Share with us - what does YoYoExpert mean to you?

We asked this on Facebook this morning and wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to share their thoughts there or here.  Post it either place and either way we will count it.  :slight_smile:

So tell us:

“What does YoYoExpert mean to you? Most interesting three answers get one of our new ‘Trusted’ YoYoExpert T-Shirts!”

https://www.facebook.com/YoYoExpert/posts/10152067019559848

  • André

Posted this on Facebook but I’ll post it here too:

In my four years of yoyoing, which is nothing compared to some throwers that have been throwing much longer than I have, I have found that YoYoExpert is the all around best place for everything yoyo related- YoYoExpert not only has the best store with some of the best prices around, they have the most active and thriving forum available to yoyo players. The customer service is out of this world good, they’ve helped me numerous times; even if I have encountered a small issue, they were there for me and made everything really smooth and easy. Andre has a a quality group of guys running the store, he’s very lucky to have them. YoYoExpert is not only where I learned the foundation tricks and the fundamentals to my yoyoing repertoire, but it’s also where I direct new players whether they want to learn tricks or buy a yoyo. YoYoExpert is one of the few places I choose to buy yoyos because I can count on them every single time for the best prices, best customer service and best support through everything. I think without YoYoExpert the yoyo community would be at a loss, without such a vast resource for information, tricks, and the widest selection of yoyos availible in an online store. That’s why YoYoExpert means so much to us, because not only do they encourage us to “Make the Simple Amazing,” but they do the same.

I the world that we live in, people can be so mean, and judgmental. On YYE there are so many people that care, that would keep it the way it is first. So many understanding kind people.

To me, yoyoexpert is my getaway

I responded on FB too. Here is what I wrote:

To me YYE means everything. My entry into the modern yoyo world was because of YYE. I looked all over the internet for yoyo information and time after time YYE showed up… THEN after watching some of the tutorials I decided that I was going to buy some stuff. Little did I know that YYE was located close by. I was able to go and visit Andre` and the crew and get not only some AWESOME yoyo’s but was able to meet some of the nicest and most genuine ppl anywhere. I have been buying yoyo’s from YYE since August of 2010 and I do not see myself stoping anytime soon. The selection and customer service are top notch. I have been back many many times and everytime they have been just fantastic!!! I LOVE YYE!!!

YYE means my money well spent.

Thanks for everything you’ve done for this forum and the whole yoyo community, Andre. You may not realize how many kids have learned their first bind or their first braintwister from your awesome tutorials, or how many kids have started their yoyo adventures by a purchase on your great site. You’ve been a pillar for the community, and you deserve all of our thanks.

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Didn’t know about this because I don’t have FB.

Yoyoexpert is basically everything yoyo in my life. Its the perfect resource for learning to yoyo, shopping, or asking questions. It has an excellent store, which has the largest selection of yoyos I’ve seen at any store, which is why I only order here. Not only that, but the tutorials are top notch. They cover tricks from beginning to master, and got me started on my yoyo journey. The customer service is also great here. I asked a few question through email, and YYE always replied quickly. The forum is, of course, the best place to hang out and talk about yoyos anywhere. I’ve always received quick responses on the forums, and everyone has been nice and helpful. YYE is the best website for yoyoing. In short, YYE=simply amazing. (get it? make the simple amazing? haha…bad joke)

(also, Andre Boulay is awesome)

