Dings, dings everywhere. This seems to be coming up a lot lately. But why do they matter?
Let’s presume that,
you have a metal yoyo (or multiple metal yoyos) that you have no intention of ever selling, so resell value isn’t a concern.
you recognize that a metal file and sandpaper will take care of the sharp edges of dings
you also know that it typically takes a boatload of damage and serious impacts to introduce wobble or destroy a yoyo
If we start with these basic presumptions, what makes dings such a big deal? Aren’t we rather chaining ourselves to a fruitless and tiresome pursuit by trying to keep something we fling around over concrete in pristine condition? Even if we only play inside and over carpet, strings snap from time to time, so there’s no foolproof way of protecting a yoyo forever, unless you play only in a padded room or don’t play them.
I present for your consideration some thoughtful pieces on this topic:
I get just as much satisfaction from my collection as I do from playing yoyos within it. Even if I don’t plan to sell a yoyo I still prefer for it to remain mint.
The idea of spending anywhere near what some of us spend on a single yoyo is not at all justified by play, so it makes just as much sense to see it as an investment, piece of art, or whatever other reason compels you to pay that kind of price. In the case that you do see that yoyo as anything more than a metal object it’s actually more logical to keep it mint than it is to beat on it (imo).
Seriously though - I can dig someone enjoying a collection of things, but once we consider something an investment, or a collector’s piece, doesn’t it cease to be a toy? Considering it an investment would also imply some intention to see a return on it in the future (see #1 below), which is actually a rarity for most yoyos as they age, though there are, of course, exceptions - like the original Peak. I’m a little at a loss about why thinking about our $100 yoyos as art or investments really justifies the price. But frankly, I find the fun I get out of my yoyos to be more than enough justification.
But man. I don’t spend money on something I want, just to ruin it, cosmetically and maybe play-wise. Dings will affect players a certain way, but it effects me emotionally. I feel like I’ve wasted $._ on this _____________. I don’t know. It just hurts to ding. I value and care about my yoyos too much.
It definitely doesn’t. I never argued it made any sense, just that it justifies someone wishing that the yoyo remain mint.
When I said that I wasn’t thinking specifically about $100 yoyos. I think at around $100 there still might be some appreciable difference in performance or some other quality, but it’s probably around the high point where that ceases to really be arguable.
I really had the 2,3, 4 hundred dollar stuff in mind. Like, I have a Moonwalker. It’s a great yoyo and I love to play it occasionally because it really plays great. But, at the same time, I’ve got about $300 in it and a lot of the reason for that is because it’s rare and definitely represents some measure of “yoyo history”, at least for the yoyo geeks. It just seems sort of silly for me to bang this up even though it’s a toy. There are so many other yoyos which could serve that purpose.
I like to have my stuff in as good of condition as possible. Dings happen, but still, I work hard for my stuff, and I want to keep it in great condition.
It extends to mics I use, cables, adaptors, accessories, stands and whatever else. Take care of your stuff and it takes care of you right back.
The robot in my YYE ForumXpert picture has been working since I think 1984. I have taken good care of it, and it still works. I have keyboards from 1986, and again, surprise: still working. Got computers from the same era(a pair of Mac SE’s) still running strong.
Why should I treat a yoyo any differently? I play over soft surfaces whenever possible, grass, carpet. I do have some plastic “beaters” that I’m not as worried about but I still do my best to avoid them actually becoming “beaters”.
I didn’t cringe from the video, so I guess I’ll be OK for dings once I have a throw to really worry about.
$100 or even $150 for a yoyo has a very high return on investment. Once you’ve played it for 20 hours, it’s costing you the same FPH (fun per hour) as going to the movies. Beyond that and it’s gravy, until finally you’re paying pennies per hour of fun.
All that to say, I wouldn’t go out of my way to damage a yoyo of any price (like Studio42), but nor would I be particularly precious with it.
A $300 item that I purchased specifically as an art or collector’s piece, I guess that’s a different story.
As for me, even though I don’t intend on selling any of my yoyos, I want them to be as mint as possible. I think it goes back while growing up…I didn’t really have all the nice things. So when I did have something nice [not necessarily a yoyo] I tried keeping them to its best condition. Since I can’t afford to ruin something, I take good care of my stuff.
And then I keep winning yoyos and I won some more, I come to appreciate each yoyo a lot more.
