Self-manufacturing is an integral part of One Drop’s brand. Anyone who has ever visited their factory knows this. The yoyos are made with love and attention, resulting in a high-quality product. When you buy an OD throw, you’re not just buying a collection of parts that functions as expected, you feel like you are supporting a community and an American small business, and that very definitely CAN be monitized. I have never gotten anything from OD that is less than perfect. I know they sell their B-grades (NQP), but you know what you’re getting. I just don’t see that level of quality control from larger companies that outsource. As an example, I picked up an Avalanche in the last mystery box…should be a hint right there that the Basecamp yoyos aren’t selling that well. Not only did it have noticeable vibe, but the anodizing actually scrapes off on my thumbnail when I do thumb grinds. I accidentally trashed it, so since I actually like how it plays, I replaced it because YYF were having a sale on the Basecamp yoyos (yet another hint). Second sample of the yoyo, same vibe, same crappy anodizing. Do I still buy from companies that outsource to China? Of course. And usually the yoyos are fine. Sometimes even perfect, sometimes barely acceptable. But I will always support One Drop and what they do, and I will happily pay a premium for their product. I know it will be a good product, I know my patronage will help them keep their doors open longer, and I know it will help keep a couple more Americans employed for a while longer.
Boy, where to start…
“Why then, has all low-tech American manufacturing moved overseas?”
The honest answer? Greed. 21st Century Americans are overall cheap and materialistic. We’ve demanded items to be at the absolute lowest cost they can be. Because we need it now, we want it cheap, and we want as much as possible. The companies were pleased to do it, sell off their factories and move their manufacturing to where they’d make a fortune. Doesn’t matter that you’d get rid of all those jobs, people that have families to support. Then it even got to the point where Americans didn’t even care about the quality of their goods, sure we talk about wanting quality, but most don’t really want it. We’ve gotten to the point that we expect our cars to be done in 5-10 years, our TVs to be dead in 3 years, we want cheap clothing and even cheaper food. It’s all a mess, and incredibly sad.
So you are right, it is sad that people who “stand on principal” get the shaft these days, and reality is they lose out in the end, and I hope that never happens to One Drop.
Now back to our discussion on the Project X! ;D
Just hoping for an anniversary OG Project. Wish throws with pads would make a comeback. Alleycat is a huge step in the right direction.
It’s the exact smae story here in Australia.
It’s all greed. People want cheap at the expense of local industry, jobs and product quality.
As you said, all very very sad.
I agree. I miss pads. Only problem with pads is they’re all different sizes. We need a universal pad size, sort of like the 19mm is for silicone grooves atm.
Indeed. They have the best prices… probably.
It has already been done.
For a few years OneDrop has produced Project celebratory series, 30-piece series, soda-blasted finish, clear color and identical packaging …
I know, it seems appropriate for it to continue.
ok, but it just seems to be a little thing to celebrate a 10-year anniversary.
I would hope for something better.
I would hope they do something in November, but if they do not, they have more than proven their dedication to our community.
they are to do (or not) what they want.
they must not proven anything or have any obligations with anyone.
Sure, they have a great variety of raw materials, I just don’t believe that their materials and production quality are all that good. No Chinese made yoyo has compared favourably to an American or Japanese made yoyo in quality. They’re certainly not bad yoyos at all, but I know that their aluminium and production quality is not quite as good as others. Possibly their quality control isn’t all that flash. The biggest issue I have with Chinese made yoyos is the axle tolerances. I wish all yoyos would screw together as silky smooth and perfectly as Onedrop yoyos do.
I like the name Project X. If that is within OneDrop’s intentions, I hope they adopt that name.
I’ve actually never owned a non-OneDrop that unscrews, so I’ve never ever even had to deal with that.
I’m sorry but I do not think so, and it’s not a matter of thoughts but of facts.
I own many Chinese yo-yo and in none (none of them) I find the problems you talk about.
The most impressive is certainly the Magicyoyo Stealth, a yoyo in Ergal (7075) with SS rings (temperate) purchased in a European Store at 46 €!
Play perfectly, it’s a quality yoyo, produced with quality machines and materials, if I think of the pleasure that this yoyo wonders for me, what unbelievable reason I’ve bought in the past for similar products 4-5 times more expensive? (… Draupnir, Musashi, etc.)
Other yoyo chinese I would never separate, Aoda Pyramide, awesome yoyo, no surface finish but thanks to its shape is one of the best grinder I have, its weight is adequate and distributed so that it makes it very stable.
Let’s go to the copies of the YYR that I own and that I can compare with the other original ones … you will be amazed to know it but I prefer to play with copies of the Sleipnir 63 grams. in 6061 than with the “true” of 2009.
Overdrives and acrophobia in 6061, have nothing less (qualitatively speaking) than the original ones.
Where do you think are products popular yoyo same Turning Point, Luftverk, (and I think, too many Yoyorecreation), etc. etc? but for they Brands all recognize the unquestionable quality of construction.
Do you have a Compass? a Manatee? Do you find that they are worse than an Avalanche or a Borealis?
Do you think they do not have a good finish for grinding (how is it easy for the Caribou, even those produced by OneDrop?).
Do you think colors like Summertide or BerryMelt are not up to the colorways that have led to CLYW’s success?
you answer sincerely.
And do you really think that the company that manages these third party products is not capable of doing just as well with its own hypothetical brand?
The OneDrops are great yoyo, but many others are at their level.
Finally, I read from your signature that you belong to a Team, do you think those things about yoyo that you sponsor? Because they don’t seem to be produced in Scandinavia.
I’m not a fan of Chinese yoyo but I’m big enough not to fall in to some prejudices. quality can be in every corner of the world (go to give an eye to what Hicoo produced a decade ago) and prices are influenced by so many factors (many of which do not depend on who produces) but it is wrong to generalize to simplify things.
You are so clueless when it comes to us.
We would rather be out of business than outsource. End of story.
I didn’t say Chinese made yoyos are bad, just that American and Japanese made are better quality.
for what have been my experiences, I don’t agree, I have argued.
We come back to the topic.
Since when were any yoyos these days & a decade back made in Scandinavia? ???
It’s true, Geezer is pretty clueless when it comes to how and why we do what we do. If he would just do some additional research, he would be convinced that our business model is the right one. And that our attention to detail and great design both shows and appears to be the way to cultivate this growing market in a cost efficient manner.
About the only threat he could find is the possibility of manufacturing breakthroughs that make CNC yo-yos impractical from a cost point of view. But I point out - we have many other ideas to fall back on. That makes our business model much more dynamic than anything that others could offer.
Dear Da5id and The Machinist,
Your business model is rad, and so are the yoyos you guys develop and machine.
It’s wicked that you guys don’t cut corners to make more money with B.S. like tapered bearing posts that result in a yoyo that will eventually cease to be smooth and develop galling issues like so many of the yoyos produced in China.
It’s a real privilege in this day of outsourcing and soulless supply chains to have the option of buying yoyos from a company that supports the local economy and other local businesses, and is interested in producing a high quality product that they stand by, even if it means less profit.
Thanks so much for all that you guys do for the community. Much love,
JRod