I can see that yo-yoing has and always will be an element in my life. If has taught me many life lessons that I’ve never thought that I would learn from such a simple hobby. For example, it has taught me that patience will truly bring you far, as evident when I think back to the first months of yo-yoing, then I look at myself today, and see the true power of patience. However, the most important lessons for me, personally, involves my stage fright. Before I started to yoyo, I was very shy. I felt like there wasn’t anything about me that made me special. Even though I exceled in school, I was always in the shadow of someone else who was smarter. Due to this thought of uniformity, I felt that there was no worth for me to socialize with people because I was essentially a nobody. However, when I picked up a first yoyo, a Raider, people started to notice me. It really gave me something to grasp to that made me special, but it wasn’t enough to where people really cared that much, because I only knew the basic Gravity Pull. When I discovered YYE, it truly was a gateway to my knowledge of modern yoyos. I eventually got up to a skill where people will come up to me as start a small conversation. However, I was still very shy. However, as I yoyo more in public, I felt more comfortable with talking to people because I felt special for once. The largest milestone in my shyness actually happened not long ago. During my vacation in a cruise, they were hosting a talent show, where passengers actually perform in the large main showroom. I felt like it was truly time to see how much confidence I have truly gained through my 1 year of yo-yoing. Like people with typical stage fright, I was really worried with getting a knot. However, when I performed, I was nervous, but eventually toughed through the performance with extreme hand sweating. After that. I felt that I was truly capable of talking to people, because know I had a special identity; I was the guy who could yoyo.

Yoyoexpert has also helped me in this quest of conquering over my fears because it has allow me to access this amazing virtual community where I can easily talk to other people who share the same passion as I do. I has also given me a trusted place to buy my yoyos because I trust you guys very much and I believe that you guys have the best customer service I have ever dealt with. I hope that I can go to a contest and hopefully thank you guys in person soon. :smiley:

Yoyoexpert is my light to yoyoers all over the world. Yoyoexpert forums are a family of tight knit friends who all share the same equal love for a sport we all want to grow. Yoyoexpert store gives us the power to raise our skills and knowledge. And the enterance of the tutorials helped countless yoyoers to help build and grow.

According to Merriam-Webster:

yo–yo — noun — \ˈyō-(ˌ)yō
plural: yo–yos

1
: a thick grooved double disk with a string attached to its center axle that is made to fall and rise to the hand by unwinding and rewinding on the string

ex·pert — noun — \ˈek-ˌspərt\

: one with the special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject

Well yye has meant a lot. Mainly my interest for an extended period of time. I have been able to come here and talk to some of the most interesting people. It has shown me that a yoyo is much more than just a piece of wood plastic or metal. It’s a community.

Well YoYoExpert is basically my teacher, everything I know about yo-yoing was because YoYoExpert was here to teach me when no one else was really there. And although there are many more places now, I still stick to this place because it feels like home. Basically YoYoExpert has everything I need, great merchandise I can buy, a place to hang out with a good community, and most importantly an owner and staff who actually cares about us, and has shown us throughout the years that they care about the sport we all love, and is willing to give the time, the sweat, and maybe sometimes even the tears it takes to keep this community as great as it is. I met YoYoExpert by chance, but I stayed by choice. :smiley:

I also like how you all don’t just support yo-yoing, which is great by the way, but you also give your support to other rising skill toys. The fact you even made a kendama section on the forum amazes me, but not only did you do that you also started selling their merchandise as well. It is simply amazing that you would take that skill toy under your wing like that. It is great how you don’t just make an impact on the yo-yo community, but also other communities as well. Anyways great job, I hope YoYoExpert continues on and on and on, because without I would not no where else to go!. :slight_smile:

YoyoExpert has meant so much to me in so many different ways. Its meaning has evolved greatly over the last 3 years.

When I first started YoyoExpert was a place to learn some amazing tricks. It introduced me to modern yo-yoing, something I had been looking for, for over 15-20 years.

Let me flash back for a moment… I remember the first time seeing someone playing with a ball-bearing yoyo at a cousin’s hockey game around 1995-1996, and being amazed at how long it would sleep. I thought to myself “Wow, look at that! What is that trick called?! Where can I get one?!” All I had known about yoyos up to that point was experience I had learned from a Duncan Imperial and a Smothers Brothers video. I could do all the basics, sleeper, around the world, walk the dog, rock the baby, etc. However, when I saw that kid doing what I know now as Trapeze, Double or Nothing, and Split the Atom, I was so amazed! It left such an impression on me that over the next several months I would pick up a new Duncan in the yoyo section at Toys R’ Us, looking for the most high tech yoyo I could find. I ended up with a few different transaxle yoyos, but nothing as advanced as what the kid had. Disappointed and frustrated, I eventually gave up my search for the modern yoyo.

