Some information for those of you who are buying and selling these cases.
Unfortunately there are counterfeits floating around and I have noticed some trading in them.
So here are a few tips to help you determine if the one you want to buy is a genuine J.Flowers Tribute series case.
(trolls, please don't go there with the "name" again or the thread will go another 50 posts while I get to advertise on your effort.)
Here is a blog post I did a whole back when these first surfaced.
http://jbcases.com/caseblog/2011/04...g-beware-of-counterfeit-fake-j-flowers-cases/
Here is a thread where a customer got one of the fakes and compared it side by side with the real one.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=228293
So look for these things to determine the real ones from the fake ones.
1. The logo should be deep and crisp. Like the top one in this image.
2. The fasteners are connected through the leather and not just on the surface. The right case is correct and the left one is fake.
3. The interiors are cushy and secure on the real ones. On the fakes the interiors are made of flimsy tubes which are all the same height with little to no padding. On the left is real and on the right is fake.
4. The tooling should be straight and crisp. On the right is real and on the left is fake.
Top is real - bottom is fake
Now, while these are the main ways to spot a fake please be aware that there can be fakes out there which look much more like the real ones than these.
So if you have a question please email me with a picture of the case or a link to the sale ad and I can take a look and tell you if it's real or fake.
Why does this matter?
Well the counterfeiters take zero responsibility for damage to your cue. You have no idea how they built the case and so if it screws up your cue or the case develops issues then you're out the money. And when you spend good money thinking you are buying something with a quality reputation and find out it's junk then you have been ripped off. Best case is that the counterfeit works ok and gives you no problems. Worst case it harms your cue and ends up costing you way more than you paid for it.
I stand behind the cases that I designed. Real J.Flowers cases were made in my shop until we felt that the Jiasen Case Company was able to make them to my standards. The only two places that genuine J.Flowers Tribute cases are/were made are in my shop and Jiasen.
Sterling Gaming is the sole owner of the J.Flowers trademark around the world except in China where Jiasen owns it. Thus Sterling also stands behind their brand. If you purchase a counterfeit and something goes wrong you would be right to expect Sterling to take care of it. But Sterling can't take of it when they didn't make the cases.
So if you want the real thing use these guidelines to help you make the choice.
Thanks,
John Barton
Unfortunately there are counterfeits floating around and I have noticed some trading in them.
So here are a few tips to help you determine if the one you want to buy is a genuine J.Flowers Tribute series case.
(trolls, please don't go there with the "name" again or the thread will go another 50 posts while I get to advertise on your effort.)
Here is a blog post I did a whole back when these first surfaced.
http://jbcases.com/caseblog/2011/04...g-beware-of-counterfeit-fake-j-flowers-cases/
Here is a thread where a customer got one of the fakes and compared it side by side with the real one.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=228293
So look for these things to determine the real ones from the fake ones.
1. The logo should be deep and crisp. Like the top one in this image.
2. The fasteners are connected through the leather and not just on the surface. The right case is correct and the left one is fake.
3. The interiors are cushy and secure on the real ones. On the fakes the interiors are made of flimsy tubes which are all the same height with little to no padding. On the left is real and on the right is fake.
4. The tooling should be straight and crisp. On the right is real and on the left is fake.
Top is real - bottom is fake
Now, while these are the main ways to spot a fake please be aware that there can be fakes out there which look much more like the real ones than these.
So if you have a question please email me with a picture of the case or a link to the sale ad and I can take a look and tell you if it's real or fake.
Why does this matter?
Well the counterfeiters take zero responsibility for damage to your cue. You have no idea how they built the case and so if it screws up your cue or the case develops issues then you're out the money. And when you spend good money thinking you are buying something with a quality reputation and find out it's junk then you have been ripped off. Best case is that the counterfeit works ok and gives you no problems. Worst case it harms your cue and ends up costing you way more than you paid for it.
I stand behind the cases that I designed. Real J.Flowers cases were made in my shop until we felt that the Jiasen Case Company was able to make them to my standards. The only two places that genuine J.Flowers Tribute cases are/were made are in my shop and Jiasen.
Sterling Gaming is the sole owner of the J.Flowers trademark around the world except in China where Jiasen owns it. Thus Sterling also stands behind their brand. If you purchase a counterfeit and something goes wrong you would be right to expect Sterling to take care of it. But Sterling can't take of it when they didn't make the cases.
So if you want the real thing use these guidelines to help you make the choice.
Thanks,
John Barton
