Economic Theories on YoYo Pricing

General Yo-Yo
61

ok felipe, now your just trolling me, I’m going to let this one go. :slight_smile:

in other thoughts…

I was thinking that yoyo companies also have another marketing tactic that probably arose on accident: the lovable owner.

Microsoft had Bill Gates, Apple had Steve Jobbs, and Facebook has Mark Zuckerberg. Tons of yo-yo retailers and manufacturers have a lovable owner who is a pretty cool guy that pretty much everyone loves. Even right here at YoYoExpert we have Andre, and we all know how awesome he is.
having a loveable owner won’t necessarily help sell individual yoyos, but I think it helps build brand loyalty and popularity.

Maybe some of the companies have a carefully crafted image, but it seems like yoyo just attracts great people. 8)

62

I’m with you on this matter. I did point out that the retailer and manufacture costs were neglected. And by no means would I have an issue with you having that profit in a business. I believe the amount I calculated is quite small for a business actually.
I am trying to show that yoyo making is costly and that making them with quality is hard, so their prices in my opinion, are not expensive at all.

Haha, glad that you took a look at my math :smiley:

63

I agree completely with this. Everyone that is in yoyo making/selling business seems to be a 100% cool person.

64

Hide your Maserati, they’re on to you dave.

65

It would be so much fun to sit down with one of you manufacturers and talk about how you run your business.
Sadly, I’ll probably never have the chance. :frowning:

66

Come to g2 hq or hit me up in the ask G2 Jake thread.

67

Caribou Chris!!

Just like a band’s frontman/singer is kind of the person people think of (generally) when they hear a band, I think you made a really good point about how sometimes the people behind the company also effect it. Perhaps even the players on their teams as well. If you have a team consisting of great, cool players who people look up to (like CLYW, C3 (for those tech people), YYF, etc) I think that helps because people inevitably want to be as good as those players.

68

Quite clearly the most misguided/incorrect information I have ever read in a 5 page thread.

It was most refreshing to have David from One Drop chime in with actual factual info.

I seldom read fiction. I usually read books about either: true stories or Technical data.

But you guys helped me realize that fictional material, no matter how bogus, can be quite interesting and actually amusing.

Thank you all for proving without a doubt that with the exception of David, none of you have the slightest idea how to run a Yoyo Business.

(:wink:

PS … Discussion is a good thing though. Every kept it civil. Nobody did a Joey Serrano. Everybody just pretty much compared what they didn’t know about how to run a Business.

No harm no foul.

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69

Heh, its all just theories, if we knew what we were doing, we would run our own businesses.
Still, is there anything here at all you find has any merit? Well other then the stuff from the real guys who actually know what they are doing.

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70

How very nice of you to chime in, call us dumb and not even leaving a reason as to why.
I don’t usually mind being called dumb, specially when I’m theorycrafting about something I have no idea about, and I understand you’re a super awesome yoyo professional who knows your stuff, and I acknowledge and admire all your achievements, but you’re not being constructive in any way with your comments.

71

Pretty funny and ill leave it at that…ill be civil instead of speaking my mind.

I could have alot to say about this thread and a few companies but I won’t stoop to that level again. Mo is a god among men! Glad to hear my name in your mouth! I must have left an impression :slight_smile:

72

I didn’t call anybody dumb. Lack of the correct information is not ‘dumb’. It is ignorant. And ignorance does not mean a person is stupid. It simply means a person lacks knowledge about the/a subject.
And I didn’t directly even use the word Ignorant.

But I can always tell when a person is Stupid, because ‘if’ you call them Ignorant, they get mad,lol.

You guys are getting waaaaay too defensive. Seriously.

Joey? I don’t need to break out Da Clown Bat for you. ‘You’ are the very best witness for your own Prosecution. You snap like a Twig and insult a Yoyo Company by Slandering them solely based on your Opinion. Very unprofessional and you know it. And I knew you knew you screwed up by blowing your top. When you Rep for a Fresh upcoming yoyo company like Deadly Spins, the last thing they need is a Punk talkin Trash about an already established Yoyo Company. I didn’t slam you when you Spun out because you hung yourself. No need to. But since you are still wanna talk it up with the Mo is a god, smack, no problem. Keep talking. I still think you are A very intelligent kid. No doubt you are one heck of a yoer. But I have spent 62 years figuring things out. And if you think you are gonna outsmart me because you think you are quick witted, sadly you are only quick tempered.

I said I appreciated the civil conversation. You guys want to feel I am starting a rock fight, that’s on you.

Out of respect for you guys wanting to know if I can offer any legit insight into the Yoyo Biz, I will work up a follow up of factual information to erase many questions and concerns you may have.

Realize that I am an old man. And I may sound like someone’s Grandpa… Because I am someone’s Grandpa.

I have always tried to get people to see a clear view. When you read my next reply I this thread, that is just what you will get, a clear view of possible cost related pitfalls related to a Yoyo Business, etc.

I would have already punched out one of my signature oratories, but I have been reduced to typing with only my index fingers because I tore a tendon in my left hand. And cannot type with any speed. I took typing in school and can actually type very fast, uh, when I don’t have a splint on one hand, haha.

Stay tuned.

