What case makers make cases with soft dividers and not plastic tubes?

[JB Cases]

Cheap JB knockoff.

Put me in the camp of JB being an absolute whack job, but he makes a great case.

I'm glad that I got mine before I learned what a mess he was, or I probably wouldn't have given him my business, and I likely would have had a lower quality case as a result.

I hear this whack job bullshit all the time and I wonder what it is about a guy who only stands up for what's right and tries to do right by everyone he does business with that make him a whack job?

None of these knockoff brands, which absolutely hate your cues by the way, do anything close to what I do for people in the billiard community.

I don't steal from people, I don't hustle anyone, I don't rip off tournaments. I give to just about every charity tournament I am asked to. So what's so bad about me? That I don't take shit from others? That I am willing to stand up for those being bullied?

I have a beautiful life. Two awesome kids who are super well mannered and intelligent. A beautiful wife with an even nicer soul. I own three good businesses and I employ 37 people.

So what's wrong with me that leads you to call me a whack job? I am a productive United States citizen who served this nation in the United States Air Force. By every measure I am an ideal citizen. I have no criminal history and I support law and order.

Oh and I have built a great small business from literally nothing. Along the way I have had a lot of help from a lot of good people who definitely didn't see me as a "whack job".

The acme guy on the other hand.... has ruined several lives but you wouldn't know that because he is interested in taking your money and delivering crap without you knowing anything about him.

I could so easily make so much more money in the billiard industry. I know every trick in the business and the billiard industry is a literal license to steal.

But I am not a thief and I refuse to take advantage of the ignorant.

 

[David in FL]

I hear this whack job bullshit all the time and I wonder what it is about a guy who only stands up for what's right and tries to do right by everyone he does business with that make him a whack job?

None of these knockoff brands, which absolutely hate your cues by the way, do anything close to what I do for people in the billiard community.

I don't steal from people, I don't hustle anyone, I don't rip off tournaments. I give to just about every charity tournament I am asked to. So what's so bad about me? That I don't take shit from others? That I am willing to stand up for those being bullied?

I have a beautiful life. Two awesome kids who are super well mannered and intelligent. A beautiful wife with an even nicer soul. I own three good businesses and I employ 37 people.

So what's wrong with me that leads you to call me a whack job? I am a productive United States citizen who served this nation in the United States Air Force. By every measure I am an ideal citizen. I have no criminal history and I support law and order.

Oh and I have built a great small business from literally nothing. Along the way I have had a lot of help from a lot of good people who definitely didn't see me as a "whack job".

The acme guy on the other hand.... has ruined several lives but you wouldn't know that because he is interested in taking your money and delivering crap without you knowing anything about him.

I could so easily make so much more money in the billiard industry. I know every trick in the business and the billiard industry is a literal license to steal.

But I am not a thief and I refuse to take advantage of the ignorant.

You'd probably consider me to be a whack job too.

That's ok.

Bottom line is that you make a great case.

 

[7stud]

All that said, if a person wants less padding then that's what we will do.

I don't think anyone wants less padding, in fact I think we want more padding so that the cues and shafts are further apart. Obviously, you would have to make the case bigger, and therefore it would be heavier. With a bigger case and thicker padding, e.g 2x the current padding thickness, it would give users more room between butts and shafts. The padding could still be tight allowing you to hold the case upside down without the cues falling out. 2025 model? The "Space Case"?

 

[bobbydee]

And that's perfectly fine but you should consider that people who don't stand for what's right are probably people who have no problem taking your money and giving you shitty product for your money.

I prefer to deal with people are both competent and honest.

And just so we are clear I am not here competing for your business. Most of our orders are custom orders and we are always at full capacity. I am just telling you the truth about knockoffs and other name-brands who don't really care about protecting your cues.

The reason I can be fully free to stand for what is important without any fear is because I have built a business that is immune from the need to be "liked" as a person by everyone. There are very few people alive whose opinion of me matters to the point where I would not speak my mind on any subject I care about.

What I do care about is protecting cues to the best of my ability and that means that every customer gets the best interior we can build with all the durability, comfort and custom built around it that we are capable of providing.

There are more people who want that level of case than I can possibly make cases for.

If you change your mind then you're welcome in line and I'd not then the line welcomes you to stay out of it.

