Hi! I got my hands on a cheap plastic toy yo-yo yesterday and just started playing around with it. I decided to check out some videos on youtube, found the expertville videos and noticed the url that lead here - and became very interested in learning this art. But since I am new to this, I don’t know where to start. I know that there are many styles of yo-yo, and that there are two different kinds of yo-yo’s. As I have decided to get one, or more, myself I am unsure about where to start. I can easily throw in $40 on a good one. The last thing I want is some cheap thing limiting me if I should really become addicted. So should I get both an imperial one and a butterfly?
I really want to learn a diverse range of styles - so any recommendations or advice to get me going as quick as possible would be very appreciated!
Welcome to the forum, and yoyoing! Hope you like it as much as all of us crazy people here do! 
I would suggest checking out this guide. It’ll give you some good ideas for things to get as you progress in the sport. Comprehensive Yo-Yo Guide - General Yo-Yo - YoYoExpert Forums
Basically, I would highly suggest getting a plastic from YYJ, or the YYF Velocity. These will all be great yoyos that can start out responsive while you learn to bind, and can become pretty unresponsive when you get better and can bind easily.
If you want to do some looping too, I would suggest picking up some Sunset Trajectory NXG’s or some Speed Beatles. These will be good to start with.
As for 3a, 4a, and 5a, they’re hard to start with. You want to have a pretty solid background with 1a first.
If you have any more questions, ask away. Also, the search button is very useful.
Blasphemy! Yoyos aren’t toys!!! I’m just messing around.
It took me a while to figure out what all the codes meant when i started. In case you dont know, 0a is one-handed looping, 1a is string tricks, 2a is two-handed looping, 3a is two-handed string tricks (with two yoyos i mean), 4a is offstring and 5a is counterweight.
Hi! It’s great to get some more Norwegian power in here.
If you can drop 40 dollars on something. I highly reccommend getting a Velocity and then later on step up to something different, but we’ll deal with that when the time comes. If you want to start looping as well, try getting one (or two) shinwoo loops. They are pretty cheap and should do well for a begginner.
Also, save some money for shipping and customs, this is where yoyoing gets harsh.
Please remove your link. We have basically the same guide here The Official "Unofficial" YoYoExpert Buying Guide: *UPDATED* - General Yo-Yo - YoYoExpert Forums and here Beginner's Buying Guide! - General Yo-Yo - YoYoExpert Forums
Welcome to the forums! It’s good to have more and more people share the love for yoyoing every day… ;D
I’s say to start out, you either get the Lyn Fury or the Velocity. As you progress more and learn how to bind, I suggest a metal rimmed YYJ. Hope I helped!
Thank you the suggestions! I see that on the front page, “Dark Magic” is recommended. Would this one be beyond my abilities for now, or is it something I can work into? The one I have has the imperial shape which as far as I have understood, is good for loops and stuff like that. I see that most of the pros use butterflies - and I assume those are better for string tricks, spinning and things like that. I understand that if I am to master many styles, I need to get many different ones - but will a butterfly yoyo be sufficient to get the basics down?
Jonas, where in Norway are you from? I am from Bergen. As far as I know, no one here are into this sport, but after all it is kind of and “underground” community after all. Are there any Norwegian pro yo-yoers worth checking out?
I will take a look at those yo-yos you suggested.
I can see how the customs can become a problem. I am a frequent customer at Amazon.com, and the customs seem to notice when I order of a certain value and charge me thereafter - those leeches!
If you have an imperial, you can also use that for looping instead of getting another one. Imperials aren’t too bad for looping.
Most people use butterfly shaped yoyos for string tricks because it is sooo much easier to land on the strings.
Yes, you could start with a Dark Magic. If you do, I would recommend getting some thick lube. This will slow the bearing down some, but it will make it tug responsive and come back to your hand easily. I would also suggest getting some thin lube for when you can learn binding. The thin lube will break down the thick lube, making it unresponsive again. This is how most yoyos are played today.
This:
If you have the $50 (for lube and string too) + the whatever-shipping-to-Norway-is, it’s a great choice.
If it’s a little out of your budget, I would say listen to JonasK and try the YoYoFactory Velocity.
Welcome to the forums!!!
love to see new people from different places join the forum…
Happy throwing and good luck, who knows you might be the next yoyo prodidgy
~gorrilla_yo808 ;D
Thank you all for guiding me here! It is great to see that this art form has such a dedicated community that want to help out the beginners!
This is what is in my cart so far:
Shopping Cart
YYF Velocity
Yellow $19.99
YYJ Lube
Thick Lube (More Response) $5.00
YYJ Lube
Thin Lube (Less Response) $5.00
YYJ Sunset Trajectory
Dark Blue $15.30
Anything else I need in regards to maintenance of the yo-yo’s?
String. Unless you want to just make your own, get string. It wears out somewhat fast.
That should be it then. Hope you’re happy. 
Weird. I added string but obviously didn’t show up in the cart. I also added another sunset trajectory so that I can yoyo with two imperials at once, but that one didn’t show up either.
Ok cool then. You should be set for a very long time.
if you are going to be doing 1a , a butterfly shape is your best bet. a good place to start learning tricks is from andre boulay. his trick tutorials are pretty easy to follow. he will lead you from beginner to master level tricks.for the ammount of money you have to spend i would recomend a yoyojam yoyo. they are great yoyos in my opinion. welcome to the yoyo community and have fun!!!
Sorry, but you’re late. He already told us what he was getting.
Now i have placed my order! I finally managed to add 2x 5-packs of string. Now I am like a child before christmas eve! Can’t wait to get started with this!
Anything important I should read up on while I wait for my yo-yo’s?
Not really. If you want to check out the videos here so you have an idea of what to try to do, then do it. It would be a good idea.
great list and you’ll love the velocity. you might get a little frustrated with it but it’ll make you pretty accurate and will get you through most tricks in this site(all the way up to master) the velocity is also great for counterweiht and 3A so you’ll have no problem good luck!
You can do what I did, watch all the video tutorials about 3 times each. Then pratice it with a dead yoyo. If you ordered from here, you will be getting your package in about a week (my experience with Priority mail). Remember that there’s no need to rush for unresponsive play. Yoyos play good even if they are responsive, people just tend to forget that sometimes, don’t make that mistake yourself.