I asked myself recently: “Do I spend as much time windowshopping online as actually throwing?” That kinda terrified me. My shop/throw ratio might be 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, whatever, I can only guess. Either way, it feels too big. Music production circles have the concept of “Gear Acquisition Syndrome,” amassing cornucopias of untouched guitar pedals and synthesizers. I worry the same pattern happens in yoyo. I don’t mean the joy of having a great collection, I mean the unfulfillment of never having enough.
This thread isn’t to complain about consumerism - it affects us all. Instead, it’s about actionable responses. For me, it’s learning new tricks. It sparks gratitude for the yoyos I already have, and reminds me that yoyo isn’t about getting stuff, it’s about getting skills.
I haven’t purchased a yoyo since January. I have too many. I enjoy pulling out yoyos I got a year or two ago but have barely thrown. I’m pretty sure I will get the YYE Mystery Box in December though!
I think it’s different for everyone but for me I spent the first few years keeping up with new releases and trying as many different throws as I could. For a while now, I’ve stopped looking and buying because I have enough variety in my collection to keep me busy. I think the last new one I bought was a year or two ago. Window shopping certainly can be a trap though.
I think that yo-yo can be about whatever an individual wants it to be. That can include any combination of looking at yo-yos you don’t own, owning yo-yos you rarely or never use, learning new tricks and enjoying tricks that you already know.
That’s a good move. I’ve seen a fair amount of posts along the lines of “I’m limiting myself to X yoyo purchases across 2026.” And when they do eventually make that purchase, it’s something meaningful.
I also think it’s crucial to appreciate your collection. At first it seems a bit counterintuitive to get joy from material objects. But consumerism feeds off a cycle of satisfaction (getting) and dissatisfaction (wanting). Gratitude basically knocks out the dissatisfaction part.
I am on a buying freeze while I look for a new job but if I saw something I liked I would buy it if I had the available funds money prior to my layoff situation. Admittedly I have more YoYo’s than tricks or common sense maybe both
I do seem to seek more odd ball non standard stuff the more my collection grows. I’m less and less excited for another yoyo that meets a similar spec to everything else
To combat consumerism and keep my sanity I have a strict rule that if I want something new, I need to sell what is now “something old”. Helps combat the collecting aspect and things actually get used. I try to apply this to all my hobbies.
No shame in collecting as long as you are not placing financial burden on yourself/those dependent on you. When I had my collection of yo-yos it was a great way to take design inspiration.
I definitely have a a problem with FOMO and GAS. I first noticed it when I got into guitar pedals during the COVID lockdown. I’ve since slowed down a lot on pedals and sold anything I thought “overlapped” too much.
I kinda need to do the same with yoyos now, lol. I have a LOT of organics I love, and responsives, but many are very similar.
It’s a multifold problem, utilitarian in that I really could use the money and save it for other things. I’m not rich. Also, philosophically, I feel worse the more I have, after a certain point. So many people have so little, it feels gross to overindulge. It also feels like capitalism “got me,” by training me to want more and more things that I didn’t know I needed until I saw the post about the drop yesterday.
Sorry to ramble but yeah, I think about it a lot. See you guys in the BST, hopefully I’ll be on the S side mostly, haha.
When I first started throwing I was buying just to buy (skill level VS collection size should be beaten into us). After years of buying and collecting, something finally clicked and I haven’t bought a throw in a few months (tried a couple times, but to slow). I will only buy what I absolutely want and able to justify to myself why I need it and not to just buy it and put on the shelf after a week of play. I do buy other stuff; sliders, knives, spin tops, but I am starting to see how much money I spend on these things I don’t need. I plan on unloading quite a bit here soon because I just don’t have that “have to have” obsession any longer - I want higher end stuff that I will treat much better and stop with the compulsive buying! The collecting world is a huge market and we all collect some crazy stuff - ultimately, aside from the joy it brings you currently - what will happen to it all when you die and who are we really trying to impress with our collections… Focus on being part of the community should bring us more enjoyment than the throws!
I took a little bit of collecting to figure out what my tastes are, so I have some yoyos that aren’t exactly the kind of spec I would buy today, but they are still really fun yoyos, good variety, and representative of my journey.
Now I won’t buy a yoyo if it doesn’t come in a color I like, I only like certain size ranges so some specs are right out for me unless I can try before buying. I have a lot of unique throws and I want anything new to be especially unique or beautiful. The way they look is important to me too so sometimes I will get a yoyo regardless of spec if I find it really pretty.
Limiting myself to what was in a 28 FOV case was fantastic. Buy one, sell one, stay at 28. But of course I needed a 12 FOV for a few recent, and to-come special-to-me acquisitions because the 28 all rotated so frequently. Then I won a bundle that fit so nicely in a 6 FOV that I had to have that too. All the while I touted, and truly believe 12 yo-yos are enough variety, and more yo-yos than anyone will ever need at once. I find comfort in filling my space with artworks, which for me includes yo-yos. I let the demons run wild with that one. A 48 wall mounted display intermingles amongst other artworks naturally…especially two of them.
That’s where I finally redrew the line in the sand. I have entirely too many yo-yos at once. The 6 is full, and that one will stay as it is until it leaves my hands the way it arrived. The 12 still awaits the rest of those special units. The 28 is empty, stored, and waiting on the great downsize of my golden years. Those 48’s ebb and flow, but remain just short of full. Time evenly split gives me less than four days a year with each one. We all know every day isn’t created equally. So realistically, less than three daytimes of hours a year with each. It’s kinda silly. I’m still here now, so I will still wear it like a warm blanket until the reduction on the horizon.
All that to say everyone’s acquisition response should be based upon the factors of your own earthly experience. Just know you don’t need another one, set boundaries, and live in them religiously. Remember that with a collection of 30, enjoying one each for only a whole day at a time, gives you a mere 12 hangs a year with that little buddy.
If you can afford it, you buy as much yoyo and other things as you want (using money that obviously wouldn’t impact your life at all if you spent it).
When I can, I buy. Simple.
It only becomes a problem when you neglect other things to be doing in order to buy yo-yos. That is when it turns into a case of unbridled consumerism that needs to be addressed and corrected.