You say you don't have fear but you are constantly bashing the cheap case manufactures. If you're super confident in your own work why care what others are doing? Think about how many cases you could be making in all the time you spend worrying about the competitors. Your videos come off like your terrified of the Chinese made imports to the point. You shouldn't be worrying about those or putting that kind of effort into verifying your worth. It's the cockiness that was a turn off for me. I'd rather see someone making cues and telling me about there products and showing how theirs are made from superior material in a superior way for that kind of money. Or maybe someone that doesn't even do videos because they're too busy making cues their customers ordered instead of making them wait longer while they worry about competition.

 

[bobbydee]

Which videos don't you like?

This one

That's one. Someone brought you a cheap case to show you it broke. I guarantee that manufactured never claimed to be better than you or your cases. They bought a cheap case because that is what they could afford at the time and it broke with no warranty. Proving your case at double or triple the cost isn't even a comparison and was a total waste of your time. You have to realize not everyone spends hundreds on a cue and not everyone needs your level of protection or warranty. You're comparing yourself to junk. Compare yourself to other top manufacturers.

 

[JB Cases]

That's one. Someone brought you a cheap case to show you it broke. I guarantee that manufactured never claimed to be better than you or your cases. They bought a cheap case because that is what they could afford at the time and it broke with no warranty. Proving your case at double or triple the cost isn't even a comparison and was a total waste of your time. You have to realize not everyone spends hundreds on a cue and not everyone needs your level of protection or warranty. You're comparing yourself to junk. Compare yourself to other top manufacturers.

Actually, the case was about 25% less and advertised as being as good or better than ours. The lady that brought the case over was super upset that the knockoff company wouldn't do anything about it even though it was ENTIRELY the fault of the poor construction.

And if you don't think it's the right thing to do to show people the difference between the knockoffs and the original then I have to say you deserve to be stolen from. It's called COMPETITION for a reason. If you want to buy a knockoff that's absolutely your right to do so. But if the seller of that knockoff LIES to you about the quality of that knockoff then in my opinion that is FRAUD.

Here is an example of a case from that maker - a 4x8 black. It's $245.

This is what they CLAIM you get. Criticism in RED by me.

• Accommodates up to 62" cue
• 2 Backpack Straps

Badly made and slips off the shoulder easily.

• Matching Color (pocket color) Plush Shoulder Pads

Something that has been standard with us since the beginning. They were actually selling cases with straps from other models. The "plush pads" are cheap fake fur that slips off the shoulder easily. JB Cases use real suede that is non-slip and ergonomically designed.

• Holds 4 butts and 8 shafts
• Weights: 5 lbs 1oz
• 35.5"x 6" x 5"
• Heavy Duty Dual Zippers on Pockets and Lid

By what standard? These are cheap zippers that break easily.

• Small Pocket: 2" x 4.5" x 2"
• Medium Pocket: 8" x 4.5" x 2"
• Large Pocket: 16" X 4.5" x 2"
• Double stitching for durability

Then why does the case break easily?

• Inside Lid compartment for cue ball storage

You are putting a piece of metal in the interior of the case. Great to have when the cue hits that metal zipper head and pull.

I notice that the missing liner was not mentioned. The (lack of) warranty was not mentioned.

And here is our case - a black 4x8 - $285. What do you get for the extra $40?

4x8 Ultimate Rugged - Rugged Cases - Cases For Sale | JB Cases | Custom Pool Designer Cases

This case holds 4 butts and 8 shafts. Maximum interior length capacity is 32.5". This case is made of durable nylon/polyester material with reinforced leather stress points. Features an UltraPad interior and very comfortable handles. Has a heavy duty rubb

jbcases.com

1. You get a truly protective interior. one that is fully padded ALL THE WAY DOWN. This interior is removable and you can easily see the quality of protection and build quality.

2. You get a case build with the VERY BEST materials that I can buy for every part of the case. True HIGH QUALITY zippers, zipper heads and custom LEATHER zipper pulls. YKK Zippers are the best and most expensive made.

3. You get shoulder pads that are ERGONOMICALLY designed to wear comfortably and reduce fatigue rather than cause fatigue. Non-slip suede keeps the case still when carrying and preserves energy. It also keeps the case safe from falling off the shoulder and getting damaged. The straps are easy to adjust and stay in place. We use better buckles. The straps are easily removable and replaceable.

4. You get handles that are specifically designed to fit in the hand with no discomfort. I use marine-grade rope to resist mildew and to be easy to carry. The handles don't cut into the hand and don't require constant shifting because of discomfort.

5. You get highly reinforced stress-points and attachment points as evidenced by the video you referenced. It's honestly crazy for me to see anyone who is being asked to spend their money for a product be upset when products are compared in real-world demonstrations that clearly show one being highly defective and the other one being far superior.

