SPM Billiards Magazine Issue 33

JFLOWERS Cues & Cases

By Patrick Sampey

Wednesday, September 28th, 2022 – JFlowers Cues are quality products at affordable prices from what I’ve gathered, and JFlowers also has high end cues as well.

I have been in contact with a JFlowers international representative, and he has taken some time out of his schedule to answer some questions for Sneaky Pete Mafia about JFlowers, who they are, what they represent, and what they want to bring to the billiards industry as a whole – and from what I’ve gathered, JFlowers is a rock solid cue maker, providing very affordable pricing options, so players don’t have to “break the bank” to get a high quality cue with a carbon fiber shaft, starting at just $300, prices that trump any and all competitors pricing margins by leaps and bounds.

And of note, JFlowers says they pay their players that sponsor them cash money, and not just in products alone as some cue manufacturers do; I have been told by several sponsored players now, from various cue manufacturers, that they are “sponsored” in billiards equipment and nothing else, no monetary payments to speak of, at all. Are players supposed to sell cues to make money?

Suffice it to say, JFlowers is not a company that pays its players in equipment alone, which is a substantial difference that sets JFlowers apart from its competitors from the

evidence I’ve acquired. I’ve heard from good insider sources that will remain anonymous, several different companies I’m aware of “pay” their players in cue sticks alone; now imagine if Michael Jordan had been paid in sneakers, and you may begin to see the problem with that kind of exchange.

JFlowers is a totally separate brand and not associated with any other brand. The factory started in 2004; actually, not producing pool cues but mainly high-end cue cases.

How did JFlowers get started?

It actually started by manufacturing just cue cases, high-end, letter cue cases; eventually, the factory decided that they wanted to do pool cues, carom cues and snooker cues as well.

After about a year of R&D, or research and development, we were ready to launch the first series, and this was unfortunately in the middle of the pandemic, however, we still launched it, and the reception in the beginning was, you know, not many people were spending money on pool cues or pool equipment, and there was a little issue about somebody calling it the ‘China virus,’ and obviously, JFlowers hails out of China, so it was a rough start, but after a short while a lot of the reputable influencers in the industry were sent cues - and the response was overwhelming! Check out JFlowers Cues & Cases at https://jflowerscues.com

They were asked for their unbiased, honest, brutally honest opinion, and the quality spoke for itself! They were really really surprised how well the cues played, and the price points, so I think that all the influencers and YouTubers that’s tried the cues, have always said that this is the best deal out there, and mind you, they did not get paid; they just got a cue, tested it, and that’s it; they were told, if they didn’t like it, they were absolutely totally free, to say that on their YouTube channels or whatever.” – JFlowers International representative.

And, it is important to also note that the JFlowers international representative wants to maintain anonymity here, because who he is isn’t important; the product is the most important thing, and he doesn’t want focus or attention on himself to distract from the focus on the quality of the product, philosophy of JFlowers the company, what they are doing, how they are supporting the game and players – admitting they of course are a business that ultimately seeks to profit from their efforts, just like anyone else, but they want to highlight the fact that their cues are fit to be tested against any of their respective competitors; JFlowers believes their product will pass any test players want to put on the product; test away they say! Transparency: A rare quality for cuemakers, but like I say, JFlowers has a different philosophy than many others; for one, they actually pay the players that endorse them, a substantial distinction.

So, what distinguishes an affordable to an expensive cue?

– Not just for JFlowers, but for any brand, is basically the amount of work and material that goes into the butt part of the cue; there’s two versions: There’s an onlay and there’s an inlay version, and I’ll explain the difference, only meaning you put a decal on top of normally a Maple, but so you don’t do any carving to the wood, and you don’t insert any – you know rare

wood types or precious metals inlay – you do exactly that, you carve out a pattern in the butt, and you insert rare wood types, sometimes even precious metals in the most expensive Jflowers cues at around 3000; there’s actually silver that’s been inlaid first to carve out the pattern, and then you insert in this case silver but sometimes it can be cocobolo – it can be Ebony, there can be a lot of different variations, but that’s basically what separates the expensive to the affordable cues.

Sometimes some manufacturers also won’t give you a carbon fiber shaft in the affordable versions; you need to upgrade and pay more. In the JFlowers cues, there’s always the whether or not you choose the affordable version, like the aspiring series, or intermediate or professional series; you still get the top-grade aero-grade carbon fiber shaft.

So whether or not you pick a cue for $300 or $3000, you’re still going get a radial pin, and the very best carbon fiber shaft, and you might ask why, but that’s just a marketing strategy to get as many cues out there in peoples hands, and yeah get the word of mouth going, because it’s really a good shaft, and if you want to spend more money having a nicer cue, but choosing inlay, you can do that, but that’s not the playability, on the affordable JFlowers cues and the expensive ones are basically, it’s basically the same, so it’s more like a fashion thing if you want a really nice butt, with you know, precious metals, or rare wood types, and whatnot, but no matter what you buy, what kind of cue you buy, no matter how much money you spent on a JFlowers, or any cue, you’re not gonna, it’s not gonna improve your game a whole lot – that’s totally up to you putting in the work at the table.” – JFlowers International representative.

“So, once you start moving up the ladder on the prices, there will be options for rare wood materials – cocobolo, and ebony; you can do a lot of different customizations. But the

price point for real inlays with these options; it’s you’re still not breaking the bank; around $500 is the starting point for the inlay cues, and it goes up all the way to $3000. We gotta bunch of models in between $500-3,000, so yeah, hopefully, that answers your question there.” – JFlowers International representative.

“So when it comes to the discussion between the Carbon fiber shaft, or a low deflection wooden shaft? When you go to JFlowerscues. com, you can choose between a carbon fiber shaft, or a low-deflection wooden shaft.

The price is the same, so whether or not you’re old school, and choose a wooden shaft, or you’re part of the new generation, or if you just want to try out a carbon fiber shaft, you’re not going to break the bank.

And, you know, starting at around $300 you can get a full cue with a really, really good carbon fiber shaft. So, I think that that’s definitely something that JFlowers is doing that nobody else is doing. And our opinion is that carbon fiber, it’s here to stay, but we understand that it’s not for everybody, so that’s why we’re giving people an option when you place an order; you can choose between the carbon fiber shaft and a low-deflection wooden shaft.” – JFlowers International representative.

JFlowers: the “new kid” on the billiards block, a new mover in the industry, providing a quality product at affordable prices, and also offering more high end cues as well. Check out what options JFlowers has for you, and game up.

This has been the Tallahassee Squirrel, once again covering all things billiards or pool related. Until next time, keep hitting them balls!