Baffling news

[sunny3909]

I was reading John parris interview on worldsnooker.com and John claims that he has made Stephen Maguire maple cue which I find shocking bcoz I have read on this forum that Trevor White cue made his cue.
Here is the link: http://www.worldsnooker.com/news_editorial-19219.htm

What's ur say on this matter guys?

[ferret]

Trevor and John are both members here so I am sure they will reply to you.

[bongo]

John Parris is a member???

[trevs1]

Well, I can't say what cue Stephen, or many other professional players are using at the present time, as it's not something which overly concerns me.

What I do know is that I built Stephen a maple cue a while ago, and shortly after he'd had it, he was using a maple cue. Whether that cue is the same cue I made him or another cue made by JP I have no clue. I could call Stephen to confirm it, but it makes little difference to me whether he uses a cue I made or not, as long as he uses one he feels happy with.

I did read the article in question, it was sent to me by a friend.
I notice that JP coincidentally happened to mention Stephen Maguire, John Higgins and Dominic Dale, three players who have been regularly linked with cue makers other than John Parris. These names 'could' appear to have been mentioned to display to the reading masses that they use John Parris first and foremost, when in actual fact, that is highly debatable. BUT, that is for all who read this article to decide for themselves.

As many people will know, there are numerous professional players who do not use John Parris, although I don't think we'll see too much of these other cue specialists promoting themselves in the same. What is clear to me, is that John Parris has been very good at marketing himself and his products and good luck to him for that.

I have little desire to get into the whole debate of cues and professional players, it's just not that much of an issue to me.

[keith auld]

Wow - what a breath of fresh air to hear a cuemaker whose ego isn't the size of the post office tower and with sufficient confidence in his own ability to let his products stand on their own merits. I know JP is one of the best cuemakers in the world (if not the best) and he's stood the test of time and as Trevor says 'good luck to him' and so we should all say as he's set a standard for us all to surpass,i f we can - and moreover he's a nice guy! - thanks Trevor - I'm seeing you in a whole new light
Keith Auld

[MikeWooldridge]

i couldn't care less whether a pro uses one of my cues or not.

why? cos i don't give my cues to pros and never have done. f*** 'em is what i say. let them pay for a decent cue like the normal bloke who works hard for his money.

i pride myself on treating each and every customer (the paying public) the same. i give them the best they can get for their money.

i don't give a pro the best cue in the workshop then ship out sub standard stuff to mere 'mortals'.

that's not a dig at good old jp btw but a general swipe at any and all cue makers who stick a nice pic of somebody half famous on the front page of their website/brochure.

don't get me wrong, that's good business, no, great business, and is used as a marketing tool the world over in just about any industry you care to think about.

but it annoys me when i see the product a person has paid good money for and you can clearly see more care has gone into advertising/sponsorship...

i've got the utmost respect for jp as a businessman. his cues are far away the no.1 brand in the world. and if he says he made whoever a cue then i'm sure he did.

but maybe one day for fun i'll send a nice little wooldridge cue to the top 16.

game on...

[Maija]

but maybe one day for fun i'll send a nice little wooldridge cue to the top 16.

Send cues to the top 32 minus the top 16 and hope they all perform better for it

I do read this part of the forum, but I know very little about cues, so I normally don't post here. I do appreciate the posts from Trevor and Mike, and should I at some point have the cash to spare for a top cue, knowing that these two give every cue the same attention, it is more likely that I will check out what they have to offer before looking elsewhere.

Oh, and (NB tongue-in-cheek here) mentioning Dom Dale as a customer shouldn't hook in many other potential customers. It's more the case of finding out what he doesn't have, why - and avoid those (I seem to remember a scalding review of an Acuerate from him)

[Son of Cliff]

i couldn't care less whether a pro uses one of my cues or not.

why? cos i don't give my cues to pros and never have done. f*** 'em is what i say. let them pay for a decent cue like the normal bloke who works hard for his money.

i pride myself on treating each and every customer (the paying public) the same. i give them the best they can get for their money.

i don't give a pro the best cue in the workshop then ship out sub standard stuff to mere 'mortals'.

that's not a dig at good old jp btw but a general swipe at any and all cue makers who stick a nice pic of somebody half famous on the front page of their website/brochure.

don't get me wrong, that's good business, no, great business, and is used as a marketing tool the world over in just about any industry you care to think about.

but it annoys me when i see the product a person has paid good money for and you can clearly see more care has gone into advertising/sponsorship...

i've got the utmost respect for jp as a businessman. his cues are far away the no.1 brand in the world. and if he says he made whoever a cue then i'm sure he did.

but maybe one day for fun i'll send a nice little wooldridge cue to the top 16.

game on...

Great post Mike and very honest I fell for the hype about Parris cues now I have to wait a while before the misses lets me buy one of Trevors cues. 'We all make mistakes' said the hedgehog climbing off the brush. The Parris is a great cue but Trevor is cheaper and just down the road (No website to pay for)

[sunny3909]

I totally agree with Trevor & Mike.The John Parris article on the worldsnooker site was very well documented and it was a marketing tool to boost up his repo.I have used both Woolridge and Parris.I found the woolridge cue of much better quality then the parris.

