I wrote a review of the Yoyofactory promotion. I’m not sure if I should post in the review section, or here, but I’ll put it here for now. This is from my point of view of course:
Review of YoyoFactory Pro Packs Sale on YoyoExpert
This is my full scale review of the Yoyofactory week long Promotion on YoyoExpert.com. It is my full review of the promotion process and the deals offered during the course of the week. As you know, there were advertised to be eight days of sales, March 21st through March 28th, and a deal would be offered each day at 8pm EST, and expire at the end of a 24 hour period (or until supplies last), at which time a new deal would appear.
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- Steve Brown Pack, Cost $50, worth $100.98, Saved you $50, 50% off[/b]
On day one, the Steve Brown pack was released, featuring the Roll Model ($76.99 retail) and DieNasty ($23.99 retail) for $50. It offered a fairly newly released metal yo-yo, and a great plastic model. Two great yo-yos, a metal and a plastic, for only $50. You can’t beat that for savings. Trouble is, being offered on day #1, it was a huge gamble to take advantage of this deal, not knowing what would be offered in the next seven days. Many of us held out to see what else would be offered on future days. This deal expired, with stock left.
2. Shaqler Pack, Cost $35, worth $86.97, Saved you $51.97, about 60% off
On day two, the Shaqler Pack was released, featuring two loop 900s ($51.98) and a Shaqler ($34.99). Interesting to note about this pack, is that it was great for the 2A option, offering more yo-yos than most other deals, for a total of three. Also, it included variety, offering loopers with a wing shape. This was the second cheapest deal of the bunch. For those who did not have $50 to spend on the Steve Brown deal, this was a good option, but with so many days left in the promotion, still a gamble not knowing what was yet to come. This deal expired with some stock left.
3. Kentaro Pack, Cost $90, worth $194.98, Saved you $104.98, about 54% off
On day three, the Kentaro Pack was released, featuring the Proton ($104.99 retail) and Chaotic ($89.99). Two metal full size yo-yos. This would prove to be the highest dollar amount of savings offered in the packs. For those looking for two full size metal yo-yos, this was one to take advantage of. Yet, as suspicion arose that they might be saving the best for last, the Kentaro Pack expired with stock left. But, it appears that due to the savings in this deal, those who were not paying attention to this promotion started to take notice.
4. Legend Pack, Cost $75, worth $133.97, Saved you $58.97, about 44% off
On day four, the Legend Pack was released, featuring the Equilateral ($109.99) and two Loop 808s ($23.98). It almost appears to be an alternative to the Shaqler pack, offering the loopers with a wing shape, but this time the loopers were offered with a metal instead. But, it would cost you more than double the price of the Shaqler Pack. Those who did not have a lot to spend, but needed loopers would be glad they took the Shaqler pack. But, those who had more money to spend, and were looking for a metal also, would have preferred to take this deal over the Shaqler Pack. It expired, with stock left. This deal likely suffered from what was to be expected and most requested. Many were expecting a John Ando pack and requesting a Tyler Severance pack as well. Many were holding out for those, and not willing to spend $75 that day.
YoyofactoryBen responded to comments on the forum and noted our various desires about what we hoped might appear in future packs. Many were hoping for a Supernova, Delrin Severe, and a Genesis. I also posted, wondering if the previously expired packs, with leftover stock would be made available again at the end of the promotion. We would find out later.
5. Gentry Pack, cost $60, worth $139.98, saved you, $79.98, about 57% off.
On day 5, the Gentry Pack was released, featuring the SuperG ($84.99) and the Gfunk($54.99). I personally passed on the prior deals hoping these two might appear. It was a great gamble on my part, because I scored with this one. Two metal yo-yos, both a full size and an undersized throw, plenty of color options. What more could you ask for? A savings of a whopping $79.98. The highest dollar amount of savings of all the deals up to that point, making it my very favorite of them all. YoyofactoryBen posted that it was his favorite deal too. I bought this one. This was the first pack to sell out, and it sold out quick. People who missed this deal, were so disappointed, that YoyoExpert was kind enough to restock the deal at 10:00PM, so more people could take advantage of the deal. It sold out a second time. Because none of the prior deals sold out, many people thought they had twenty-four hours to take advantage of this. They thought wrong. After this, it seemed everyone was watching.
