I think it's really hard to tell whether a cushion is junk until it's been on the table for 10 years.
About 20 years ago four pool halls opened in this area all with GC IIIs. Within about 5 years the cushions started to go bad, beginning with deadish and going all the way to hard as a rock. Really, like pottery.
One room that had 24 tables gradually had to replace 40 to 60 cushion sections. I suppose they should have replaced all of the cushions on each table together but they only did what they had to do.
The cushions were not covered by any kind of warranty.
One of the rooms is phasing in European rubber now on their GC IIIs because they don't want any more surprises.
Keep this in mind when making your decisions.
Bob;
just to keep the context straight I think when quoting me you should not have snipped the part where I said: "according to Mark Gregory and Glen".

And for the record, since I got bit twice by brunswick superspeeds, I personally, will not be in any hurry to ever get another set, especially if they are still produced in China.
My Artemis IC's are working great and, hopefully, just like the old time brunswick quality rubber could, these will outlast me.

best,
brian kc