6. You get large and well-designed pockets that are fully lined with fabric that accepts velcro to add any number of accessories and dividers. The longest pocket has a fully padded jump cue compartment and not a flimsy sleeve that doesn't even cover the whole jump cue handle.

7. You get a super heavy-duty RUBBER bottom that I sourced from a company that provides rubber mats for high-voltage rooms and kitchens. Not a flimsy fake rubber piece that breaks easily.

You get your choice of 16 colors and for just $10 more you can have thousands of color combinations due to being able to design a case with two colors and some 18 part locations. Add another color and now you get billions of color combinations.

All of this is backed up with a lifetime warranty.

Is that not worth $40 more? or even $100 more?

Do you think that a seller of cases has some natural right to lie to you and effectively defraud you? IF what they sell is actually dangerous to your cues because of the poor and inadequate protection does that matter to you? There is no consumer reports in pool to protect you from unscrupulous importers who lie to their customers. There is no Federal Trade Commission that cares about you being ripped off in the billiard industry. The FTC also doesn't care about my complaints of false advertising. The entire billiard industry is of zero consequence to the FTC. So the way it works is that someone like me innovates and spends a lot of UNPAID time coming up with designs and engineering and someone like the knockoff artist you are defending here gets to make a crappy knockoff and lie about it and effectively defraud consumers and you get mad at me for exposing them.

Well, the bottom line for me is that I have a duty to my family and my staff to protect our business. So whenever anyone wants to trade on my designs by knocking us off then I will take every opportunity to expose whatever deficiencies that I find. In that way I give the consumers real information that they can use when deciding how to spend their money.

Just like you are ignorant of the actual price difference and simply assumed that our cases are 2-3x more than the case I was testing comparatively so are many people ignorant of the facts and I don't think it's a bad thing to educate people and erase ignorance where I can.

And even if the case were truly 2-3x less would it make a difference? The knockoff maker is still trading on my designs. My work. So I have every right to compare those "cheap" knockoffs to the real thing. Getting better protection every day of use has to be worth something.

But now that you know that the price difference is not that much do you feel differently? Do you still want to risk your cues because you think of me as an asshole or do you think that the same passion I show in defending our work against knockoffs is the same passion that I put into protecting your cues?

 

[JB Cases]

You say you don't have fear but you are constantly bashing the cheap case manufactures. If you're super confident in your own work why care what others are doing?

What you call bashing I call informing. When you look into the interior and all you can see it and feel is a few inches into a 32" long cavity don't you think it is important to KNOW what you are sticking your cue into? Would you expect that the liner would go completely to the bottom and that your cues could not beat against each other during transport?

If you would like to know this then when would you like to know it? Before you purchase a case or AFTER your cue is broken by the case?

Why care? Well, I spent a lot of effort to build a great basic design purposefully intended to provide extra protection, extra durability, extra ease of use and comfort and when that effort is shamelessly STOLEN by those who want to use the attractive look but then LIE about the quality provided then I feel an obligation to inform consumers of the differences. The knockoff brands are not held to the truth and they can and do literally LIE to consumers and claim quality that they don't have, both directly with false advertising and indirectly by copying PART of the interior while constructing the unseen part of the interior in ways that are actually dangerous to the cues.

Think about how many cases you could be making in all the time you spend worrying about the competitors. Your videos come off like your terrified of the Chinese made imports to the point.

Can it be more than we are capable of making which is where we are at now and have been for years? When a person has a few hundred to spend on a case then I want them to get the best case that they can for that money. So to that end I have no intention of allowing knockoffs to trade on my designs without factual comparison.

I could literally copy every case design you have ever seen and make a shitty version of it and absolutely lie to you about the features. I can sell them by the container load and you would never know that you are making me wealthy while I make super high profits on shitty work. You sound like you prefer that instead of being able to interact directly with the person who takes full responsibility for the work he is asking your to trade your money for.

I am terrified of the willingness of the ignorant to defend those engaged in fraud.

You shouldn't be worrying about those or putting that kind of effort into verifying your worth. It's the cockiness that was a turn off for me.

Well, when you have a shop with 25 families dependent on what you designed then I will be happy to revisit this conversation when you start seeing your products shamelessly copied and those knockoffs fraudulently represented to be better than they actually are. I will be happy to listen to your "advice" how to run my business when you are dealing with that situation. I will bet high that your attitude would be far closer to mine should you find yourself in a similar climate.