Fast forward 14-15 years later, I see a video of Jensen Kimmet’s Worlds-winning-routine and a feeling of deja vu hit me. I immediately remembered that kid at the hockey game and how much I had wanted to learn modern tricks. So I do a quick web search and I find YoyoExpert.com. A place of magic and possibilities “Look at all these yo-yos!” I proceed to look at every single yo-yo in awe of all the styles and choices laid out before me. I checked out all the promo videos for each yoyo in shock of how far yo-yoing had come.

After receiving my Purple with Pink Speckles Sasquatch and being amazing as it spun on the end of the string, I loaded up YoyoExpert.com and pulled up the “Learn” section. I completely skipped over the beginners section because “Hey man, I’ve yo-yoed before! These tricks are for babies” so I skipped ahead to intermediate tricks where it said “Intro to string tricks”. “Yes! Now this is what I’m talking about!” I attempt a trapeze. I was immediately overwhelmed realizing that I had no knowledge of the basic breakaway sleeper. With my tail between my legs, I went back to the beginner section and practiced… and practiced… and practiced! “Wow, this thing really does take some skill, it’s not all in the yoyo.” A place of challenges and lessons.

Quickly becoming addicted and needing new yoyos, they started flooding in faster and faster. Realizing my bank account couldn’t keep up, I hit up the b/s/t. I learned what kind of yoyos I should be buying new and what kind of yoyos I should be trading for. Negotiating started becoming an art form. There’s more to yoyos than just yo-yoing. A place of commerce.

I started to visit the forums daily. Interesting discussions everywhere. People giving advice. People discussing spin times, debating which response is best, the benefits of concave vs flat, of fixed axle vs ball bearing. People showing off their modifications in the yoyo modification section. People showing off their collections in the collectors corner. Manufacturers showing off their latest creations in the Manufacturers News section. Tons of great reviews showing off the subtle nuances of yoyos. That’s when it really hit me. There was this giant community of people who had a true passion for yoyos. A place of camaraderie.

Dude that’s a great story!! Why did you stop…

I knew someone would do this. There’s always that one kid…

YYE doesn’t mean everything to me. YYE is the way I buy yoyos, and talk to people who share a similar hobby and love for this little toy. And that means everything to me. It’s not YYE, but what it does for me. In a way, it saved my life. Let me share a story with you.

I used to be suicidal. I never harmed myself for real, but I came close. I guess suicidal isn’t the word, but depressed. Things were hard. My father was stressed out, which made him very angry and scary. School was not going well, I lost a lot of friends, and grades were dropping. My one friend, Sarah, played kendama, and she said I should try it to relieve stress. It didn’t go too well, but I did my research, and came across yoyoing. I wanted to learn, and found YoYoExpert, and asked my mom for a Dark Magic 2. I spent all my time yoyoing once I got it. This was about 6 months ago. I was hooked, I made an account, and I participated as much as possible on the forums, even if I wasn’t very helpful sometimes (okay, most of the time). But I learned more, and I only speak where I can help, or in the silly topics now. Yoyoing helped me so much. Whenever I felt bad those couple months, I could pop in my earphones and do Buddhas Revenge or something simple and feel all better. Now all the problems are mostly blown over, but yoyoing hasn’t. It stuck with me. I still bring one everywhere and throw whenever I can.

Now you may ask, what does this have to do with André, or YYE. Well that made it all happen. They have the best costumer service. I could easily buy any yoyo I want. The forums helped me whenever I needed it, in a friendly way too. I also found the club I go to here, where I met many yoyoers and got tons on help on tricks and just made friends. All thanks to you.

