It seems like there are a few companies that machine all the yoyos that are mfg in China, but I’m wondering what they’re all called and what their house brands are if they have any.
We all know Onedrop in Oregon and it seems like the companies that use them are pretty proud to say so. You’ll occasionally see yo-yo brands list FPM as the machine shop they’re using, and FPM seem to be pretty open about Yoyofriends being part of the company. So who else is out there doing the machining? Is C3 part of a machine shop co or are they only a yoyo brand?
My foggy view at the moment (machine shop name followed by yoyo brand):
Onedrop / Onedrop
FPM / Yoyofriends
TopYo / TopYo
Magic Yoyo / Magic Yoyo
Yoyo Empire / Yoyo Empire
True. Ben has mentioned that Yoyofactory uses a lot of different shops (including apparently at least one in the US that no one else seems to use). And maybe some of the machine shops have more than one brand or have brands so successful that they sometimes have to use other machine shops to get their own product done. I’m just wondering what’s out there that people know or even is common knowledge.
Used to be. Pretty sure he said he’s doing stuff in China like most companies these days. And I’m not really asking which brands use which machine shops, I figure that’s up to them if they want to share that info (and a lot seem fine with doing that). I’m more curious to just know the names of the yoyo machine shops in China and if they have in-house or associated yoyo brands, what those are.
As far as I know, most companies are hush hush about who/where they machine stuff………I think it’s because they don’t want people to see the markup, which from a business standpoint makes total sense, but I can’t help but be curious too as to where people get stuff made.
Ernie has some stuff done elsewhere and has been doing that for at least a few years now.
It wasn’t that he ever wanted to.
But he decided if he wanted to keep his side business going, he was going to have to achieve more competitive pricing situation.
It allows his amazing yo-yo designs to get into more hands that may have been discouraged by his retail pricing based on his U.S. made yo-yos. Just common logic.
Ernie had zero problems going overseas to consult directly with the folks willing to make his yo-yos. They became immediately aware and respectful of Ernies’ outstanding skills and that to get any working contract, they would have to meet or even surpass his ‘Exacting’ high level requirements.
Ernie shifted some of the manufacturing simply to keep the flow going. He didn’t do it to increase profit. He loves the yo-yo community and has become an integral part of it.
He certainly doesn’t need the money.
His dedication to be a useful and functional part of the ‘yo-yo world’ is second to none.
The only arguments you ever hear about Ernie, are people trying to convince each other they like him more, lol.
Thanks for replying. So Ace Yo is a brand we see, but is their machine shop running under that name as well? Same question for Vosun and the rest. I’m basically wondering which yoyo brands are actually in-house brands for which machine shops (like Onedrop->Ondrop, FPM->Yoyofriends, TopYo->TopYo etc). Not for any particular reason, just curiosity and mental clarity of the “market.”
and @Zacy , again, I’m not asking where any yoyo brands get their stuff made, just curious which yoyo brands are the “in-house” brands. Even if you wanted to know where a particular brand gets their product made, for most yoyo companies that aren’t also machine shops, they probably use more than one shop anyway. It sounds like, especially now, you have to use more than one shop to get things done.
YoYoFactory use multiple vendors in the USA and China. We also are working on developing multiple new vendors, some in other parts of the world.
One of our longest time machine shops is in Mesa, which is hosting USA Nationals next week. We will be releasing a product made in Mesa at the contest.
@MarkD Thanks, that does add some clarity! And thanks Mark and @yyfben2.deactivated . Love it when you designers/makers and yoyoers generally are happy to share their thoughts and info on the process.
More specifically, I’m curious how many vendors YoYoFactory utilizes in the US vs elsewhere…What Ratio?
Did the Mesa machine shop you speak of turn the original 888?
Does YYF own any manufacturing machines “in-house” besides a CNC Engraver/ Laser-Etcher? If not, I don’t think that really qualifies you as a “Real Factory” does it? Factory of ideas for sure, your company excels at new product development, team, and contest support. Props!
Truth be told, I applaud your companies efforts to produce in the USA. I support local economies as much as possible. However that being said, I never bought a Kapital yoyo (or any other yoyo since 2004) and I was personally devastated by your choice to manufacture the Ti888 in China, because the 888’s Legacy was spawned in Mesa Arizona. Travesty.
Lastly not nicely said, I enjoy watching your company pay high tariffs and suffer supply chain issues when producing in other countries. Ouch!
For the record, Your company has thoroughly enriched my life over the past years and I dearly appreciate you and the entire YYF crew who make it all possible.
I ask out of curiousity and with the utmost respect, in a hypothetical world had yoyofactory produced say the latest edge stateside, would you be willing to pay say the 30-50 dollar price increase to have it done so? My personal fear is that it would pull them too far out of line price wise to keep the volume of sales needed to maintain the employment/ release schedule they have. All speculation of course, I could be way off in that thought.
Id love to find a vendor who can deliver good anodized parts. I do not know of any vendor at any price currently in the USA unfortunately.
For the edge, it would be a process of working with multiple vendors, because the parts change hands during the manufacturing process from machine shop to anodizer there is no-one to accept any responsibility for the quality of the finished part. You get great machined parts and the anodizer blows it, they will not accept responsibility for replacing the part (which typically could not be recovered). Now add pressing a bimetal rim on so machine shop for part, anodizer, machine shop for rim… everything needs to press fit perfectly, no-one wants to accept any responsibility… there are lots of risks. Based on quick math and standard margins it would be $200+ retail without any increase in marginal cost associated with increased defects.
So, higher price + more risk OR you can email in an order and receive good finished yo-yos from a vendor who will accept all the responsibilities and only deliver good yo-yos at an agreed price.
This is all at scale. Get a craze going, order 100,000 yo-yos and anything is possible!