I'd rather see someone making cues and telling me about there products and showing how theirs are made from superior material in a superior way for that kind of money.

I do those videos but I guess you only focus on the ones you don't like. You seem to be ok with people lying about their products though. Are you ak with that?

Or maybe someone that doesn't even do videos because they're too busy making cues their customers ordered instead of making them wait longer while they worry about competition.

Do you even know how my business is organized? Do you think I spend all day making videos and our customer orders are being neglected?

I have a staff of 28 that handles orders. Whatever I am doing has zero impact on the processing and delivery times for customer orders. For the level of custom that we offer our delivery times are far faster than any other custom case maker.

 

[JB Cases]

I don't think anyone wants less padding, in fact I think we want more padding so that the cues and shafts are further apart. Obviously, you would have to make the case bigger, and therefore it would be heavier. With a bigger case and thicker padding, e.g 2x the current padding thickness, it would give users more room between butts and shafts. The padding could still be tight allowing you to hold the case upside down without the cues falling out. 2025 model? The "Space Case"?

We have had customers that have asked us to make 2x4 interiors for 3x6 tubes and 3x6 for 4x8 tubes in order to get even more padding between the parts. We actually make many different interior configurations on request.

This one was made with an special cavity to hold a long slip-on cue extension.

JB CUE CASES -KIRK'S CASE

 

[JB Cases]

You'd probably consider me to be a whack job too.

That's ok.

Bottom line is that you make a great case.

Fair enough. I bet we have a lot more in common than differences.

 

[trob]

What you call bashing I call informing. When you look into the interior and all you can see it and feel is a few inches into a 32" long cavity don't you think it is important to KNOW what you are sticking your cue into? Would you expect that the liner would go completely to the bottom and that your cues could not beat against each other during transport?

If you would like to know this then when would you like to know it? Before you purchase a case or AFTER your cue is broken by the case?

Why care? Well, I spent a lot of effort to build a great basic design purposefully intended to provide extra protection, extra durability, extra ease of use and comfort and when that effort is shamelessly STOLEN by those who want to use the attractive look but then LIE about the quality provided then I feel an obligation to inform consumers of the differences. The knockoff brands are not held to the truth and they can and do literally LIE to consumers and claim quality that they don't have, both directly with false advertising and indirectly by copying PART of the interior while constructing the unseen part of the interior in ways that are actually dangerous to the cues.




Can it be more than we are capable of making which is where we are at now and have been for years? When a person has a few hundred to spend on a case then I want them to get the best case that they can for that money. So to that end I have no intention of allowing knockoffs to trade on my designs without factual comparison.

I could literally copy every case design you have ever seen and make a shitty version of it and absolutely lie to you about the features. I can sell them by the container load and you would never know that you are making me wealthy while I make super high profits on shitty work. You sound like you prefer that instead of being able to interact directly with the person who takes full responsibility for the work he is asking your to trade your money for.

I am terrified of the willingness of the ignorant to defend those engaged in fraud.




Well, when you have a shop with 25 families dependent on what you designed then I will be happy to revisit this conversation when you start seeing your products shamelessly copied and those knockoffs fraudulently represented to be better than they actually are. I will be happy to listen to your "advice" how to run my business when you are dealing with that situation. I will bet high that your attitude would be far closer to mine should you find yourself in a similar climate.




I do those videos but I guess you only focus on the ones you don't like. You seem to be ok with people lying about their products though. Are you ak with that?



Do you even know how my business is organized? Do you think I spend all day making videos and our customer orders are being neglected?

I have a staff of 28 that handles orders. Whatever I am doing has zero impact on the processing and delivery times for customer orders. For the level of custom that we offer our delivery times are far faster than any other custom case maker.

Actually I agree with you jb. You’re not bashing but informing people before they spend their money what the difference is and why it’s cheaper. Most people know a mercedes is going to have better build quality then a Chevy but they May not know that about cue cases. I love the construction of my mason case. You took everything I didn’t like about my justis case ( rip to another talented case maker ) and made it better. I love the no zippers and how the magnets shut the pockets and top. I freaked a friend who’s anal about his cues out and when he mentioned how tight the interior was and I opened my case and turned it upside down and started shaking it and my cues inside didn’t budge unfortunately I’ve stopped using it because it’s a little to compact a case for my needs but thats not the cases fault. That’s the point of the mason case. I’m going to pick up one of your butterfly cases at some point.

