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L7 · Joined: 29 Jun 2024 Posts: 459

Can everyone please post reviews on the online stores they have brought from, attempted to buy from, or will/wont buy from

Include prices of balls and quality of them
also the service
and variety of choice

I wanna buy online and I would like some info on where to go
Thanks

L7 · Joined: 29 Jun 2024 Posts: 459

Engineering Labs review:
www.plasticballs.com

Customer service:1/10
They get the 1 because they actually replied to my e-mails. First they sent me one price list, then when i gave them a list of what i wanted to buy, they sent me a new price list, and when i mentioned it they sent me another price list. Very confusing, i felt like they were trying to rip me off.
After i finally got a order I sent it in and they redirected me to someone else without even letting me know, this person gave me the final price of shipping.. Ok, all good, then i had just one more question. And i get a reply "Sorry, i cant find your old e-mails blah blah blah i dont know who you are blah blah blah"........ HEAPS GOOD! so i send them all the e-mails in one with my last question before making the purchase and till today I have not received a reply
Poor customer service

Quality of balls: unknown

Variety of balls: 3/10
Colours include glow, UV, and black
if you want blue or whatever you have to make a order of that one ball to a value of $1500 minimum... yes.. ill do that... NOT

Sizes: 7/10
40mm, 2.5, 2.75, 3, 4, but no 3.5 inch

Prices: 4/10
The prices were good, but im warning ya'll, they are making a new price list which pretty much makes them useless to the average CJer who jsut wants to by a few balls. Because you need to purchase atleast $100 worth of balls, and atleast $50 of each type of ball, it will mean you are getting balls you dont need just to save money, in result saving nothing at all..
$50 per item means that if you just wanted one 2.75" in your order with a bunch of 3"ers and 4"ers.. you have to buy three 2.75"ers to reach the $50 minimum limit
This may not be a problem for some CJers who need 8 2.75"ers
but for others who just need 1 more to the collection, would be better off going to another online shop

Overall: 15/40
You may think this is a poor review
but in my opinion, this is more then generous

Cameron · Joined: 02 Jul 2024 Posts: 863 Location: Toledo Ohio

Brian Dubé, Inc. review:
www.dube.com

Customer service: 8/10
Ok these guys are pretty good I’ve bought a lot from them and I’ve yet to be disappointed. Well ok that might not be totally true but well lets see. I did have to return something that went smooth as silk. The only problem I’ve had has been made over the phone and I didn’t place the order my father did and it was just a slight mix up in color. I’m sure if I would have called to return it they would have taken care of it right away. They aren’t the world’s quickest online stores but they get the job done.
Good customer servers just a little slow at time.

Quality of balls: 10/10
Here I actually have something to add. I’ve ordered from several places and usually I order clears. How ever some of those clear acrylics haven’t been quite so clear I’m happy to say the clear acrylics from here have always been perfect.

Variety of balls: 8/10
Great selection of colors and sizes and all sorts of other props and videos. One of my all time favorite sights for that.

Sizes: 10/10
They have pretty much every size a CJer could want or need, although i expect every place has every size...so everyplace should get 10/10

Prices: 7/10
Ok so there prices are a bit steep but you get quality and good service.

Overall: 43/50
I like them and reckomend them highly a bit expencive but great company.

L7 · Joined: 29 Jun 2024 Posts: 459

Juggle Art, and/or Kite Power (this ones for the Aussies)
www.juggleart.com
www.kitepower.com.au

Customer service: 10/10
These people couldnt be friendlier
By far the most helpful people ive ever had to deal with.. And well that says alot coming from a person such as myself

Quality of balls: 9/10
This was a tough one, because the different sizes seem to have different quality, so i upgraded this from a 6 to a 6.5
The 40mm's are excellent quality, the 3" are well, decent, and the 2.75" are terrible, they have bumps in them! looks like a manufacturing problem here, but still great for a beginner acrylic which you can use as a legacy ball (see rich schumakers Legacy project)
**EDIT**
Updated from 6.5 to 9, Juggleart now sells more acrylics, including one from enginerring labs. They have also informed me that the 2.75" (which are actually 70mm, sorry, my bad) have now been fixed, and the quality should be much better now.

Varierty of balls: 9/10
Colours include: UV, Glow, Blue, red, and a few other colours. No black though. They also have sparkle balls in various sizes

Sizes: 10/10
gotta give these guys a 8, they cover almost every size possible to get in Australia, and that aint to bad!
**EDIT**
upgraded from 8 - 10, now juggleart has 3" balls aswell, although this size is slightly different, they now have the same balls sizes as americans, so no one will need to worry about having one size, then ordering and getting a slightly different size

Prices: 7/10
Prices are best that I have found in Australia
Kite power is alittle bit more expensive then juggle art
and so are magic shops in Aus which still sell the balls

Overall: 45/50These two shops are great for beginners in Australia, in Melbourne and Sydney
but once you pass a certain level you will want to move towards an overseas shop
(please note: Kitepower in Sydney only has the basic clear acrylics, but because they get the balls from Juggle Art in melbourne they can easily order in the balls for you, and they are very friendly so dont be afraid to ask)

***EDIT**
JuggleArt now has 3" balls in stock, these are more clearer then the 80mms, they come from engineering labs
Contact juggleArt and ask them about them
Also the 70mm balls have been fixed

***EDIT from Ballzac***
quality. I know the venties are a bit bumpy, but I had four, and they were fine for four ball work, even isolations, so I think that score is a bit low
and it's more of a consistency problem than just quality. Some of their balls are perfect

FlV · Joined: 25 Jul 2024 Posts: 40

Infinite Illusions
http://www.infiniteillusions.com/

My order was two 3" Ultra Clears

Customer service: 10/10
I initially ordered one ball, decided I wanted two a few hours later. Sent them a mail and they had it changed by the next day. Didn't even up the price to the cost of 2 ball shipping.

