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Buyer Beware
Read before you buy any billiards or pool table online! Top 10 Misleading Pool Table Claims:
Many companies use this statement to make you think the entire table is made of real wood. While our better and best quality pool tables are truly made from solid American hardwoods, many companies often make the body cabinet and legs from medium density fiber board (MDF)! Many companies use MDF in the construction of their pool tables and claim that their tables are 100% wood.
MDF is made from sawdust and glue-molded under pressure to form 4’ x 8’ sheets. Very thin wood veneers are glued to both sides and sold as “engineered wood,” which is significantly less expensive than 5/4 (1 ¼” thick) solid American tulipwood, oak or maple.
The wood and cabinet industry has perfected this type of “engineered wood” so when you route lines into the cabinet sides, the smooth MDF can be stained and finished to look like the top veneer. It becomes very difficult for a novice to detect that it is not solid wood.
Although it can be technically argued that MDF is 100% solid wood because it is made from sawdust (which is technically wood), MDF does not properly support the weight of a slate pool table. BUYER BEWARE!
While our better and best quality pool tables come with a limited lifetime warranty, many companies make this statement to give you a false sense of confidence. A warranty is only valid if the manufacturer and/or Internet-based company remain in business! The sad fact is that many foreign manufacturers, especially in China, and Internet-based companies (which recently included the leading U.S. e-tailer of pool tables) are out of business every 1 to 3 years.
Many go out of business or change their name because they simply cannot support the growing number of warranty claims and bad press that is inevitable when selling inferior products.
Few companies warrant their rubber cushions because they use inferior rubber which breaks down and they know how expensive it is to replace.
Most companies will not even warrant their pool table to play level because it is impossible to level a poorly designed pool table. With our white glove installation we guarantee all of our tables to play level in your home.
The most expensive part of a warranty claim is the cost of labor to remove the defective part, repair/ replace it, and re-install it. Few companies will reimburse the cost of labor during a warranty claim. Under these bogus warranties, most customers opt to live with the defect because it is simply too expensive to have it repaired.
#3 - FREE curbside DELIVERY - Buyer Beware! : Free Delivery is a claim that is always made by internet retailers to make you feel that you are getting a good deal. Free delivery works well for small packages but is a total disaster when delivering large heavy game tables.
You may have had good experiences with getting small packages delivered via UPS or FED-EX. Small packages are regularly shipped via FED-EX and UPS because it is extremely convenient, easy-to-track and can be left by your front door with few, if any, problems.
Unfortunately, it is neither easy nor convenient to accept delivery of a large and heavy pool table.
For example, a pool table is often delivered to your home with FREE curbside DELIVERY. The watchword here is: “curbside.” If it is used in connection with “delivery,” it means a large tractor trailer parks on the road in front of your house between the hours of 9:00a.m. and 5:00 p.m., moves the large pool table to the back of the trailer and, from this point on, YOU are responsible for getting it off the truck and into your home!
Here is a short list of things you must do when you purchase an item that includes “FREE curbside DELIVERY”.
In addition to FREE curbside DELIVERY, most online companies will offer different levels of “service.” For example, you can purchase lift-gate delivery for $150.00 extra, whereby the game table will be lowered to the ground but you are still responsible to carry it into your home. Be sure to check the cost of these service levels (up to $600) and learn whether they will be performed by a subcontractor or an employee who is properly trained in assembling, fitting billiard fabric and balancing /seaming slates.
Sometimes you can have the game table shipped to a subcontractor who then delivers it to your home. Often, this creates more problems for you because the lines of responsibility are vague. If something goes wrong, the Internet company often blames the subcontractor and the subcontractor points back to the Internet company.
If you have an issue with the pool table, your only recourse is to email the Internet company who, in turn, gets in touch with the subcontractor to try and work through the issue.
Unfortunately, your issue may never get worked out to your satisfaction and you can be left with an inferior pool table because it costs too much money to return it under the terms and conditions of the so-called “no hassle return policy.” In fact, depending upon the fine print of your delivery terms, it often costs more to return the defective merchandise that its original cost.
Return policies can work well for small items that can be delivered via UPS or FED-EX, but not for pool tables or larger barstools that must be delivered via tractor trailer.
Most return policies allow you to return the item with no questions asked under a “No hassle return policy.” This sounds like a good deal... but read the fine print. You will discover it often costs more to return the item than its original cost.
