Edit: found what I was looking for, thanks
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What is ‘reasonable’?
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A price that reflects the condition of the yoyo.
Think of it as a car, the moment it’s unboxed that’s already 20% off basically. Add some depreciation value and account for dings and/or scratches.
Like most one drops, second hand they’re always a steal!
Thanks for the reply, but there’s a little hole in your theory of depreciation.
First of all, a car in a yo-yo do not depreciate the same way at the same time.
In other words, I am not going to suggest that you are incorrect about the percentage of a car depreciating when you drive it off the lot.
But simply taking a yo-yo out of the box, it does not depreciate by 20%.
Before you decide the degree of depreciation, you must consider the complexity of the actual item.
A car is constructed from thousands of parts. Not hundreds of parts, thousands of parts. Once you drive a car off the lot, you can drive away in any kind of weather down any kind of road page on page and step on the gas and hit the brakes based on your individual style when you’re behind the wheel. One of the things that contributes to a new car depreciating pretty much the same day you buy it and drive away is the Unknown factor of how the car is being treated. I can go into great detail being an automotive mechanic and a heavy collision specialist that works in the automotive collision field… For at least the last 50 years.
So I possess what I consider an over abundance of information on all aspects of car, buying leasing selling repairing reconstructing, customizing, and painting. And over the decades being in the trade, I communicate regularly with a multitude of people also in the automotive Trade and you’d be amazed of what I’ve Seen and learned over the years.
Because I have been known to make some really long winded posts that are painful for some people to read I’m gonna deliberately go out of my way to make this one. I’m much shorter than my average response. So I’ll move to the yo-yo analogy and tell you why it doesn’t work
A yo-yo is not made from thousands of parts. And it’s not made from hundreds of parts. It’s not even made from dozens of parts. Even a buy metal yo-yo consists of only 8 parts: 2 halves, 2 rings, 2 response pads, 1 axle and 1 bearing.
The bearing is the only moving part.
Before a person buys a new yo-yo, the yo-yo is built by the machine shop. And obviously handled by the machine shop personnel. If it’s not assembled at the machine shop it’s sent to the seller who personally assembles the parts or has a small staff assembling the parts. As part of quality control, most, if not all yo-yos depend on the volume are thrown around for a minute or maybe less just to make sure they pass as a grades. So obviously once again they are handled. At that point after passing QC they are put into a box and either shipped directly to the recipient or ship to a place like yo-yo expert and then sold finally to a buyer. The yo-yo at that point has already been handled by several different people. Once the buyer received the yo-yo, they obviously do the unboxing. So they take the yo-yo out of the box and set it on the coffee table or wherever. taking it out of the box does not make the yo-yo depreciate 20%. Once the person strings the yo-yo up and throws it around for a couple minutes as long as they don’t smack it on anything or scuff it on anything, it still doesn’t depreciate 20% in value. And especially if you consider that some yo-yo’s are not really high-quality but limited in number per run, if the buyer decides is just not the yo-yo for them, it’s no problem to sell the yo-yo at the price you paid Or even more than retail based on how hard it is to get that particular yo-yo, maybe in a special color way that is also limited.
What’s my point? Glad you asked…
Yo-yo’s do not depreciate at the same rate/level as a new car.
We could turn this into a debate by writing down the depreciation theory on a piece of paper. And then taping that paper to a tennis ball and smacking it back-and-forth across the court for an hour, and when the ball stops, the results would be the same.
The car depreciation value identified as a percentage does not apply to potential depreciation values related to yo-yos.
I also don’t agree that secondhand one drops are always a steal. with a few exceptions, it doesn’t really matter what brand of yo-yo you wanna talk about. The prices for yo-yos are fixed by the seller of the yo-yos or yo-yo. They can sell it for a steal of a price. Or they can sell it close to retail. Or they can decide that since it’s A very limited color way in production run that they will last more than they actually pay for it.
One other thing I should mention. And this doesn’t necessarily apply to you. It basically just falls in to what yo-yos are worth.
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Hook, line…… and sinker.
@sedanthrows , careful when Doc asks you a question.
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Thank you for the valuable insights, yoyodoc! I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into explaining all of that. While I’m not a mechanic and don’t have as much expertise in the automotive industry as you do, I am a car enthusiast and can definitely relate to what you’re saying.
My main point is this: regardless of the product, if it’s mass-produced and still widely available for purchase at retail, it doesn’t make much financial sense to buy it secondhand at the same price as retail. This isn’t specific to yoyos or One Drop, but it’s a trend we often see. For example, a standard One Drop yoyo with a Pyramatte finish typically doesn’t retain its full value, most resell in like-new condition for about 60% of their retail price. This holds true for most yoyos unless they’re overhyped by the community. You’re probably already familiar with countless examples of this.
It’s like asking, why would someone pay full price for a $100k Mercedes from a dealer when they could get a slightly used one for half the cost? Or, on the flip side, would you rather pay full price to spec a new one exactly how you want or settle for a 10% discount on one already sitting on the lot?
At the end of the day, yoyos are just yoyos. I’m simply looking to buy a One Drop Rainier and continue supporting their craftsmanship. I mostly buy One Drops at this point. But I ask myself: why pay full retail when, the moment it’s in my hands, I likely can’t sell it for the same price again? There’s probably someone out there who bought one, realized it’s not their style, and wants to sell it. And when they do, it’s unlikely anyone would want to pay retail or above for a product that isn’t limited and is still available at retail.
Idiot abroad jumping in, you mentioned supporting one drop but then mentioned buying a yoyo second hand for a cheaper price. Buying a yoyo brand new from one drop themselves would be the best way to show that support. If you purchase a yoyo brand new from a retailer you’re still showing support to one drop but now that support is split between the manufacturer and the retailer. Buying a yoyo second hand while cheaper is not showing any support to the manufacturer only supporting whoever you bought it from and your wallet. Not saying anything is wrong with any of the options, I’m always long for deals and I love supporting my friends so I end up doing all the different options. I just wanted to bring it to your attention how you think about directing your support. To bring it back to cars, buying a Ferrari brand new supports the workers in maranello. Buying my Ferrari, only supports my family and pays my rent and puts food on my table.
I understand your perspective, but let me share another angle. If people show interest in buying a product secondhand, doesn’t that, in turn, encourage others to purchase it new from retail? For example, the yoyo has Side Effects like the Rainier, where do you think I’ll be buying those or the bearings from? If I post great pictures and leave a positive review, wouldn’t that indirectly benefit One Drop in some way?
You are correct in your thinking, it would benefit them indirectly. Like I said before there is no wrong way to buy yo-yos or any other item, it’s just understanding the level of support you are giving a company. If you do a review of it you’re bringing attention to it for others and best case scenario giving them their flowers, but it’s an indirect way of supporting them. Sometimes the indirect support is the only way of obtaining or showing the love of a product or service if it is a discontinued item or a defunct company.