Expected Condition of New Pool Balls

T

Tony Pool

New member
Hello.

I am setting up my first pool table and bought a set of new Aramith Tournament pool balls from Ozone Billiards.

I have never seen a new set of pool balls before and am uncertain as to what condition I should expect them to be in. Several of them have small scuffs that I suppose will only increase in number as they are used in play. However, a few have small scratches that are deep enough to be felt with a fingernail. Is this acceptable for a new set?

I know on a bar table the balls get beat to heck but for a home table I thought they could be kept in better condition and wanted them to at least start out that way. As opposed to scuffs, scratches don't seem like something that should occur during normal use so I am inclined to contact Ozone and ask for an exchange. However, I have been known to be too picky so wanted the opinions of folks with more experience.

Thanks for any advice.

Tony
 
If you never played with them, there should be no scuffs or scratches on them. Maybe they send you a "refurb" set or something. Contact Ozone and see if you can exchange it.

If you used them already, I'd check your pockets, you could have something metal sticking out that is hitting the balls, check the lining on the top part of the pocket. I play in a room that has really dinged up balls, and just last week I noticed something, the leather liners on top of the pockets were all ripped and exposed a sharp and pretty jagged metal edge. If you hit at speed into that, you got your scratches. It was pretty bad actually as we happened to bring a friend's set of Centenials to play with, and the tables dinged up a few balls before I noticed what was going on.
 
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Tony Pool said:
... I have never seen a new set of pool balls before and am uncertain as to what condition I should expect them to be in. Several of them have small scuffs that I suppose will only increase in number as they are used in play. However, a few have small scratches that are deep enough to be felt with a fingernail. Is this acceptable for a new set? ...
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No. I would be surprised if someone intentionally shipped such balls. You need to consider any possibility that they were played with before you looked at them or they were damaged in shipping.

I think it is possible for the balls to have very minor scuffs if they had a lot of motion during shipping just from rubbing on cardboard, but I think Aramiths are usually packed with a form-fitting egg crate and maybe a foam pad for the open side. That should prevent any scuffs. But for the usual scuffs polishing will restore the shine -- maybe not perfectly but better than they will look after a week of normal play.
 
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Tony Pool said:
Hello.

I am setting up my first pool table and bought a set of new Aramith Tournament pool balls from Ozone Billiards.

I have never seen a new set of pool balls before and am uncertain as to what condition I should expect them to be in. Several of them have small scuffs that I suppose will only increase in number as they are used in play. However, a few have small scratches that are deep enough to be felt with a fingernail. Is this acceptable for a new set?

I know on a bar table the balls get beat to heck but for a home table I thought they could be kept in better condition and wanted them to at least start out that way. As opposed to scuffs, scratches don't seem like something that should occur during normal use so I am inclined to contact Ozone and ask for an exchange. However, I have been known to be too picky so wanted the opinions of folks with more experience.

Thanks for any advice.

Tony
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I would contact Ozone Billiards, new balls should have a flawless finish.
 
Tony Pool said:
Hello.

I am setting up my first pool table and bought a set of new Aramith Tournament pool balls from Ozone Billiards.

I have never seen a new set of pool balls before and am uncertain as to what condition I should expect them to be in. Several of them have small scuffs that I suppose will only increase in number as they are used in play. However, a few have small scratches that are deep enough to be felt with a fingernail. Is this acceptable for a new set?

I know on a bar table the balls get beat to heck but for a home table I thought they could be kept in better condition and wanted them to at least start out that way. As opposed to scuffs, scratches don't seem like something that should occur during normal use so I am inclined to contact Ozone and ask for an exchange. However, I have been known to be too picky so wanted the opinions of folks with more experience.

Thanks for any advice.

Tony
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Ozone is very good about handling customer complaints or issues. Call or email and tell them you are not satisfied. They will refund or exchange. I expect a new set to be perfectly shined with no finger prints or any loose ends
 
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hang-the-9 said:
If you never played with them, there should be no scuffs or scratches on them. Maybe they send you a "refurb" set or something. Contact Ozone and see if you can exchange it.

