Billiard EarbudsI’m almost always in the market for earbuds, because no matter where they come from they never seem to last long. So one day I was browsing around on Ebay, looking for the cheapest earbuds that might be even slightly worth owning. I came across these billiard ball earbuds going for $1.29, and available as every non-striped ball. I figured for such a low price I really couldn’t lose, even if they were absolute crap. So I purchased one pair with the 8-ball style.

To my great surprise, they weren’t complete crap. They certainly wouldn’t please any audiophile, but I just wanted something to listen to music at the gym with. Sure, they sounded like tin cans, but they did the job I needed. Not only did they look cool and function, they lasted me quite a long time. The initial set I purchased lasted about 6 months before the cable wore out, the ear pieces themselves were even still in good shape. The same couldn’t be said about my original iPod earbuds.

After their failure and my surprising satisfaction with them, I didn’t hesitate to drop another $1.29 on another. I got two sets this time, the 8-ball and the 5-ball. If they were to be anything like the last pair, my money wouldn’t be wasted.

Unfortunately, these were not anything like the last pair. Both pairs promptly failed within a day of use, having one speaker completely cut out. Not only that, but they were constructed somewhat differently. The first pair was very sturdy, but these newer ones were anything but. The cables were not secured into the earbud shell, and the speaker inside was free to bounce around as well. This meant that any time the music was loud or I moved without absolute grace, I would hear it rattling around inside the plastic shell. It’s safe to say that the new sets I received were in fact: absolute crap.

I’m really disappointed that the recent pairs were not nearly as good as the first. But that’s the risk you take on Ebay, especially when your merchandise is coming straight out of Hong Kong. There are a number of different sellers offering these earbuds at varying prices, so what you get is certainly going to be hit-or-miss. If you like to gamble, maybe give them a shot. Otherwise, you’re probably better off spending a little more on something that might even have a warranty.