I mean I def dont have any hate for them I think its hilarious and the anno flaw thing makes it 2x hilarious. Besides, it isn’t like an 80 dollar throw either so that is good
1 Like
Not really. In the description of the crayon edition, it was stated very clearly what kind of flaws were present on the yoyo but here it just says artisan anodise marks without any further explanation.
2 Likes
This yoyo looks really nice!
5 Likes
Hmmmm, you know what?
From my perspective, the real deal here is super simple:
It’s not about the terms, nor quality, colours or shapes.
I believe YYF people are so traditional in the yoyo scene that they had to read a lot of BS and a lot of good stuff, but as the time pass by, they dont care anymore.
The first contact I had with yoyo after my miserable experience was via YYF website where Ben answered my e-mail… I tought he had a bad day… Next question I’ve made I got similar reply. For me, no worries, it’s not the yoyo, it’s the person. I went to YYE and than I found a place that people are nice, went to the forum, samething. In the end I bought some YYF yoyos.
So that’s not the yoyo, it’s the staff behind It. If you ask any YYE about the ‘artisan mark’ they would say ‘minor flaws’ so game goes on… For me, looking from afar, YYF people are Smart enought to have good partners as YYE team. 
6 Likes
This thread is actually too funny. I used to appreciate yyf just for making good throws that inspired other good throws, but now I appreciate yyf for giving me a good laugh. They keeping introducing new terms I didn’t even think would be controversial or funny: like Artisan Anodize Marks, but you also can’t forget about Bimetal Styling either 
. This has been the opinion of yet another fencesitter laughing at all the chaos, not to be rude to any of you, but thanks for the laughs and have a good day. Cheers!
8 Likes
I think this is pretty funny and harmless. they took something that people have a negative association with and flipped it to make it sound postive and even desirable. That shows a good sense of humour I think.
@yyfben2.deactivated , we just need to to do the same thing with the term ‘vibe’ then everyone can relax a whole lot more and just throw.
13 Likes
Exactly, something cool/fun like “powerhouse syndrome” or “asserting its dominance on the string” (although they are a bit too long to replace vibe)
4 Likes
All this reminded me to this hilarious stand-up comedy:
Now we can say that ‘Artisan Anodize Marks” are just flaws.
9 Likes
Reflecting on this whole thread leaves me thinking about something I saw on TV years ago. There was a company that tested products to make sure they would work in the real world when none of the inside knowledge was present for the ultimate consumer.
He gave the example of a toothpaste tube that was supposed to sit upright on the cap. When they presented it to a test group, it kept just falling over. The developers said, “Look, you just have to set it like this, and it will stay up fine.” The guy pointed out that that wasn’t good enough, as the consumer wouldn’t have anyone to show them that. You have to make it as infallible as possible.
As easy as it might be for @yyfben2.deactivated to dismiss the perspective of @Benmichael86 and others here, I think there’s a lot to learn and think about there, and especially with how you interact with them on a public forum… 
Personally, I like the humor and get it, and I understand the rationale. I stand behind the things I said earlier in the thread. Just maybe things could have been made a little clearer, and earnest apologies for misunderstandings are not a bad thing.
7 Likes
I have bad days.
I’m also thin skinned when it comes to ‘being called out’. Guilty as charged. I take it personal. We are not faceless. Dealing with Yoyofactory is usually dealing with me.
Yoyofactory entered yo-yo as underdogs. We used the word ‘grind’ in a product name once and created 100+ pages of outrage. It’s not the biggest drama but it shows the petty extent of sone of them. We always have maintained the underdog attitude. Forums are a funny place, one person gets on you for one thing and even when you settle that someone else is on you for something else, so I come at most topics defensively. We suffer from everyone assuming we are a large corporation, a by product of the factory as a logo. Its still a very hands on, very personal small business. I’m still answering emails and I have time to respond here, on weekends.
If someone comes nice, I’m usually nice. If they come with an admission of not distaste already accusing of deliberate misleading of ppl I get my hackles up pretty quick.
As a brand we have been through many phases. We have rarely been the community darling and we are ok with that. We can’t be everything to everyone and that’s ok. Do we care? Yes, or we wouldn’t be here doing arts n crafts small run production. Or even bothering to respond here.
For years we saw the community vocally announce ‘YYF has no soul’. During this time we were transitioning into larger runs for more people, bringing prices down and introducing design characteristics which became industry standards. We gave up the mantle as boutique rare hyper precise and the brands that took the spot were smaller run, pretty anodize and usually packed with minor flaws, but full of soul. We continued making YoYos in America but got people promoting brand wide boycotts on our product for being made outside of the usa. Ultimately this just worked to reduce our usa production and focus on importing.
If these YoYos were imported with water spots would we have released them? Probably not, we would just reject them. But I knew how hands on the process had been. Everyone involved was proud of the YoYos and how nice they played. From the design team, machinist, anodizer, assembly, testing, lazer, testing, boxing… we all felt the love. We are players. If we were making boutique collector pieces we would charge more. I believe the value is there and had no hesitation offering them, with the caveat. They do have unique details as a result of their small run production. A bigger more mechanized process wouldn’t have allowed for this. A Chinese factory wouldn’t ship them as the client wouldn’t accept them.
They are what they are.
I think my initial response showed how comfortable we are with that. We were comfortable to release them and still proud of them. I think anyone considering buying one will find joy and value in it.
