Got my $50 box earlier today. Got the protostar, regen (since that’s what most are calling it), a kendama, 2 packs of cards, a tool thingy, and stickers. All in all, although I was hoping for a shaqler I’m still content with the stuff I got. Being my first attempt at this mystery box, it was still fun. But in comparison with reading what last year’s box had, I would have to agree with past year being a better box IMO.
But, I did want to get into kendama so that was a plus and got 2 throws along with it. I will say that the $100 box is totally rockin seeing the posts.
I think the only issue you could really make with the box is that every implication was that it was a yo-yo box… not a kendama box, which is a totally unrelated skilltoy.
It was a mystery box from two companies known for their yo-yos… and while catchy may be owned by the same people, it’s a bit of a stretch to say customers had any reasonable expectation to get something unrelated to yoyos.
Two yo-yos like that for $50 a good deal? sure, but not the $100 advertised value.
That said, I didn’t buy any of the mystery boxes, so I can’t exactly get upset about it one way or another.
the kendama sucks… the plastics a plastic and im not sure what to think of this black thing…well the $50 was worth it…now i know not to sit and wait to buy mystery boxes! that info alone is worth $50
Comments like these can change a forum tone quite quickly. I think everyone has been really respectful on this forum to each other in regards to each others own different opinions. If I or anyone else have spent $50 on something they don’t find sufficient then they should be able to voice their opinion. Maybe I took this personally but I have been one of those adults who voiced a complaint and shouldn’t feel like I can’t on these forums without someone being insulting or rude (which seems to happen a lot on this website.) We don’t need to get personal guys…cmon now.
Ummm, show me where this is, aside from anything YoYoExpert Garrett, a YYE employee, may have said. None of the moderators, nor myself had any previous knowledge of what the boxes contained. We are not employees of YYE. We are not shills for the store, nor is YoYoExpert Garrett.
It was only YYEGarrett who forwarded an opinion on the box… and let’s just consider the possibility that maybe he thought it was the best one yet. If he (an individual person with tastes and his own idea of fun) thought that an UNRELEASED yoyo being included in a box was a cool idea, and if he (an individual with his own interests) happens to also enjoy kendama (which I know for a fact he does), then just maaaaaayyyyyyyybe he actually believed what he said.
Let’s just stay open to that possibility and not start trying to make it seem like anyone was out to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.
With or without his opinion being stated, the boxes would have sold. He didn’t need to try to “trick” anyone. The boxes would have sold. We all know it. They just would have. You don’t need to pull retail tricks to sell something that’s going to sell itself.
I’mma g’head and believe that Garrett, who I have met, and who is an AWESOME, and I mean REALLY good guy… wasn’t drumming his fingers together and cackling gleefully about his evil plan to sell $100 worth of cool merchandise for half price.
Right on the sells page of the $50 dollar mystery box “we are confident that this is our best box yet” but your right, I guess it was not the mods of the forums. And YoYoExpert Garrett was really pushing the hype on this one being better than last year. But in all fairness he did say “in my opinion” or something along those lines. And we are all intitled to our opinions. Even if not a single other person agrees with them :
Guys, look its a mystery. Mysteries can be bad or good. Yoyoexpert didn’t do anything wrong.It was over $100! That’s what yoyoexpert said and yes,$100. They tried something different. They did it for us. Be thankful that they did it for us.
I think it’s funny that anyone expected a metal yo-yo to be in the box in the first place. There was a metal in past boxes, but no one guaranteed similar contents to past boxes. They also never guaranteed different yo-yos from past boxes. They should have satisfied the wants for a metal, and put in another Popstar.
Any expectations people had about the contents of the box was generated in their own heads, about what might be in there. It didn’t help that we were playing a guessing game on the forum about what yo-yos might be in the box. If you listened to people who had their hopes up about certain yo-yos being in there, shame on you. The $50 mystery box was a mystery, and it was a gamble, because you had no idea what you were paying for, besides some “estimated” value for the stuff. If YoyoFactory and YoyoExpert have some dealings with the kendama business, it wasn’t far fetched to see a kendama in the box.
You can sell your Protostar/Shaqlerstar on Ebay new for $25 easy. You can sell that limited color Gentry signature yo-yo on Ebay for $35 easy. You can keep the Kendama, multitool and sticker for free, and still have made your money back. So, it is beyond me, what anyone is complaining about here. If you don’t like the stuff, sell it.
I got two boxes last time and both boxes were entirely different last year. This year, I got the same stuff in each box. I’m always giving away yo-yos to people I like, in contests, or whatever, so extra of the same yo-yo doesn’t bother me, especially when I hardly paid anything for them. I was lucky to get two Shaqlerstars, because I love the Northstar, and that’s the same thing.
I would advocate for more $200 boxes, or at least $100 boxes, but that would mean less boxes to go around, and more kids whining about not getting one. You solve one problem and create another. I thought the whole process and results were a success.
I had a such a good time looking forward to the “mystery”.
The regen plays and feels great. I’m really digging the shaqler!
I wanted to try kendama too…I didn’t really plan on buying one…but I’m glad I got one. Fun surprise. So far it is enjoyable. Cool.
I’m new to these ‘modern’ yo-yos, so my opinion is limited. 2 weeks ago I thought it was crazy to spend more than 5 dollars on a yo-yo…Now, here I am, happy with my $50 dollar experiment.
I think both of the $50 box yo-yos rock. So far, every model I’ve played with (velocity, n12, regen, and shaqler/northstar) all have their own ‘personalities’ if you will. They’re fun. I like the variety. They’re better than my skill is…and the only thing holding me back is practice time. The yo-yos do their job.
Fun, remember. Toys. Fun. Cheap compared to a lot of hobbies. Fun.
I managed to score a $100 box and I am SUPER impressed with it. Other than the Cypher, which I had from the World’s box, they were all throws I had been wanting to try. I haven’t had a chance to throw them all yet but so far I am loving the Shu-ta, and I’m extra loving that I got a pink one ;D
So thanks a bunch, everyone at YoYoExpert (and YoYofactory), for doing the mystery boxes. I can imagine it being at least a little stressful and a ton of work, especially around Thanksgiving, so I totally appreciate it.
Dam, those $100 boxes look gr8, wished I knew it was going to be rly good.
Also, did the $200 boxes go quickly, or were people reluctant to spend $200 on a “mystery”
(Which I would def do If I knew it would come with a ?/7 golden space cowboy)
The $200 were probably the first ones to go. I pretty much insta failed on my attempts and just settled on a $50 which I guess worked in my favor cause none of the ones I’ve seen so far really interested me too much.
Got to work today and got my box opened up, the $50 one. I’m very happy. I was the least excited about the Catchy Air. I saw that on the LearnKendama Kickstarter, and it looked like it was going to be a cheap, light weight Kendama. Boy was I wrong! That thing is great! I see why Steve Brown wants a second one.
When I was ordering I was trying hard for a $100 box. And, I’ll admit, I was a little upset about the website crashing every time I tried to order it. But now, after seeing what is in the $100 box, I’m excited I got the $50 box instead. In the $50 box there were 2 yoyo’s I’ve never tried, the $100 box was full of yoyo’s I’ve had and sold because they weren’t what I was looking for.
Also, I was thinking that there would be a metal yoyo in the box, however NO WHERE will you find mentioned that there would be a metal yoyo included, you will find it said that it was a $100 value. And that’s exactly what we got, if not a little more.
To the guys at YYE and YYF thanks for making these boxes, I’m really enjoying mine ;D