 

[PNWLocal]

I'm not understanding why so many people talk bad about JB, maybe I've missed previous drama but I'm good with that. What I do know is that I ordered a very nice 4x8 rugged and the quality is exceptional. The price was really good and you couldn't find a better value in my opinion, this case will last forever. They also shipped it out right away which I really appreciate. I'm loyal to companies who offer a quality product for a good price, so I will be looking at JB cases when I decide to pick up another one and most likely custom order one.

Cheers!

 

[JB Cases]

From 2021

 

[JB Cases]

I'm not understanding why so many people talk bad about JB, maybe I've missed previous drama but I'm good with that. What I do know is that I ordered a very nice 4x8 rugged and the quality is exceptional. The price was really good and you couldn't find a better value in my opinion, this case will last forever. They also shipped it out right away which I really appreciate. I'm loyal to companies who offer a quality product for a good price, so I will be looking at JB cases when I decide to pick up another one and most likely custom order one.

Cheers!

Because I am more outspoken about things than some people think is appropriate. On AZB some of those people feel a need and compulsion to LIE about me and then get upset when I vigorously defend myself against those lies. On Facebook I am expected to literally "shut up and sew" as the OP alluded to a few posts ago. Apparently, I am not allowed to dissect the knockoffs and inform consumers how they are made.

Well, I have no intention of changing my approach to building cases and how I go about comparing them to knockoffs and other brands. I don't care what sort of "name" another brand has or what their motivation is. All I care about is are they doing anything to protect cues that is better than what I am doing which I SHOULD be doing or are they doing anything worse than what we offer and claiming otherwise. If it's the latter then I will continue to make that clear to consumers. Defrauding consumers using false advertising about inferior products is bad enough but when MY designs are used to do it then I will take that as a personal mission to expose those practices.

I have a public challenge. Anyone can come to my shop unannounced and challenge anything I have said. We can pull out the knockoff cases and inspect them together on live video in real time and every statement I have ever made can be quoted and tested. We do ONE thing very well and that is make pool cue cases. That's the only thing I will claim expertise in. And when I say expertise I mean that I am an expert in every method that there is for making the various case model types that we offer. I am NOT an expert woodworker and I do not have expertise in making the wooden suitcase style cases. But in every other type of cue case that has been made in the past 100 years that I have had in my hands, I am an expert in how to build them.

So because of that, I can make the challenge I made and I know that there are very few makers out there who share my level of expertise. No consumers share it. Thus when I say something IS the way that I demonstrate on video then that is exactly how it is and exactly what will be seen by anyone who comes to challenge me. That level of transparency is my foundation and why I am the way I am. When I find something wrong with a competitor's product, whether it is a knockoff or a competing design, then I will say something if I feel that whatever is wrong is something that I think consumers need to know. Conversely, I welcome all criticism and will answer it privately and publicly. If we are doing anything that is shown to be fundamentally flawed, I will fix it immediately, bringing me to the second pillar of my philosophy, continuous improvement. The reason that we have a lifetime warranty is because every time that a case comes back and I discover that whatever broke could be done better to lessen or eliminate the chance of that issue coming up again I use that opportunity to make the change immediately and each case that come off the bench is immediately better than the cases made the day before. In other words, the ultimate goal with the lifetime warranty is to make the case so tough that no one ever needs it.

Some people just don't get it and try to tell me how to run my business. Meanwhile, we are the largest and most prolific custom pool case maker on earth, and I employ 25 people in my workshop, two customer service reps, and a full-time project manager to handle all of the orders. So that's my perspective on the "drama". I am certain that others have a different "story" to tell.

 

[Alternativehermit]

I've got a 2x4 I'd sell but it's a plainer one of theirs with a simple pattern and tan leather. Just in case anybody wants it, not actively trying to sell it really. Best in the business IMO.

Are you still planning to sell this? Could you share a few photos?

 

[West Point 1987]

I have a custom JB Mason 3x6 case. I ordered it about 8 years ago...last year, the bottom started to have issues and was collapsing. I sent it in, and he told me that he had changed the interior build design/process and rebuilt mine at no cost to me. It's a brand new case--better than before. Nobody makes a better case and he stands by his products. I know some folks like to poke him and try and get a reaction, but he's been nothing short of nice and professional to me in my dealings with him. I won't own another case going forward. If I ever decide to change to a soft case or a different design, it'll be a JB case. I don't mind customizing the crap out of them, since I'll never sell them.

 

[maha]

may be hard to like but not hard to like his cases.