first off, yoyos are getting pricier, but i understand that. High quality machining, metals, precision, ect. What i dont understand is why is most gear in the yoyomarket so overpriced. The newton beltbuckle is 40 dollars!, there shirts are 25. I have had custom t-shirts professionally made and they were sold for 20 at a decent profit. What about response pads, 3 dollars for yyj respons pads, those things cant cost more than 25 cents to produce. I know these prices are not yye’s fault, i just dont get why companies feel it necessary to have such high prices. I pay for this hobby by myself, from money i make working in my free time, i dont like to waste money. No can really make them have lowerprices since there is minimal competition (no else can make a newton concepts tshirt), but it is still frustrating. What is your opinion on the matter.
All and any input appreciated
You have to remember that when you get a shirt made, it goes straight from manufacturer to you. When you buy one from YYE, it has to go from the manufacturer then to Vs Newton then to YYE and everybody needs to make a bit of profit along the way. On top of which, there’s the premium for using the Vs Newton brand name. The fact of the matter is that with such a small consumer base, like the yoyoing community, prices have to be jacked up a bit to cover expenditures.
Yuki
prices aren’t even that bad. There are plenty of shirts out there for $25. Plenty of hats for 30.
No, producing silicone pads doesn’t cost $3. But just use flowable silicone. It costs $1 and can be used multiple times. If you don’t like the prices, don’t buy the products.
Because that stuff isn’t very profitable.
First reason, volume. How many CLYW hats do you think they really sell? Maybe 50-100 a year? Maybe? Probably half that many newton belt buckles. Whenever you have a product made it’s cheaper if you have more made at once. But, their market is small, so their orders are small. I doubt CLYW is making a few dollars even though the hat is $30.
Second reason, and probably the bigger factor, is that this kind of stuff doesn’t move very fast. If you want 50 or 100 CLYW hats made you have to pay for all of them at once. That’s a big investment for a small company, and it’s going to take them a year to recoup those costs. They have to charge a bit more than clothing companies would because otherwise there is no incentive for them to even bother. That’s money they could have tied up in core product.
Each time a tier is added to the distribution chain, things get marked up.
We have to look at this from the ground up.
Raw materials cost LESS in quantity, but how much less depends on the material and the quantities. Also, how is the raw material delivered? Smelting and processing/forming marks up the raw material. However, those costs are buried by the company providing the materials. Raw ingot form material is the base price. But for yoyos, chances are it’s delivered as cylinders. Plus, I’m sure shipping ain’t cheap.
Machining costs and time as well as CAD design and programming. I’m sure the materials are shipped directly from the manufacturing plant to the machining shop to save a step here. Also, is the unused material being discarded and/or recycled and who is getting credits for this?
Costs per unit also tends to go DOWN as quantity go UP per run.
Now, are those shipped to the anodizer or “home” first and then to the anodizer? Then where? We’re talking at least 2 shipping fees, perhaps 3.
Gotta order parts in bulk. Bearings are not that bad in quantity, nor are axles. Flowable vs. pre-made or sticker? Some depends on the design. Pre-made responses like Flow Groove, Snow Tires and many others save time at final assembly, both from the installation and a no cure time, making stuff ready to go as soon as the response is applied. String, bought in bulk. Decent brand, no need to go nuts, people are just gonna wear it out or not even use it. But, it costs for materials and shipping.
Packaging… Simple boxes are cheap yet effective and are easily obtainable in bulk. Chris at CLYW is apparently using fewer stamps for his box decorations, so that’s driving his costs down.
Now, it’s done. They are machined, decorated, assembled, strung, tested and packaged. It’s time to sell these to the Tier 1. This means adding a mark-up so “I get my money”. It’s now time for one more shipping fee, but that one can be passed onto the Tier 1 distributor, along with the “wholesale cost”. And this is where the companies pretty much exit the picture. Now they’ve made their money.
What does retailer mark up the price? It might be alarming what some of the mark-ups are if you knew. I know ENOUGH. Let me just say that I wish technology mark-ups were as generous! At the same time, technology flies off the shelf by the hundreds of thousands, while yoyos may only be moving by the hundreds. They are the same market or mindset.
Don’t like the prices? Don’t pay it. That’s what BST is for. I agree some prices are getting excessive. I don’t think any CLYW should cost more than $120, or darn near any yoyo for that matter. Yet, I have paid more.
At least the distribution is typically “company to retailer”. That takes out tiers of distribution and removes layers of mark-up.
Vote with your dollars. If it isn’t worth it don’t buy it if it is do.
In the long run this will sort everything out.