For example, a barstool that typically retails in a brick and mortar store for $359.00 can be found on the Internet for $299.00 with FREE curbside DELIVERY. The no hassle return policy allows you to return the barstool for any reason, but you must ship it back in its original carton and pay the following calculated costs:
THE BOTTOM LINE IS... ONCE THE ITEM IS SHIPPED... YOU OWN IT! A large pool table that weighs over 700 lbs. is extremely expensive and nearly impossible to return.
Unlike our better and best quality pool tables, many companies, including some well-known brand names, only “assemble” foreign-made parts in America.
For example, "American Heritage Billiards" claims their pool tables are "made in America" when in fact their pool tables parts are manufactured in Malaysia and China including rails, blinds, legs, cabinet sides, slate pads, hardware, and internal components. These parts are tightly packed into containers and shipped from the China to a distribution point in Cleveland, Ohio where they sit in a warehouse until they are ready to be assembled into a pool table.
These foreign-made components can sit in the warehouse for years before a customer orders the right pool table for which these components were needed.
Nevertheless, this company maintains they have the legal right to claim that their tables are "made in America" because the components made in China are "assembled in Ohio". American Heritage is sold on the Internet through pooltablesusa.com, costco.com and more.
Another billiards manufacturer, whose brand name is close to being an American icon, manufacturers their pool tables in China and distributes these tables under an all American brand name.
So, when shopping online or in a store, ask in what country are the pool tables and/or components made.
#6 – CUSTOMERS LOVE US (TESTIMONIALS):
When you surf the Internet and come across a well-designed website, do you really believe the streaming videos that show a family of actors having fun on a pool table? Do you really believe the actress speaking highly about her experience with a particular Internet based company?
More often than not the “testimonials” you read on the web are written by marketing people to make you feel like you are making a good purchase decision.
Your best guarantee of honesty will come from a brick-and-mortar retail store that specializes in billiards, has their own installers, and has been in business for 20 years or more!
This can be misleading whether you have seen the brand name before or not!
If you never heard of the brand name, it is because it may have recently been created to give you a false sense of security. After all, few of us can name the top three billiard manufacturers and so a “made up” brand name with a nice story can easily give us a false sense of quality.
A brand is a name that you recognize but is not always synonymous with quality. A name can become a brand because of advertising or because the name has been around for a long time.
For example, there are recognizable billiard table brands whose logos may say, “Authentic American…” This leads one to believe that their pool tables are made in America.
One such company whose logo includes those “Authentic American…” words manufactures over 90% of its pool tables in China, but distributes them under a well-known American brand name.
Some of these brand-name tables use non-backed slate (cloth must be glued and therefore cannot be accurately stretched and stapled) ¾” slate (too thin and too light for good play) and a cabinet made from “engineered wood” (made from sawdust and glue, which does not support the weight of a pool table). In addition, this cheap pool table will not stand up to one of the most basic tests of quality… Stand in front of the pool table and give it a good shove and see how badly it wobbles. If it looks shaky… stay away. Of course you cannot perform this simple test when buying a pool table on the internet.
Unfortunately, when you can’t visit a store to see or shake a table, you are at the mercy of the integrity of the online merchant.
Many online companies show you a fancy looking pool table with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $4,895.00 and a special Internet price of only $1,895.00. Wow! What a deal! It sounds too good to be true…and it usually is. Unfortunately, unless you can find the identical table elsewhere at the MSRP price, many online companies inflate the MSRP before discounting it.
Before you buy a pool table, take into consideration some of the qualities mentioned above, such as solid wood vs. MDF particleboard, warranty, delivery details and origin of parts. Don’t end up feeling cheated by a company that falsely marked-up its pricing.
Slate quarries can be found in Italy, South America and more recently in China. There are different qualities found in slate, including moisture content, mineral deposits, hardness and quality control. The quality of slate has more to do with the quality of machinery used to hone, cut and bore holes than its origin.
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Better quality pool tables are engineered to use backed-1" thick slate (also called framed-slate). This type of slate has 1”x3” wide wood strips glued to the underside. These wood strips absorb and transfer vibrations and also serve as a substrate to which the cloth is stapled.
It is essential to have framed slate if the cloth is to be professionally stretched for accurate play. Low quality pool tables use a “slate pad” to support an un-framed slate (see picture on left). These tables are difficult to level and impossible to remain level, because the “slate pad” supports neither the leveling shims nor the weight of the slate. In addition, slate screws do not hold well in the flimsy fiberboard “slate pads”. This is without question one of the poorest designs ever introduced to the billiard industry making it nearly impossible to level a pool table. American Heritage Billiards uses slate pads on the majority of their pool tables.
