It’s beginning to tire me that everything seems to be made in China now. Do people really need to do this in order to make yoyos? Even the people who don’t fully rely on it for their income?
Even 2Sick seem to be made in China now. Every company seemed to put out better all round yoyos when they were US made.
Would it be OK if I outsourced the making of my wooden yoyos to China? Just get someone to hand turn them over there. That just seems odd to me.
China is used because they have absurdly low costs. The economics of this could’t be simpler to understand. This isn’t just an issue for yoyos, but virtually everything we buy in the west. Shoes, clothing, electronics, you name it. As long consumers are unwilling to pay 5x to 10x as much for the same stuff, China will be the go-to manufacturing source.
Cheaper, and now basically same quality. I see absolutely no problem with it. Highly disagree that US made yoyos were just better. Unnecessary bias imo. Yoyos arent just cheaper than ever now but they’re better than ever as well.
Great. Yeah, maybe I’ll think about getting my yoyos made in China. Perhaps even Bangladesh if it’s cheaper.
I understand why perhaps some of the larger companies may need their yoyos manufactured in China, but not so much smaller companies who don’t really do it for a living.
It all comes down to price. Most want a yoyo to be low price but high quality. Made in the US usually doesn’t allow for both.
Anyone selling products that aren’t one-off items and need to have them manufactured in “lots” will always be looking for the highest quality at the lowest price, whether they do it for a living or not. To do otherwise is just throwing away money most small operations simply can’t afford to lose.
So it really just boils down to people wanting more money for what they make. Never mind supporting the country you live in.
Well it’s either support own country or be more successful as a business. I think most would prefer the latter.
That’s about it.
All hail the almighty dollar! 
You should watch the video where One Drop explains why they can’t make a bimetal themselves that competes in the marketplace on price. There is always a premium for being made in America, and most consumers aren’t willing to pay it. That puts extreme pressure on American businesses to manufacture overseas.
Have you never watched Shark Tank? The first thing any of the sharks ever asks is where the product is currently being manufactured, and they wrinkle their noses in disgust if the answer isn’t “China”.
I understand how you feel. It seems like just about everything is backwards these days.
Hard to find manufacturers in the US that can make yoyos as well as certain China based manufacturers. One Drop is pretty much the only company but they aren’t always willing as they are backed up with their own projects.
Lets ask this another way: Is it right to ask consumers around the world to pay 5X the price to support yo-yo manufacturing in Australia?
Capitalism != Nationalism
Ding ding ding! You got it.
Nope which is why I don’t charge as much as I should.
You don’t pay for the time it takes for me to make them. Well, not all of it, anyway.
Everything is a race to the bottom these days. With cheaper goods someone, somewhere, is being taken advantage of. Why I prefer paying more for, pretty much everything, when I can know the supply chain, or know the company and their values.
Completely unnecessary hate for China and Chinese manufacturing. This was pretty prevalent when the shift started happening but most people understand, accept, and even support it by now. As it should be.
But that is what they are worth…
I deal with this in carpentry. Is it right for me to settle for making $15/hr working 50+ hour weeks just because the market is saturated with people willing to work more time for less pay? I know my worth, and it is the same with yoyos. It is the same with lots of things: farming, furniture making, agriculture, small business, etc
The little guys are suffering because of outsourcing. It is completely backwards
It seems that discussions about capitalism and the free market economy always lead to hurt feelings and arguments over what is “right” and “fair”. I’m old enough to have seen this movie before (many, many times), and to be honest it gets rather tedious after the hundredth time around. Peace out.