[CueAntW147]

i couldn't care less whether a pro uses one of my cues or not.

why? cos i don't give my cues to pros and never have done. f*** 'em is what i say. let them pay for a decent cue like the normal bloke who works hard for his money.

i pride myself on treating each and every customer (the paying public) the same. i give them the best they can get for their money.

i don't give a pro the best cue in the workshop then ship out sub standard stuff to mere 'mortals'.

that's not a dig at good old jp btw but a general swipe at any and all cue makers who stick a nice pic of somebody half famous on the front page of their website/brochure.

don't get me wrong, that's good business, no, great business, and is used as a marketing tool the world over in just about any industry you care to think about.

but it annoys me when i see the product a person has paid good money for and you can clearly see more care has gone into advertising/sponsorship...

i've got the utmost respect for jp as a businessman. his cues are far away the no.1 brand in the world. and if he says he made whoever a cue then i'm sure he did.

but maybe one day for fun i'll send a nice little wooldridge cue to the top 16.

game on...

Great posting by Trevs & Mike.. must admit Mike yours made me laugh..being written in your own "unique" style, but honest and straight to the point.
I am surprised though Mike there must be top players using your cues,along with Trevors just without the hype or promotion.
Although you do have to say fair play to JP good business is good business by whatever means, can't argue with that.
One thing i do appreciate from Trevor & yourself as i'm sure most us cue buyers do is you make customers the best cue you can for there budget regardless of who they are, i've bought many cues in the past and thats exactly what you want to hear, and all you can really ask for.
Not that you need to hear it from me but great credit to you both

[ADR147]

in the end a cue is a cue it would be easier for me if people knew the difference but there you go as for who made what cue john higgins cue i have seen recently it is 100% kevin muncaster right down to the uneven splices! - and dominic dale changes cues the way other people do socks, every time i list a nice maple cue on ebay he e-mails me about it and i believe trevor is making him 3 right now!!!

[LWB]

I'd like to think that all the cue makers in question would produce a cue to almost identical quality for the same price, but now I'm starting to wonder. I actually joined this site a couple of days ago mostly because I'm in the market for a new cue, so I'm watching this with great interest. It is crucially important to me that I get a top quality cue for my money, but lets face it, advertising and web design makes it tricky! I know a guy who paid good money to peradon for a custom built cue, only to go back to his old one which doesn't even have a brass joint! Don't know whether that says anything about perdon or more about him though . This subject makes me think about riley and bce again, amazing faces related to their 'products', but their cues in my experience are horrible.

[poolqjunkie]

I think since John Parris probably produces and sells more cues than other UK custom cue makers, in that regard, his marketing approach of using pro endorsment and maximizing his exposure through such endorsement is quite essential.

A lot of his customers outside of the UK may buy from him because he is the only famous and custom cue maker they know. He also takes order on his web site. Before I joined this forum, I have to be very honest that I have never heard of Trevor White. I only knew Mike Wooldridge through a friend from the UK who told me about Mike and Tony Glover. I have heard of Will Hunt, and that is pretty all the UK snooker cue makers I knew.

After joining this forum, I have read and communicated with Trevor White, and I have been very impressed and pleased with his knowledge on the game and on cues. He impresses me as someone who takes great pride in his work, but is not trying to hard sell them. I feel that he really cares if a customer is 100% happy with his cues. It is a great shame that I have never seen in person or tried his cues, because there is none in my location. I am pretty sure one can get more attentive and informative service from Trevor, as well as more for one's money in terms of workmanship, and the overall value, compared to John Parris.

I like reading Mike's post very much. He makes me laugh, and I like his attitude--some pro just want cues for free, and if you have enough customers, I command Mike for taking care of them first. His cues are top notch from what I have seen and heard. I think he is a also a very talented person with regard to marketing as well.

From what I have learnt and seen as someone outside of the UK, John Parris's reputation seems to have declined a bit in recent years, due to largely the fact that a lot of people now believe that John Parris cues are not really made by John Parris himself, and the quality is not as consistent as before. Their email communication is also not the very best. I like the way John Parris cues play but I have also seen and tried some that are very different. Workmanshipwise, I think for the same price there could be better alternative. For under 350 pounds, can you get a cue from John with even points at the bottom? I have not seen one, but I have not seen too many John Parris either. Resale value wise, especially on the international market, John Parris is very good. I am not sure for how long this will be. I also believe Ronnie O'Sullivan's use of John Parris really helps to sell his cues. If I were John Parris. I will keep focusing on Ronnie, and not make too much of a fuss about some other pros who may or may not be using his cue full time.

In my humble opinion, I think John Parris is more into selling to the general public all over the world. You know you can get a reputable name, and will have good resale value on your cue no matter where you are.

In the UK, actually, I have discovered from watching cues on ebay and on here, that Trevor White holds its value very well.

Lastly, thanks to all the wonderful cue makers and cue traders who take their time to educate and share their point of view on this forum. Best wishes to you all.

[LWB]

Web address for Trevor White's cues anyone please?

[bongo]

I am 99% sure that he does not have one, you can PM or e-mail him, his e-mail is on his profile (trevs1).