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[729 fx]

I came across these 2 different balls, the Nittaku 3-star & Nittaku Premium 3-star. Both has Nittaku-Japan printed on the ball.

One is made in China and the other is made in Japan. Therefore one is cheaper than the other.
No need to guess which one as I was told that when Nittaku from Japan was manufacturing its balls, there are one company in China also producing the balls with a slight different spelling in Nittaku. When Nittaku from Japan found out, rather than facing some losses and competition as the one made in China also quite popular, they decided to join together but have 2 different version of Nittaku, ie Nittaku 3-star (made from China) which is lighter (but heavier than most 3-star balls like DHS or Doublefish) and Nittaku Premium 3-star(made in Japan) which is heavier, more durable and better quality than others.

[varghese]

Interesting.

There is a common marketing info come from Chinese dealers. They say all table tennis blades are made in China. They say the MADE IN JAPAN stamp on the ball is not right, rather they are made in China. The Paddle Palace store has mentioned this somewhere on their website. This has puzzled me as I have seen Made In Japan stamp on the TSP balls. They are made in Japan and expensive.

Just like China, the table tennis balls are made in Japan, India etc... China is not the only place the table tennis balls come from from.

[729 fx]

Yes, there are many versions of table tennis balls. Some made from countries like India and Vietnam. A friend of mine even encountered fake DHS balls. I compared with some of the dealers and my friends' DHS balls and I found out that the fake ones usually lighter (I would rate them to be below 1-star) and the seams and the logo marking are not made up to the quality of the real DHS ball.

[varghese]

My favorite is Nittaku Premium, Champion Professional 3 star balls (Parent company of XIOM). I don't like the DHS, and don't like Joola much also. There is a friend of mine in the club using the Champion Balls for months. His 6 balls pack has not yet run out. In my case a Champion ball lasts for like 1-2 weeks. Unfortunate that the Champion balls don't come in orange.

The Champion Balls are made in China though. The TSP balls are made in Japan.

When I go to India I can check what is the brand popularly sold there. It may be Stag.