Unfortunately, some popular pool table manufacturers use non-backed slate that sits on top of a slate pad. This design saves significantly on cost, because it allows packing more pool tables into a container when being shipped from China. Unfortunately, these tables cannot be made to stay level. It is no surprise that the companies who make them and sell them do not warranty their tables to play level.
All billiard companies profess to use 100% pure gum rubber cushions. These companies neglect to tell you that their 100% gum rubber cushions are made in China and also contain up to 25% fillers made from clay and silica. Unfortunately, the extra fillers cause the gum rubber to break down as little as two years. These rubber cushions are susceptible to heat, cold, UV light and humidity. They have a life expectancy of as little as 3 to 5 years.
Most companies exclude their rubber cushions from their warranty because they know from experience that their cushions do not last all that long and the labor cost to replace them is one of the most expensive services on a pool table (often $300 to replace the cushions and you cannot re-use the billiard fabric).
#10 – PROFESSIONALLY INSTALLED:
A pool table is not only a beautiful piece of furniture, but a precision piece of equipment. A pool table plays well only when properly installed.
If you think a general subcontractor can also install a pool table… think again! Most of the time, you will be sadly mistaken. Most pool table warranties are only valid when installed by a certified dealer who can visit your home to inspect and fix the problem.
A subcontractor cannot give you the same level of support as a certified dealer who has their own in-house factory trained installation technicians.
Our good, better and best quality pool tables are all backed by the Loree Jon’s Pool Tables Plus service department. You will be 100% satisfied with the quality of the pool tables and the perfection of the installation. However, if you purchase a pool table on the internet there is really no warranty because if you are dissatisfied, your only recourse is to fight with a subcontractor or send it back and the cost to disassemble, package and ship a pool table back is cost prohibitive.
Do you really think the subcontractor will return to your home to fix an un-level table, billiard fabric that is not properly stretched or shoddy workmanship?
SUMMARY:
Imagine surfing the web and finding a picture of a pool table that has the design and price that suits your needs. After you enter all your personal and credit card information and hit “BUY NOW” … do you have a feeling of confidence? Or, do you feel like you are at the craps table hoping for sevens on the come-out roll?
Read the fine print! If you are dissatisfied once an online pool table purchase is made, often your only recourse is to return the table under their return policy.
For example, a popular website that sells pool tables charges $1,183 to return one of its cheapest pool tables, but only if it is fully palletized in its original cartons and crates.
Should you choose to purchase a pool table on the internet that includes “free curbside delivery”, and you accidentally drop a box and damage the goods…. who is responsible? When the goods are delivered… are you comfortable signing the delivery document without opening each box to inspect its condition?
Do you really understand the terms and conditions of the document to which you just signed? Do you know what to look for when you open each box to inspect pool table rails, legs, cabinet sides or pockets?
Do you have the capability to uncrate each of the three sections of slate (each piece weighs at least 200 lbs) and inspect for levelness and cracks?
If you pay an additional charge to have a subcontractor come to your home to install the table, and he finds a damaged component, who do you call and how much does it cost to replace it? Will the subcontractor, return to you home after the damaged component is received? Is there an additional charge? Who pays? Another day off from work?
If the subcontractor drops and damages the rail while installing the cloth, who pays for the damage? How many more days do you have to take off from work to wait for a repair visit or will you just accept the damaged goods because it is easier than the alternative?
A few weeks later, when you have your first party and your friends are not impressed with the levelness of your new table or the rebound off the rubber … who do you call? Do you call the subcontractor or do you email the internet company?
What do you do when the table wobbles because it is not properly engineered? Is it the fault of the installer or simply a poorly designed product that was made in China and sold under a made-up “brand” name with a bogus warranty?
Will you really pay $1,000.00 or more to have the table dismantled and returned to the manufacturer? Did you keep the original cartons and crates?
Continue to educate yourself and, when in doubt, buy a brand name product from a local retailer who specializes in billiards, has a long history in the billiards industry and an in-house service department to support you.
A reputable brick-and-mortar retailer cannot sell inferior pool tables because it is too costly for them to stand behind an inferior product. A reputable retailer such as Loree Jon’s Pool Tables Plus has their good reputation to uphold. So, next time you see a table advertised as $2,995 “on SALE for $1,695,” ask yourself if it sounds too good to be true.
Now that you have some information, you can ask appropriate questions and make a more informed purchase decision! We wish you good luck on your purchase decision and stand ready to help in any way.
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