Hendry won title after title with a piece of driftwood.

Could not agree more.. except for the look thing - recently just bought a JP Pro - tried it out, liked the feel of it and then took it away for a few days to have a proper go with it. took it back a week later to get the look changed because I want it to be different from everyone elses Pro .. the model was irrelevant to me.. it could have been a classic or a supreme or a traditional..whatever.. I would have still got it adjusted to be different...because as you rightly say... its all about how it feels.

[weepete]

I've got a fleabay special 3/4 jointed rosewood and ash that I play with and I got for the princely sum of £35. And yeah, it's not perfect but I put an ADR147 calfskin tip on it and it plays ok. A bit light for club tables, but it's a perfect size for me (which I neasured and selected beforehand)

I refinished mine with a few light coats of boiled linsseed oil so it's shiny, but it doesn't stick like laquer on my bridge and feels smooth. It's reasonably straight (I'm convinced it's got a very minor bend but it could just be the taper, and being an Engineer by trade I can be very pedantic about these things). The ash isn't the nicest being a bit uneven grained, but the hand splices are straight with no cracks, and I do think it was hand spliced.

The butt section and the shaft are different bits of wood, though it'd be hard to tell unless close inspection of the grain and really you couldn't tell if it was ebony. The mini butt is again a different bit of wood, but given the joint that's not a big deal. It has a few dings and a couple of flat spots (but again I an very sensitive to these things, most normal people would not notice). Because of the difference in the grain between the shaft and the but I'm going to change it but that only because I'm a pedant and i want the grain to line up.

One thing I am absolutley sure of is that it's much better than any club cue that's been used and abused and gives me a little bit of consistency where I can start to build technique on. I think its perfectly good for what I paid

I'm also pretty sure if I played Hendry with us both using my cue he'd still absolutley thash me and the cue would have little to do with it.

So, if you are looking for something spesific, buy off the shelf. If you are just looking for a
half decent cue and you are willing to fettle it a bit, with a little care can get a sight unseen off Amazon or fleabay for not much money. Probably technique matters much more At least if you are a beginner.

[Art Vandalaay]

I can add to the Green Baize recommendations. I’ve just started playing recently and am lucky enough to have Green Baize as my local shop. I got a great deal there for my budget. Great staff, very welcoming to a newbie. I had no idea it existed until a few weeks ago but and obviously I didn’t have to blind buy. But knowing the shop now, a little bit, and given it’s reputation in the forum, if I was gonna blind buy, I’d be giving them a call.

[Delphiwizard]

I wouldn't recommend buying online, i did and although it's a lovely cue i wasn't 100% happy with it.