About 2 months ago, my local billiard retailer got a new set of Aramith 100s in for me. I had waited almost a year for them. They were not sealed when they arrived at the store. When I closely examined them, there were very small milky-looking spots on at least 6 of the balls. The spots were mostly round about 1mm in diameter. Three of those 6 balls had just a few spots (3-5) in very close proximity to one another while one ball in particular had like a wavy line of these spots about 3/4ths of the way around the ball. We could not feel the spots no matter how we tried, and we could not change their appearance with a microfiber cloth. At first I thought they might have been played with or be some kind of contact mark from a leather pocket, but those types of spots usually rub off and exhibit a more random pattern than the spots that I observed. The retailer contacted Aramith, but Aramith took a long time to respond, and their reply was basically try polishing the balls, and they did not offer any other kind of solution or feedback. At the time, I refused to take delivery, so I was not stuck with them. Now, the retailer called me today to say that a new set had arrived in the store, and I will be going there tomorrow (Tuesday) to examine them. They are still sealed in the plastic.
Here's my question... Has anyone else experienced something similar with these sets? I've never seen marks like these on a new set of balls regardless of the price. I would think that Aramith would want these to be perfect, especially at this price point. If this is "normal," then I guess I'll just go ahead with the sale, but any other premium ball that I've seen brand new has been flawless. I'm in the Austin, TX, area if anyone nearby has a set that I could look at. If anyone else already has a set, please look at them very closely and see if you can see any kind of spots that seem to be in the surface of the ball itself.
Eventually, I would like to get a second set to actually play with while I keep the first set as part of my collection. I might ask if the retailer will discount the flawed set. I will not use the cue ball from either set since it takes too much abuse, and I really like the design of the cue ball.
Thanks in advance for any and all help and/or suggestions!
Here's my question... Has anyone else experienced something similar with these sets? I've never seen marks like these on a new set of balls regardless of the price. I would think that Aramith would want these to be perfect, especially at this price point. If this is "normal," then I guess I'll just go ahead with the sale, but any other premium ball that I've seen brand new has been flawless. I'm in the Austin, TX, area if anyone nearby has a set that I could look at. If anyone else already has a set, please look at them very closely and see if you can see any kind of spots that seem to be in the surface of the ball itself.
Eventually, I would like to get a second set to actually play with while I keep the first set as part of my collection. I might ask if the retailer will discount the flawed set. I will not use the cue ball from either set since it takes too much abuse, and I really like the design of the cue ball.
Thanks in advance for any and all help and/or suggestions!