Saying YYE is everything doesn’t really have meaning to me. It’s what it did that is everything. And that means a whole lot more.

Thanks, Andre.

I’ve added more to what YoyoExpert means to me if you wanna go back and read it for fun.

I stopped because there is only so much you can do with a Duncan Trans-Axtion and a Yomega Saber Wing. What I really wanted was a yoyo like the kid had. Now I finally do.

Here is what I was working with all those years ago:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/9319209906_0f1a0db627.jpg
Old school by JetEyeNight, on Flickr

My very first yoyo on the bottom left. My dad bought it for me when I was 5-6. I’m now 31. The rest trickled in from ages 7-14. I’m sure there were a couple that got lost or broken. I’m pretty sure my brother has my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yoyo.

Nice!! I meant Y did you stop the story!!! HEHE… That was awesome man!! I too started and stopped several times… First was as a kid from the 80’s on imperials and butterflys then it was the 90’s and TK’s then the late 90’s and Yomegas then the early 2000’s on YYJ’s then came 2010… AND YYE…

That was really a great story though…

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Everything.

There is some really fantastic stories on here. Thank you all for sharing. :slight_smile:

After reading these entries, my little spiel won’t be too great, but here goes…

Skateboarding has a special place in my heart and is the single most sentimental “object” in my life. Through all of the pressures and troubles that life seems to throw your way as a teenager, my skateboards were with me the entire way.I’m 20 years old, and I’ve ridden skateboards for roughly nine years. I skated street (tricks, stairs, rails, etc) for about half of that time, and the feelings that it gave me… The exhilaration, the camaraderie, the passion, the drive, the determination—I can go on forever. I never thought those feelings would be matched. I burn through hobbies like a forest fire. Juggling, kendama, penspinning, cupstacking, magic, contact juggling, etc. Nothing ever seemed to stick like skateboarding… Until I started to throw.

In short, I no longer skate street, but on nearly a daily basis I still ride. I own two complete street set ups, a cruiser, and a longboard. Every time I hop up onto one of those wooden planks and just let myself zone out, it’s like all of my worries melt away and all of the nine years of past joy that these boards have brought me are relived in an instant… I believe that throwing has reached this point as well. I’ve thrown for, say, a year and a half. I’m not nearly as good as I think I “should” be for throwing this long, and I’m DEFINITELY not good enough to justify my collection. But when I throw and get into that zone that we all know and love, I get that same feeling that skateboarding has brought me for nearly a decade. When I get into that zone, everything disappears… And life is good.

Alas, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for YYE and this great community of throwers. Being in and out of a lot of hobbies, I can also say that I’ve been in and out of a LOT of forums. This forum, despite the occasional upset here and there, is by far the best forum I’ve ever encountered. So many of you are kind, helpful, and are just great human beings. I’d like to thank YYE for not only providing me with all of the tools I need, but for being a pillar in this great community. I’d also like to thank all of you, for quite honestly, making the simple amazing. :slight_smile: <3

PS. That’s a Manly Man’s Heart.

YoyoExpert means:

From a customer perspective, I can buy the greatest toy on earth, from a site that presents so well in design, at great prices, from great people, and know that I will get the greatest customer service of any brick and mortar or online retail store, in the tenure of my shopping experience.

And, from a community perspective, I can learn tricks from my most favorite player of all time, sell something I enjoyed making, hang out and have my yo-yo related questions answered on the forum, and hopefully share what little I know with others.

It is a place things can be bought, sold, learned, won, shared and a cool place to decompress. But most of all YoyoExpert means that you guys get 5% of my income each year (no she didn’t)!

*We appreciate all you do. I’m not in the shirt contest. I will buy a shirt. I have them all…classic, modern, contest, and hoodies too. The apparel is awesome, I rock it daily! Thanks YoyoExpert.

Sincerely,
The TotalArtist