I will start this off by saying I am just getting back into yoyos after a long time. I bought a responsive Replay and a Sherpa. The Replay is SUPER responsive. Sometimes I can’t even get it to sleep. When I do the sleep time is very short. I have cleaned the bearing and changed the string. I even made sure the response pads were fully seated. Although they do seem to stick out a bit. This is compared to the Sherpa and a few other unresponsive throws I have. I am at a loss and about ready to just throw it away. Thanks in advance for your help!
If you want it to play unresponsive then you could try swapping the bearing out for a fully sized one and some new pads (you can buy a “Modern Performance Upgrade Kit” which contains a fully sized bearing, pads and a new axle to do this, I’m not sure if YYE has any left). If you want it to remain responsive but just less so then you could try it with the full sized bearing to see if that works or you could just hope that it’ll break in after some more play.
If you are really unsatisfied and can’t get anything else to work then you could ask for a refund (I’m assuming you bought it from YYE though other stores may also offer you a refund).
Check the bearing seat area to make sure it’s clear of debris. Check the outer part of the seat to make sure it’s free of marring or burrs that could be rubbing against the bearing. Also, how well does the bearing spin when you flick it?