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73

I am in no way mad, or even annoyed at this matter, I simply do not believe you were being polite or even adding anything to the ongoing conversation. For you to come, read this and coming to the conclusion in your head that we’re a bunch of ignorant fools, that makes sense to me, but for you to post it blatantly like you did, makes you very impolite. If you want to tell us that we’re ignorant, at least educate us on the matter.

I am a yoyo consumer, I’m not a kid with hopes and dreams to become a manufacturer or even a retailer. I read the initial ideas in this thread that yoyos were overpriced and I tried to dispute them based on the information I know of, as I believe they are indeed cheap. To me yoyos are cool toys that require a lot of skill to be played.

I’m sorry for your injury, there’s nothing more annoying than a hand injury.

74

grumpy rant retracted.

75

Cant wait to get your perspective. Without any real info we have all just been guessing. I don’t think that the previous posts in this forum are illogical or foolish, just uninformed about the actual practices of different companies. If you have some extra information your thoughts are definitely welcome. :slight_smile:

76

I got one word to summarize this reply (TL;DR): Hadouken!!!

P.S: I understand you’re trying to make a point, but posting this sort of thing publicly in the internet cannot come to good endings (maybe it can be irrelevant, maybe it can lead you to a bad situation).

77

First I would like to clear up something…

You guys want to fire back at me? That is perfectly justified. But, don’t embellish by using words I did not use.

Felipe’s response suggested I insinuated you guys were ‘ignorant fools’. I never said fools. And anybody can be ignorant without being a ‘fool’.

And Dark Pirate mentioned ‘illogical and foolish’. < you can be illogical without being foolish.

If you are compelled to respond to what I say, respond to what I said. Not put your own twist to it with words I did not use.

If you guys were ‘Fools’ I would not even bother to bicker with you.

PS yoyo biz coming up as soon as I finish off this Amazing meatball sandwich from Nicks in San Pedro; where the Bullets and Switchblades meet. Meat sauce on the Ipad is against my Religion, sorry.

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78

I disappeared from this thread for awhile, but want to take this specific moment to again list all the possible costs related to a yo-yo business. I guarantee, there are more than what is on this list. The people who own these businesses are passionate about yo-yo. They can use their sometimes advanced degrees to get a high paying job, but they do this instead. I think it’s time people appreciate the prices for what they are, and pay them.

  1. The machining or cost of maintaining and running machines
  2. Staff salaries
  3. Electric bill
  4. Gas or oil heat bill
  5. Phone bill
  6. Web hosting/design
  7. Shipping to anodizer and retail stores
  8. Gas mileage for errands
  9. Packing material and boxes
  10. Artwork
  11. String
  12. Bearings
  13. Response
  14. Team airfare
  15. Free yo-yos for the team and prototypes
  16. Promotional prizes for contests/YYE cards?
  17. Supplies…aluminum, titanium, delrin, acrylic…whatever.
  18. Anodizing
  19. Letterhead, printer paper, ink, pens and pencils.
  20. Taxes
  21. Internet service.
  22. Computers (and software) buying, maintaining and updating
  23. Unpaid startup loan perhaps
  24. Design consultant perhaps?
  25. Rent or mortgage for the office/building

See if you can name potential expenses that I missed. That is why your yo-yo costs $100. That should explain it, nevermind any other economic theory in my opinion. It’s almost reality and not economy. It just literally costs a lot to run a business. If you get anyone in here who has manufactured and sold anything, even on a small scale, they know what it’s like. On top of that list, you have to take a portion of profits and flip it back into the next project. Companies die because there is no profit to flip and no incentive or possibility of continuing on.

My perspective is that not knowing yo-yo business is the exact reason people complain about the prices. If you keep your costs a secret, people will keep complaining, thinking you are getting rich. It is a problem for which there is no solution. No business will reveal their costs and debt.

79

CLYW is always the most interesting company to discuss in this way for me, because I think there’s something interesting at work with their popularity.

Moreso than any other company, I think they’ve created a brand image that transcends really anything having to do with the quality of their throws. It’s down to the details of the artwork and the colorways, and all the way up through the designs of the throws and just every little thing that makes the company what it is. The end result is this sort effect where people want to own them just for the sake of owning them. People who’ve never even tried a CLYW can’t wait to get a hold of one…and as good as they may be, there’s just not enough difference in how they play to justify it.

I’d even go so far as to say that the high price and small runs is part of that image. Whether you see through it or not, it still has this subconscious effect of making them seem like they’re “worth” more, or that they’re more desirable or exotic. I certainly think it’s safe to say people see CLYW’s as more collectible than just about any other brand, and that’s a side effect of this extremely well crafted image imo.

…and I’m not knocking Chris. I think he’s doing an excellent job and I don’t think he’s taking advantage of anyone. I just think this is a niche that he’s really exploiting to great effect. It’s gotten to the point where you put CLYW on something and it’s immediately interesting, no matter the price.

80

^ I think that is working on a particular part of the market, but it does not apply to me. I have bought way more YoyoFactory,YoyoJam and One Drop, than CLYW. I think out of over 150 yo-yos purchased…about 6 or 7 are CLYW so far. They did not appeal to me for a long time. I recently tried them, and like them, but will not buy anything just because it is a CLYW. I like their products so far though.

Let me ask you this. What part of the market, or what demographic, do you think is buying into the image?