Did I buy Aramith Super Pro Balls?

J

JimSabatke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I bought a set of balls on ebay that were sold as "Aramith Super Pro" balls. They came in what looks like the proper, sealed box. I bought them to use at a local pool hall because their balls are so crappy that it took the fun out of playing. A number of other players there also bring their own balls.

A question about my balls came up because the white areas on all the balls in the set are a very bright white, like a titanium white. Everyone else there that has Super Pro sets has balls that the white areas are a cream, or ivory white. Several people have told me I was sold something other than Super Pro balls. I've written to Aramith, but haven't received an answer yet.

So, are Super Pro balls differentiated from other balls by that "cream" color, or can the white color vary from set to set? Is it likely that I was ripped off on ebay? I paid about $225 for the set and will be very unhappy if I bought inferior balls. BTW, they play extremely well and roll very accurately.

TIA,

Jim
 
Colonel said:
Exactly, Aramith super pros come with a red Aramith logo cue ball
Click to expand...

or a measles ball. <my super pro set> (and/or possibly other cueballs also methinks ?)

My super pro's are NOT bright white and the colour boundaries are slightly blurry.

Pics of the numbers on ur balls will help identify. But they sound like premiums or premiers from what u have described so far.

Cheers.
 
JimSabatke said:
I bought a set of balls on ebay that were sold as "Aramith Super Pro" balls. They came in what looks like the proper, sealed box. I bought them to use at a local pool hall because their balls are so crappy that it took the fun out of playing. A number of other players there also bring their own balls.

A question about my balls came up because the white areas on all the balls in the set are a very bright white, like a titanium white. Everyone else there that has Super Pro sets has balls that the white areas are a cream, or ivory white. Several people have told me I was sold something other than Super Pro balls. I've written to Aramith, but haven't received an answer yet.

So, are Super Pro balls differentiated from other balls by that "cream" color, or can the white color vary from set to set? Is it likely that I was ripped off on ebay? I paid about $225 for the set and will be very unhappy if I bought inferior balls. BTW, they play extremely well and roll very accurately.

TIA,

Jim
Click to expand...

Who was the seller? Post photos of the balls.
 
OK, it took me a while to find the ebay listing. First of all, here is a current listing for the same ad that I bought on April 27 last year: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201041039271

There is no longer a link to the original sale.

Here is a link to the same seller, selling with the same verbiage. The colors are representative of what I have:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Belgian-Sup...271?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ecefacfa7

The cue ball has the little red logos all over the ball.

The item number I bought: 201041039271 was reused for the current listing. I found the original number in my purchase history.

The box isn't entirely shown, but my box looks exactly the same from the view shown in the listing, and it does say Super Aramith Pro on the box.

I have a really nice, older Nikon d200 camera, but a major weakness of that model was very poor indoor, lower light focusing. I basically can't take indoor photos with it in my apartment, well maybe if I dig out my flash meter and do it all manually.

TIA
 
The eBay seller is USA based, and states this in his posting.
Most folks selling fugazy items on eBay try to be as anonymous as possible.
This leads me to believe what you purchased was genuine.

Stay away from high priced items being sold from sellers based in China. If the wording in the posting is off, that's usually a good tip off too.


As an aside, I have this case and am really happy with it. Seyberts has it for a very competitive price.
I know I don't need to tell you how important it is to keep your balls safe ;-)

ar1142.jpg
 
Last edited:
itsfroze said:
Funny they don't show the cue ball in that picture, they have the box covering it.
I never seen a set anywhere that white, not even close.
Click to expand...

They look right to me. Here's a pic from the seller's description section:
 

Attachments

  • Super Pros.jpg
    Super Pros.jpg
    83.7 KB · Views: 1,203
Thanks for the info. I had the same thoughts about a US seller when I bought it, and I would never buy something like this from a Chinese seller. I also buy a lot of coins on ebay, and there are so many counterfeits from China that it makes one's head spin. It didn't even make sense to me with the economics of producing counterfeits of lower, in the $75-$200 range, and actually even $25, that have to cost money to make, that they could make money at all, but they do.

Back to the balls. You can see how "white" the balls are in the ad, and that is my biggest concern. I've seen other guys' sets where the whites are all cream or ivory colored, and mine are brilliant white. I'll be really upset if I paid $220 for something less than actual Super Pro balls. I guess with all other things seeming OK, is the color test valid to distinguish Super Pros from lesser quality balls?

TIA
 
Oh, and thanks for the advice on the ball bag. Right now I keep them in the original box, with the plastic insert that keeps the balls separated, and I keep the box in a bag that looks a lot like the one in your photo, without the foam insert to separate the balls of course.
 