6. Big & Small Pack, cost $20, worth $90.98, saved you $70.98, about 78% off
This was for those looking for something different, a pocket throw, the PopStar ($25.99) and the Super wide ($64.99). This was the cheapest deal available, at the highest percentage of savings of any other deal. You almost wanted to just buy this one because it was too good a deal to pass up. It did not even matter what the yo-yos were, you would be crazy not to spend on this one. This was the best option for a gift, two metal throws for $20. As a result, it sold out. I bought this deal as well becaue who wouldn’t?
Prior to release of the next pack, YoyoExpert ran a contest on Facebook, where the winner who could guess the next Pack, would win a free one. The winning guess was…
7. John Ando Pack, cost $60, worth $119.98, saved you $59.98, about 50% off.
On day 7, the John Ando Pack was released. While it seems a Tyler Severance Pack was most requested, it seems that the John Ando Pack was the most expected. Everyone knew that the Superstar ($84.99) and Protostar ($34.99) would appear as a pack, and it did. It was about half off like the Steve Brown deal. A popular metal and plastic, both for $60.00, definitely a great deal, and many of those who were expecting it, purchased it too. It sold out.
YoyofactoryBen posted on the forum that he was reading our hopes and dreams about the last Pack. He made some adjustments to please most of us, and as a result, Yoyoexpert released two packs at once on the final day of the promotion:
8. Tyler Severance Pack, cost $100, worth $130, saved you $30, about 23% off.
This was the most requested it seems, featuring the Supernova ($84.99) and the Delrin Severe ($44.99). It was most anticipated, but did not have the highest savings in dollars or percentage off. But, those who anticipated this deal, and were going to buy these throws anyway, were likely to still be stoked at 23% off, which is higher than the average sales deals offered at yo-yo stores. This was still a great deal on two yo-yos that Yoyofactory has no problem moving. It was clearly a favor to us all that it was anticipated, and it appeared. There were many in stock, but, those who were tempted by earlier deals, spent all their money. Also, while this deal appeared last, many were expecting the highest degree of savings to appear, but it was not so. This deal did not sell out within 24 hours. But, I took advantage of this deal, and was very grateful for the savings.
9. Genesis/Catalyst Pack, cost $100, worth $189.98, saved you $89.98, about 47% off
This was huge, two full size metal yo-yos for $100, or a Hubstack Genesis ($104.99) and Catalyst ($84.99) for $50 each. That is a steal. If I didn’t already own four Genesis and three Catalysts, I would have bought this deal. It was a comparable deal to the Kentaro deal with two full sized metals up for grabs. Except, this time, you had an opportunity to grab two absolute classics. This was a reward for those who were looking for two full size metals and passed on the Kentaro Pack. This deal sold out.
Overall, things went extremely well, the site responded well to the traffic generated by these deals. The YoyoExpert forum and Facebook helped to generate interest in the promotion, and help it gain momentum. Also, YoyoFactoryBen taking interest in the comments during the process of the promotion, seemed to allow some great changes that were made on the fly. Out of the 9 deals offered, 4 of them sold out by the end of the promotion (Gentry, John Ando, Big & Small, and Genesis/Catalyst. YoyoExpert was kind enough to re-release the prior packs that expired with remaining stock, for the potential that they might sell out as well over Easter weekend. Had we known they would do that, we might have gambled a bit differently, but that was all part of the fun of it. Great move on their part too, as two more of the previously expired deals then sold out quickly (Kentaro and Shaqler) for a total of 6 packs sold out. Overall, a great success. Next time, maybe they will give us more advanced notice that this will take place, so we can save up and spend more money at YoyoExpert next time. Whether you only had $20 to spend, or up to $100, there was a great deal offered for you. Such a nice way to show customer appreciation. Keep the deals coming.
Great job YoyoExpert and Yoyofactory, we got some amazing deals, and it was fun.
I purchased, for a total of $180, six throws (5 metals), the price of one yo-yo from some other companies, at an average of $30 per yo-yo. Here are my most recent photos:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8511/8597919903_2c191ac87a_z.jpg
GentryPack by The TotalArtist, on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8537/8606584649_6c6b5c446f_z.jpg
bigsmallpack by The TotalArtist, on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8544/8611618267_f4b045aee8_z.jpg
tylerpack by The TotalArtist, on Flickr
Thanks for reading.