I am comparing the prices of these yoyos with other China brand yoyos
like Top-Yo or YoyoOfficer or even the new Vosun. (Which are all great throws btw)
Which all retail about half the price of a Magnum.
Pad wise, it’s personal preference.
That being said i’m not a big fan of marketing, you end up paying more for what you should be.
Look at Beats by Dre for example.
Endorsed by artists and you pay 300 bucks for it!? It doesnt even sound as good as a cheap $40 headphone. Audiophiles and studio recordists stay clear of that money milking gimmik. (bring on the haters)
I think the fact that it’s a Chinese brand is irrelevant. I think the focus should be put on the quality, finish and performance of the yoyo.
First of all, it looks amazing and if Shai thinks a yoyo is excellent, then that is saying something right there. It’s less expensive than a lot of other premiere yoyos and I’ve only heard great things.
You’re right. I was thinking of an article I read about IMacs a few years ago when Apple moved its manufacturing base to China. It said roughly that Apple only saves a few dollars per computer by moving to China. The Moto X costs Motorola an extra $4 to make in the U.S. Whoopee…
Anyway, the reason smart phones cost a lot, besides marketing costs, is because they have many components, which are all marked up substantially past manufacturing costs. Apple buys marked up parts. The parts manufacturers buy marked up components. The components manufacturers buy marked up ores. If everyone sold at or near manufacturing costs everything would be cheap.
Granted, I was exaggerating in that particular case, but my point was that most products are priced according to the laws of supply and demand and have less to do with manufacturing costs than advertising costs. A better example would be pharmaceuticals, makeup, jewelry, etc. I pay $300 a month for a medication that in most countries has a production cost of about $2. Those $3000 diamonds in engagement rings cost the mining companies about a dollar.
Items are generally priced at whatever people will pay for them. That’s why yo-yo costs have gone through the roof just like everything else. But comparing yo-yo prices, the Ares Star and Magnum cost less than CLYW yo-yos and are just as good, if not better. I don’t think they should be priced less simply because they were manufactured in China.
Also, I doubt it costs that much more to manufacture a yo-yo outside of China than in China. Typically low manufacturing costs are a result of sweatshops. I don’t think the yo-yo industry has any sweatshops, outside of the string segment perhaps. I can’t imagine the people hand-making Kitty String make much money…
Do you think that’s because of higher manufacturing costs or because YYF figures they can set a higher price tag for a yo-yo made in the U.S.? I’m guessing it’s both. People are usually willing to pay more for things made in the U.S. vs. China or third world countries. The U.S. Supernova costs us $40 more than the Chinese one, but then again the U.S. one was made with 7075 aluminum. Also, a jump in price to the consumer usually reflects a much smaller jump in production costs for the manufacturer. I would bet money that the $30 price difference in the G5 reflects about a $5 difference in manufacturing costs.
Anyway we’ve gone way off topic here. I’m just trying to say Chinese yo-yos can be just as good as American ones, even better, and that their prices are set more by market than actual production costs. The Ares Star when released was the best competition yo-yo made in China, and Auldey’s secondary market, after China, is likely Japan (not the U.S.), where competition yo-yos typically cost much more.
Bottom line…I have a lot of Japanese yo-yos, two Chinese yo-yos, and a few American and Canadian yo-yos. The Ares Star is really, really good. IMO better than my American and Canadian yo-yos and some of the Japanese ones.