Nothing wrong with your point of view either, it is disappointing for sure to get a yoyo with any sort of defect.
But, I think I have a different perspective than most because of the amount of yoyos I see daily haha. All companies have QC issues at some point. ALL companies. And I would say 90% of them just want to make their fellow yoyo throwing customers happy. In the end they’ll make it right, nothing for people to get too upset about.
I’m sure you’re right. I definitely like what they do at a-rt, and really appreciate their work.
I am super surprised by this comment. Based, on the hype I would have thought it was what standed out.
Update: as most said, they are taking care of me as far as the issues. Can’t complain about the customer service.
However, I thought it was worth mentioning, they did say, “our standards aren’t super strict on the cosmetic stuff.” And that they will be adding a disclaimer on their site.
Heads up for those buying in the future with expectations like mine, based on the hype/forums/comments etc.
Never Mint To Be Safe 
For me it depends on the price. I don’t expect a $20 yoyo to be perfect. I will let an imperfection slide on a $40 yoyo. If I pay $100 it better be perfect.
Thanks for MINTentioning it 
Just because one person (or some people), doesn’t find them to be special, doesn’t mean they’re not. I think their designs are unique, or at least have a unique and mostly consistent design theme. Whether one finds them “meh” or “wow!” depends on the individual.
No doubt. Once I get things settled with them I’ll really get to experience it. I would still like a grail lol. 
paying over 140$ for a mono that they won’t even take the time to QC? I kinda feel like that’s just asking for it at this point. I dig the yoyos they put out but to charge such a premium and then say that they don’t care about the cosmetics is pretty unreasonable/uncool imo…
unfortunately it devalues a lot of the effort that goes into the yoyo industry to put out a high-quality product, and apparently obliterates the need for b-grade designation.
subsequently, it will also devalue the brand. as the line between ‘mint og a-rt’ and ‘it-is-what-it-is fresh a-rt’ gets continually wider, a mint $120 quail becomes a lot more appealing than $142 nicked and scratched dales with a disclaimer…
but, if you don’t like it… you don’t have to buy it… so i’m
told
Yeah hearing about the no qc is a massive bummer… No cool at all…
I disagree with this. Of the three things you mention:
Name - Probably the strongest thing going for them. Jensen and Charles, two of the best and most accomplished players. They know how to make good yoyos. The Grail is a masterpiece that, I would argue, ushered in a new era for the organic yoyo.
Hype - This, by definition, is generally thought of as a negative term. They have used the hype brilliantly by keeping their IG lively and interesting, while also using it to promote their products and keep in touch with the community. As of right now they have 4,000 followers. This stuff takes a lot of time and energy.
One Drop machining - Consistently high quality, made in the USA, pillars of the modern yoyo community.
Are their products overpriced? It doesn’t really matter if they sell out within 5 minutes on each drop. Who sets market value in an extremely niche hobby? I would argue that the buyers do, and the buyers are buying A-RT designs.
I agree completely, and think you solidify my point. I love the 3 or 4 A-rt yoyos I have, and have loved Jensen and Charles since I first saw videos of them back in 08/09 (ghost is my favorite)
Like you mentioned, youre paying for the A-rt name, the hype their products get as they sell out instantly and could probably charge way more if they wanted to (didn’t mean hype as a bad thing, just as another tool that companies can and do use) and the OD machining. I never said their products are overpriced, just that the higher price tag is there because of the reasons I mentioned above.
Are their yoyos great? Of course!
Are there yoyos that don’t have the Art name/hype and American machining that are just as great for a fraction of the price? I’d say so, which is why I believe with Art throws you’re paying for their name, hype, and american machining. Thunderberry, koi*, and batsquatch (the throws that were mentioned) are all great in their own right. Even had a handful of people tell me that the Throwing Sideways Sistine feels very similar to a diptych
Because A-RT is a standard that people hold other designs to. That would also make them stand out above the others.
Were they an inspiration in your recent designs?
dang…didn’t expect I’d be sold on the Sistine in this thread
Not necessarily. Shape was inspired by a bigger 5 star and peak 2. The only thing you could compare the sistine to with any art throw is the flat face, which is there because the idea was to have a surface to paint on.
didn’t mean to plug it like that, I’ve never tried a dip myself, but a handful of collectors that are picky with their yoyos and designs have shared their thoughts. Usually I avoid trying to have my designs compared to others, but in the case of a throw like the diptych I take it as a compliment.
I hope I can figure out how to avoid this for future runs/yoyos. Should the ones from the first run have been considered B grades? Every one of the 40-odd rainbow ringed ones had identical torch marks like that.
Just jumping in here… I agree that their throws are an industry standard for good/high-end design. For example almost every organic released on the market is compared against an A-RT equivalent, like the Grail.
A-RT’s high quality designs mean nothing if the end product is low quality (due to low quality QC).
The community can get $40 One Drop Intro’s with a perfect finish. So how is it okay for a $120 A-RT to be scuffed right out of the box? b/c it’s a good design?
This is QC speculation but I’ll add that I doubt that OD sent them halves with bad ano or scratched finishes. I’m sure that a “Ooops I dropped it” on A-RT’s part b/c there’s no way someone could miss those flaws when assembling halves.