…but if I ever do mess up and get a ding on my yoyo, then it’s game over and I don’t care. It’ll be my beater
So other words, I take good care of it until it gets on a freak accident and then bam.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ve all seen Jrod’s collection of what he says are beat yoyos. Real yoyoers just call that a rough satin : . It’s not a man’s yo unless it breaks the skin on the grind. So man up and bleed with the best, or if not the best, the most scarred.
This thread reminds me of a guy I know who a few years back went out and purchased a brand new Ford F-150 pickup from a local dealership. He drove it home, pulled up the drive and parked it. The first thing he did once he got out of the truck was to pick up a cement block and toss it into the bed of the pickup. He turned to his wife and said; “There, now it’s scratched and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Still in all, I strive to keep my metal throws in the best possible condition I possibly can. A couple of years ago a new yo-yo arrived in my mail box. I played with it a while and then stuck it in my pocket to head out to mind to a few of the unavoidable delays of life. While pumping gas I thought I’d throw a bit. “CHING!” It made contact with the concrete on my very first throw. Thought I was going to toss my cookies right there in the Casey’s parking lot. It’s black so I buffed down the jagged edges and dabbed in some black enamel hobby paint in an effort to disguise the damage. Didn’t help much, those dings still screamed at me every time I looked at it.
Did it affect the play? Not even the least little bit. Still, every time I pick it up to toss it around in the back of my mind there is a voice saying… “you know, this is a nice little yo-yo, for one that is DAMAGED!”
Who gets dings? Why? Is there something about the effect of concrete on aluminum that is not clear to you?
Unless you have a serious accident with an arbitrary piece of furniture - how do you even get dings?
We know that yoyos are made of aluminum - right? So, why on earth would yo throw your aluminum yoyo ANYWHERE there is a surface below you that can ding your yoyo? I mean this seems pretty unavoidably obvious to me.
Unless you are a professional player who is required to perform on concrete surfaces at parks and malls you would have to be a complete fool to play on concrete or anything that can ding your yoyo. I play in the middle of my living room. LOTS of space and padded carpet beneath. Sometimes I play outside in the sun - with grass below me. Miss a trick? No problem, grass stains just wash off. Dirt does not leave “flat spots”.
I have sold over 30 MINT yo-yos on the BST. Why are they MINT? Because I am NOT stupid. I do not play on any surface that can ding my yoyo. I do not play around furniture, doors or any objects that can harm my yoyo.
Really, its just that easy.
I’m leaving this here for everyone to see this as a model of how not to proceed at YYE - future posts of this nature will result in your being moderated. Please keep it civil.
First… Im OCD with a little ADD in there so I keep my yoyos the best shape possible because its nerve racking to have something not in mint condition. Like “Monk” on tv. And yet I’ve made breakthroughs because of dings. Once it happens I cuss it out in my mind, get upset, put the yoyo away for a while but then something amazing happens after about 30 minutes (at least in my case as you all might take it for granted), I’m ok with it. That may seam nothing to you but with my OCD/ADD that is a milestone. A scratch on my yoyo and it i don’t care and continue to play it. Almost all my yoyos have at least 1 or 2 scratches, dings, or dents. And after a day i never even think about them when i pick’em up to play them. This comming from a man who spends on average 20 minutes on his hair to make sure every peice of hair is where its suppost to be. Come on.
Second…
How dare you. I take A LOT OF OFFENSE to this post. I have my own business in a mall over CONCRETE! I play here and have entertained thousands that watch me practice. When am i home? Only to watch a little tv and go to bed. Which means if I’m NOT playing over concrete then i might as well give up YoYos. So playing over concrete makes me stupid huh? And what if that is the only option you have? Im not a pro but i do play in malls, bars, clubs, parks, parking lots, and anywhere else. Just because a person doesn’t care to get dings but does get them anyway does not make them stupid. Your statement just called most everyone in this thread (including all the mods and steve brown) stupid.
wow! Just wow!
Im just going to stop right here. I wrote a lot more then this and more hateful and deleted it.
Stupid? Foolish? Naaah, free is what those of us are that aren’t afraid to throw a yoyo when and where we choose. To yoyo where only the brave dare, while others cower in padded rooms and over carpeted floors. Self imposed limitations? Yuck! Be brave, be bold, be free!!!
Seriously though - I can dig someone enjoying a collection of things, but once we consider something an investment, or a collector’s piece, doesn’t it cease to be a toy? Considering it an investment would also imply some intention to see a return on it in the future (see 