42 Likes
This controversy seems rather silly to me. In the current US made yoyo market, this yoyo would be priced at the $100 mark, but it is less than $60. And when the anodizing process resulted in the entire run being flawed, they ran with it rather than increase cost. Would you guys rather be paying $80-100 for the same yoyo, except now it doesn’t have this almost imperceptible flaw? Knowing the yoyo market as it is, this yoyo looks like a nice bargain buy.
As for PR, Ben is notoriously terse and a bit abrasive in my experience, but it doesn’t bother me. I bet he is just sick of addressing minor flaws in otherwise excellent performing yoyos.
Kinda hilarious that the yoyo gives off Russian vibes though 
edit: nice reply above me Ben.
16 Likes
A Lawyer once told me(about 50 years ago), ‘I let the witnesses take the stand and explain every detail as they see it. And then I tell the Judge and the Jury what they meant by what they said’.
On the one hand we have Ben… An amazing roll model for helping the forward movement of Yo-yos for over 20 years. A guy that had already traveled to well over 20 Countries, promoting yo-yos as a Professional Demonstrator before I even met him. As one of the Kingpins of Yoyofactory, Ben And Hans have selflessly helped dozens of people with yoyo related product/design/etc. ideas. Often being well aware that those they helped could might go into Business themselves. Or possibly even share some of the advice they were given for free to others. But their extensive knowledge of ‘pretty much anything yoyo related’ instilled them with the confidence to have little concern about sharing tips and tricks they have learned over decades of applied effort.
…How people present something… how they explain it…how they describe it, can be meant in a completely harmless, even humorous way. And yet be taken in a completely distorted way. And an accusation of misrepresenting the product can be maliciously reimagined by individuals that just seem compelled to turn an ant hill into a Mountain range.
Whatever word or term is used to describe an obvious defect is of little importance when you recognize that Ben was straightforward in noting the ano defect. Whether his low grade humor was lost on some folks or not, is besides the point.
There were no magic mirrors involved. No intentional subterfuge. Nothing deliberately misleading to/for anyone that can see and know a flaw when they are provided with a clear image of it.
…So, here we have a Made in the States yoyo. From a couple Citizens of this Country. Guys that love the Business and the hobby. Guys that have literally dedicated their lives to help keep the World spinning. Selling this high performance Kapital at a pretty reasonable price point. With one colorway having a ‘noted’ visual blemish. A blemish that has Absolutely zero potential effect on the function/performance of the yoyo. But the ‘Keeper of All things Transparent’ is willing to slap Ben around the ring and try to get him to Tap Out, because he has the ability to turn a Minor Carping into a Major Felony.
I’ve followed every post in this Entire thread… and then I went back to the top and carefully reread every single entry before I decide to toss my hat in the ring of this Circus.
Insulting the Integrity of Ben and questioning his intent by giving him a lecture in Marketing(a Class Ben could teach) only validates the point that no matter what a person has contributed to ‘yoyo’, there will Always be some Genius that wants to step right up and push you in front of a Bus.
I wish YYF comes out with a full batch in an Artisan Ano spot colorway… I bet they would sell out in 3 minutes, lol.
…The only thing Ben really learned in this thread is nothing he already knew.
There is Always that ‘1’ person that will take you to task for whatever they can make a case out of. Regardless of how silly and unfounded it may be.
16 Likes
My experience with Ben has been very positive. I’ve seen him be a rude sometimes but I only remember it being to match what’s being thrown at him. I’ve met him a couple times in person and he’s always been funny and helpful. Great for the community, I think. Not just because of the yoyos. He’s helping organize worlds contests, he’s helping with a bunch of other contests, he’s sponsoring an incredible team that influences how we yoyo every day.
I get it’s fun to try and knock down the big guys, but the big guys in yoyos are small fry in the real world. We’re a small community and we all want the same thing: for everyone to have a good time.
12 Likes
Im referencing what ive seen on the forums since ive never met him personally, but I was trained early in ‘the customer is always right’ mentality, so I see how sometimes his interactions with the community come across as arrogant and overly defensive. I personally have no qualms with the dude and he seems sincere, but you have to admit his PR could be a bit better.
3 Likes
The last thing I would want to happen out of all this, is for YYF to stop producing American made yoyos.
Please keep them coming!!! 
7 Likes
I read your post really hoping to feel closure and not feel the urge to respond, yet here I am again.
Turning it around and neglecting to take responsibility, again. Thin skin is not an excuse for being disrespectful to the community. Everything seemed perfectly nice until you came in hot to the discussion. If you feel I have been inappropriate in any way up to this point please let me know.
I am imagining numerous emails from customers who receive their blue Kapital with the artisan marks asking if this is a normal thing or if they received a flawed product.
What will you say to them?
“it’s not flawed, it’s an artisan mark”
“sorry, you should have read the disclaimer at the very bottom of the description”
Will you offer them a refund? I imagine not because that would be an admission of a mistake.
It seems that there was a slip up in judgment somewhere along the way. I doubt this thread would be this lengthy if there weren’t. There is a simple way to put this all to rest and you were so close with your last response.
2 Likes
At that stage it will be the retailers decision. As was offering the product to their customers in the first place. They knew and assumed the position.
I accept all responsibility.
I am taking my ball and going home.
I have contacted YoYoExpert and asked for all the product to be returned.
1 Like
Seems a little extreme and also not the best decision for your company or your customers. YYE already fixed the problem by adding a description next to the color selection. A simple fix that maximizes transparency.
Down now.
Anyone who has purchased will be offered a refund.
2 Likes
i’m curious if the Artisanal Blues will now increase in demand, and therefore BST resale value, now that they are no longer available
12 Likes