If you used them already, I'd check your pockets, you could have something metal sticking out that is hitting the balls, check the lining on the top part of the pocket. I play in a room that has really dinged up balls, and just last week I noticed something, the leather liners on top of the pockets were all ripped and exposed a sharp and pretty jagged metal edge. If you hit at speed into that, you got your scratches. It was pretty bad actually as we happened to bring a friend's set of Centenials to play with, and the tables dinged up a few balls before I noticed what was going on.
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I slightly damaged a set of Aramith Pro's due to small brads in the pocket boots
 
I bought a set of Aramath's from G Cue Billiards and they are perfect. It should be pretty obvious if they had been played before.
 
Thank you all for taking the time to help. I have contacted Ozone Billiards and they were happy to exchange the set for me. Hopefully the next set is in better shape.

Thanks again,
Tony
 
Make sure the box of the new replacement set is sealed in plastic. If its not, return them, and shop somewhere else.
 
just send them back you will get your new ones but they also sell refubished so make sure you get what you pay for
 
Jgar said:
Not every set from aramith is shipped in the clear shrink wrap so this quote is inaccurate.
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I thought that all of the higher-end balls are not only sealed in shrink wrap but now only use shrink wrap that has little "Aramith"s printed all over it. Is that not correct?

I saw an instance locally of a store putting counterfeit balls into a real box. I think the buyer thought he was getting the real thing.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I thought that all of the higher-end balls are not only sealed in shrink wrap but now only use shrink wrap that has little "Aramith"s printed all over it. Is that not correct?

I saw an instance locally of a store putting counterfeit balls into a real box. I think the buyer thought he was getting the real thing.
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the premium sets, super aramath pro's and value packs all come in the shrink wrap you are talking about. crown belgiums, premier sets and continentals do not come in any kind of packaging except for the box they are shipped in.
 
Jgar said:
the premium sets, super aramath pro's and value packs all come in the shrink wrap you are talking about. crown belgiums, premier sets and continentals do not come in any kind of packaging except for the box they are shipped in.
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I assume that would include what the OP is talking about but it's not perfectly clear since he didn't use the "official" name of the set. Maybe the OP could describe the box.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I assume that would include what the OP is talking about but it's not perfectly clear since he didn't use the "official" name of the set. Maybe the OP could describe the box.
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yeah, it looks like they shrink wrap the ball sets of the premium sets and up and the premier sets and down dont get the extra love.
 
The set I bought was the "Aramith Tournament Pro-Cup Value Pack". It comes with the balls and the spotted cue ball as well as a training ball and some cleaner and a cloth.

The set came in a box and I'm pretty sure it had plastic wrap on it though I don't remember if it was printed with anything. The balls were in a thin plastic egg crate type holder within the box.

The box and the plastic inside were dented in a couple spots so maybe it was shipping damage. I don't think it was a used set as most of the balls looked shiny and new.

Tony
 
Tony Pool said:
The set I bought was the "Aramith Tournament Pro-Cup Value Pack". It comes with the balls and the spotted cue ball as well as a training ball and some cleaner and a cloth.

The set came in a box and I'm pretty sure it had plastic wrap on it though I don't remember if it was printed with anything. The balls were in a thin plastic egg crate type holder within the box.

The box and the plastic inside were dented in a couple spots so maybe it was shipping damage. I don't think it was a used set as most of the balls looked shiny and new.

Tony
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How many balls have issues? I would contact the seller and get replacements. I see that those sets sell for $320 or so. If the polish that came with the set fixes up the scuffs, I would not bother replacing the balls that are just scuffed.
 
That makes sense about the scuffed balls and I'm not too worried about them. I figure that kind of damage will come with normal play anyway.

There are 3 or 4 balls however that have scratches and I wasn't sure if I would be able to buff those out without compromising the ball as they seemed fairly deep.

It seems like it would take a lot to actually scratch a pool ball and I don't see how that could happen bouncing around in the shipping box but who knows.

Tony
 
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