I like simplicity. I may do a wide array of very complex things, but in the end, it mostly comes down to “know where your signal is and know your signal flow”. Yoyo isn’t a whole lot different, but aiming it sure is!
I think I’ve bought enough to know what I like, and enough to know what is or isn’t priced right. Regardless of my opinion, it is only my opinion, and right or wrong, it is my opinion and I am entitled to it, be it right or wrong.
Many of us desire the “finer things in life” when it comes to our choices of yoyos. I remember starting out thinking why would anyone want to pay more than $20 for a yoyo", and then I’m buying a DM2 and well, it made sense. And then onto used metals, used plastics, new metals… and at that point it’s all over the place.
A lot of us are spending $100+ on a yoyo and thinking little of it as far as the price. I’m not saying we’re wealthy or anything, but we’re spending within our means, and we are not sitting around whining about what things cost. However, I like the fact that because I DO spend it, others can try the stuff before they decide to make the plunge and see if they would or would not be making the right decision. Expensive mistakes suck, no two ways about it.
So, let me examine some things:
I know the Yeti is a hotbed topic right now. I’ve played one. Do I feel it’s worth the $55 I spent to have one sent to me from Canada? No. Yet, I spent it. So, there ya go. My entire argument is crap. Regardless of what I think its worth, I doubt any of that will have any impact of my enjoyment of this yoyo in any way, shape or form. This will be a recurring theme here, so get used to it.
I feel One Drop has done one of the best jobs of matching their yoyos price to performance, yet still under-pricing their yoyos in my opinion. I always want to get value for my dollar, and One Drop consistently delivers what I want at a price I like and I still always end up feeling that they could be charging more.
I’ve grown to accept that CLYW is over-priced. I feel they shouldn’t be charging more than $120 at most, but again, that’s my OPINION. But, when I get them in my hands, the price is typically justified. I feel that if I compare them on a price/performance like I do with One Drop, I feel One Drop has a better ratio. I feel I’m getting more yoyo for my money with One Drop than I do with CLYW. I do like CLYW and will continue to support this brand. I do feel I am still getting my money’s worth and then some. Since I can’t buy a hard number on the cost of fun and enjoyment, I feel that if I just look at those arbitrary numbers, then the price of the yoyo is really irrelevant and is merely to facilitate commerce.
Some yoyos sell for stupid-cheap. RecRev comes to mind as an entire brand that’s this way.
The Anglam and 3Yo3 are my big-ticket items, and while I still wish both costs a ton less, my enjoyment says that the prices are perfectly fine.
Really, my issues crop up when I run into yoyos that I simply don’t care for. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t had to buy any like this. Sadly, they are YYF’s. Because I didn’t care for those models, which were items I was actually highly interested in, it really skewed my perception of them when it comes to what is being charged for them. Because I didn’t enjoy them, I wouldn’t want to waste even a penny on them. That doesn’t mean the yoyos were inferior in any way. What it means is that due to my lack of enjoyment, I couldn’t justify the prices that YYF charges for them.
I’m not going to go into the business details in very granual terms. Plastic yoyos need molds made for injection molding. These molds aren’t cheap. Metal yoyos need machining time and metal tubes to machined down into yoyo halves. Someone has to design the stuff, someone has to program the stuff, someone has to test the stuff and someone has to say what’s good and what’s not so good. Axles cost money, bearings cost money, and responses cost money and/or time. Anodizing costs, as does shipping back and forth. Someone has to assemble and test this stuff. There are administrative fees. Depending on the company, equipment and facilities have leases. People gotta get paid. Nothing is free.
Keep in mind I can be just as happy with that expensive yoyo as I can with an upgraded Classic. Maybe I have no concept of value. Maybe I’m too obsessed with having fun.
Money lets me get the yoyo. What’s more important is the fun and enjoyment I get from it. Playing it, photographing it, posting the photos, sharing it with others. It’s hard to put a value on what a yoyo brings to me. It far exceeds what I paid for it.
I guess what it comes down to is:
If I like it, it’s justified.
I still reserve the right to state I feel something should sell for more or less than it sells for.