Quality of balls: 10/10
Ultra-clear, as ordered. No scratches, no bumps, great balance, same size. What more could you want?

Varierty of balls: 6/10
Standard Acrylic 2.75" 3" 3.25" 3.5" 4"
Ultra Clear Acrylic Ball 2.5" 3"
3" Blue, Electric Pink (out of stock), Mountain Dew (out of stock)
3" UV Acrylic

Sizes: 6/10
They've got the most common ones covered, but no above and beyond really. *shrug* Not really much selection outside of the standard clear acrylics

Prices: 8/10
I went with them because of the price. It just bothers me paying that much for a ball. *g*

Overall: 40/50
I had a really good experience with them. Their biggest drawback is the selection, which really isn't that bad unless you're looking for something more exotic or really cheap to begin with (i.e. lacross or wooden balls). Otherwise it's an excellent place to buy from.

The shipping was better than expected as well. They had them wrapped individually in cellophane, then put large bubble wrap around them, taped that in the middle tight enough so they couldn't roll into each other, and taped the ends closed. There was no way these things were going to be damaged in shipping without some seriously abusive handling.

Basically, if they have what you want, I recommend you get it from there. I even got a free Yoyo catalog.

silver

first of all these guys are not a shop, they are a manufacturing company. they make the damn things and sell them to the shops who sell them to us. hence good prices but only if you buy lots.

i bought 8x3" and 1x4" , it took 2 phone calls, a visa card and a couple of days. good result. quality of the balls is perfect.

so basically if you need choice in sizes and only want 1 or 2 balls, this isn't the place to go. if you get together with your mates and put a bulk order in for standard sizes and colour(which makes it really simple for these guys, who, after all aren't going to be making a huge profit out of these orders), you get what you want probably at the best price.

i found them fast and helpful, i know others who have had longer waits, possibly i was lucky, but i did what i could to make it really easy for them.

silver
_________________
...create pointless acts of beauty.

L7 · Joined: 29 Jun 2024 Posts: 459

deleted

Durbs · Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2024 10:49 am Post subject:

Surely you can have more than one review for a shop/company?
Not everyone has the same experiences - Silver's comments are just as valid as yours - and just as helpful.

I don't see the problem...
_________________
"It's times like this I wish I'd listened to my mother"
"Why? What did she say?"
"I don't know, I wasn't listening"
~~~
www.burnttoast.co.uk

Cameron · Joined: 02 Jul 2024 Posts: 863 Location: Toledo Ohio

Yes Please Someone Give us a nother review of EL Id really like to buy from them and I think L7 just had bad luck caus I know several of you here have ordered from them Give us a full review please Silver, Drew, Whoever else has ordered from there. L7 is entirely to bent out of shape about his whole experence with them to write a good review. =) Thanks all =)

silver

STYLE OF REVIEW- 10/10
i don't write for a magazine, i review in my own style.

CLARITY OF REVIEW- 8/10
read the title of the posts. All other relevant information had already been posted in the same thread.

OBJECTIVENESS OF REVIEW- 9/10
I happen to believe its only fair to show differing experiences with a company. I'm so so sorry you weren't dealt with as well i was.

total score:-27/30

Silver

........and on a personal note.
please think about improving your social skills, it might just make your life a little easier.(perhaps the next review thread could be of peoples experiences of you, i'll ask EL to comment, how well do you think you'd do?)

I will not attack you or try to drive you away from this site, it is not my place, it is a waste of time and energy and i'd rather wait till you show some maturity. I also believe you can and sometimes do make a valid and positive contribution to this community.

you can respond either here or by private message.
_________________
...create pointless acts of beauty.

Cameron · Joined: 02 Jul 2024 Posts: 863 Location: Toledo Ohio

LOL you go silver =)

Avidin · Joined: 29 Jun 2024 Posts: 24 Location: Melbourne

L7's reply is hilariously immature. My favourite bit was when you started talking about your job.

My experience with engineering labs was good. I found them very professional and business like. However our exchange was brief, I knew what I wanted, they got it to me.
I got 20 3" clears, 9 3" blacks, UV's and Glows and a bunch of 2". The balls themselves are tiptop, far superior to the 80mm polycarb/acrylics I got from juggleart and kitepower.

Shipping to Aus took about a fortnight. Which was forgotten about the second I saw the boxes.

I got burnt on the cost with unexpected import duties that wound up costing me a large percentage of my total order (some $500). If you do order a significant amont of goods from overseas DO YOUR HOMEWORK. This is not the fault of EL, although it did tarnish the transaction for me.

silver · Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2024 10:16 am Post subject:

whilst i can't advocate setting up an international tax avoidance system for the purchase of cheap acrylic balls it would be surprisingly easy considering the number of cjing friends we have in the states
but yeah watch out for import tax, if its new stuff coming from a company abroad you are going to get hit, however if its coming as a present from a friend.......
_________________
...create pointless acts of beauty.

Cameron · Joined: 02 Jul 2024 Posts: 863 Location: Toledo Ohio

And If that friend gets a few free acrylics out of the deal... *Looks around trying to spot the next british person to make a purchass from EL*

Ardor · Joined: 26 Aug 2024 Posts: 116 Location: NY

Anyone ever buy from these guys?

http://www.jugglingstore.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=226

Has anyone bought one of Bob Hughes 73MM metal balls (without chimes)? $18 seems like a good price to me. Is it hollow? I hope so. I have a metal ball bearing but it's solid and way to heavy for me to CJ with.

The other places I've found that haven't been mentioned so far are:
www.renegadejuggling.com
www.seriousjuggling.com/
www.tryouttoys.com/

Any reviews of those places would be cool! Thanks