JimSabatke said:
The cue ball has the little red logos all over the ball.

TIA
Click to expand...

This is the part that concerns me. The Super Aramith Pro set comes with the Aramith red logo ball. It has a single logo, not several all over the ball. If the graphics you are referring to are solid dots (6 of them) then that may be the Super Pro Cup cue ball. The problem is this cue ball only comes with the TV set version of the Super Aramith Pros (Pro Cup, aka measles ball). Now, while this ball is readily available by itself, there are also many cheap knock-offs of this ball. So if your set did not come with the cue ball that is original to the set it probably means one of two things:

1) The seller substituted a different cue ball for some reason, or
2) You don't have Super Aramith Pros.

But if the set didn't come with the original cue ball in my mind it casts doubt on the set.

Assuming it didn't come with the original cue ball (single red Aramith logo) then you have legitimate reason to return for a full refund since the set is advertised as BNIB, unopened.

BTW, the box should say Super Aramith Pro and not Aramith Super Pro. But of course the box alone doesn't mean the balls inside are genuine. I can't recall if the box should have come shrink wrapped but a call to Seyberts or Pooldawg could easily answer that question. IIRC, when you open the box it should also have a pull out sash running across one of the corners.
 
Last edited:
JimSabatke said:
Back to the balls. You can see how "white" the balls are in the ad, and that is my biggest concern. I've seen other guys' sets where the whites are all cream or ivory colored, and mine are brilliant white. I'll be really upset if I paid $220 for something less than actual Super Pro balls. I guess with all other things seeming OK, is the color test valid to distinguish Super Pros from lesser quality balls?

TIA
Click to expand...

All the Super Pros and Tournament sets I've seen are fairly white when brand new - in photos, in videos of tournaments, and in real life. So are the new Centennials. In contrast, I have a set of old Centennials I bought new-in-the-box from a pool room that closed, and they were pretty ivory colored when I got them, but are actually lightening up a bit with use.

Judging just by the photo from the seller, there are just too many things that seem right that it would be a hell of a forgery to pull off a credible fake IMO.

Just the box would be a monster to fake. The literature inside the box, the foam separators with the embossed Aramith logo... it just wouldn't be worth it. The balls have the correct Aramith colors, the correct sheen, the correct soft edge diffusing of the colors into the white background, and the correct logo on the CB.

Besides, if they were crap balls, they would probably play bad as well, or certainly different from the Aramiths you are used to. If they play great and look exactly like Aramiths, who would care if they were fake anyway? It's not like an investment cue that turns out to be a forgery.

I wouldn't let the color worry me. I think there is a wee bit of variance in the resins anyway.
 
My concern too. EVERYONE I know that has Super Pros has ivory or cream colored whites, and what's really annoying is a couple of them are the kind of people that won't shut up about it and just keep saying the same thing over and over, even though I keep saying that I can't know, or make a decision until I have more information from other sources, like Aramith, experts like on this forum, or stores that carry them.

By the way, I keep my ball case in my car, and I totally missed the description on the cue ball. It has one red logo on it. I must have been thinking of the measles ball. I've posted this reply 4 times now and it keeps telling me I have timed out and I have to click on "back" and re-do it. I hope this one works.
 
JimSabatke said:
My concern too. EVERYONE I know that has Super Pros has ivory or cream colored whites, and what's really annoying is a couple of them are the kind of people that won't shut up about it and just keep saying the same thing over and over, even though I keep saying that I can't know, or make a decision until I have more information from other sources, like Aramith, experts like on this forum, or stores that carry them.

By the way, I keep my ball case in my car, and I totally missed the description on the cue ball. It has one red logo on it. I must have been thinking of the measles ball. I've posted this reply 4 times now and it keeps telling me I have timed out and I have to click on "back" and re-do it. I hope this one works.
Click to expand...

I guess none of us can be sure without seeing the balls in person. Digital photos can have badly-set white points (of course, as a photographer yourself, I'm sure you already know this). IMO the worst representation on the true Super Pro colors is on the Aramith website itself, so that tells you how hard it is to tell from a photo.

All I can say is what others have said, that the balls in the sellers's pics look pretty representative of what I personally have seen. If yours look just like them, I'd find it hard to believe they are anything but Aramith balls. It just would not be worth it to make dead ringer balls and boxes for the small increase in price the forger would get over his normal output, and if they play like a high-quality ball, the number of manufacturers who could pull it off is about the number of fingers in a peace sign. Not saying it's impossible, just unlikely.

Too bad your friends can't just shut their mouths and play with the damn things, though. It must suck all the enjoyment out of ownership for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top