Thanks for the info. Like what I said above, the new mold and assembly just started a year or so. Not sure what year you are referring to. Also, batch code matters too; smaller stores still carry the older models/batches.
A lot has changed in the Duncan line in under 2-3 years: Metal Drifter, Reflex, Limelight, Pulse, Butterfly, Imperial, and Butterfly XT. It’s a lot of work, and I don’t want to take credit for all the changes because it’s a group work, but my main task is playability.
Also, I don’t want to give too much detail about the $3 yo-yo and QC process. It’s a different business model, different market, and approach.
You mean to tell me that a $3 toy doesn’t have the same meticulous standards of quality control as a handmade piece of woodworking art that cost 35 times the price?!
Gonna check for those codes next time I’m in a big box now. Thanks for the tips!
I hope Duncan always stays in the game. I grew up with Duncan in the 50s and 60s. Duncan will always hold a prominent position in my collection. I hope to buy more in the future.
I used to buy 10 Butterfly’s at a time, nearly all of them were as you describe Glen. But, I’d buy them knowing they had issues. I’d always take them all apart and start trying different combinations of halves until they were all playable. Took some time but made for some really nice playing yoyos.
I probably own 25 Butterfly’s, and one of my half swaps is still one of my favorites.
Correct. This forum’s members are not the target audience for that $3 yoyo usually. It’s kids who could not care less. You don’t get a happy meal expecting gourmet.
True, but Glen does have a point. It’s such a little thing to get the halves on the axle correctly. And it’s a common QC problem with them, should be fixable. Even though it’s considered a “kids yoyo” you’re pretty much guaranteeing that they are getting an unplayable yoyo. It’s like giving a kid that wants to play guitar a $25 pawn shop piece of junk, with the strings so far off the fretboard they aren’t going to want to play for long.
The Butterfly’s of the 60’s-90’s didn’t have the problem Glen mentioned, I’m sure there are some but they’re few and far between.
Looking forward to the retro line Bryan mentioned. Any chance of a Grateful Dead collab with that butterfly logo I sent you and Drew @bjardin I’d buy a bunch of them
That’s a good point. It doesn’t promote fun, which is the whole purpose of the toy. My happy meal analogy doesn’t work because kids still like bad food, lol, but wouldn’t actually play with a bad yoyo. Maybe the quality drop has to do with a decision maker (man I hate management) just going with lowest cost, making the same assumption I did about kids ngaf.
At any rate, @Glenacius_K your attention to detail and unflinching quality standards are always appreciated. And @bjardin I am looking forward to a bump in Duncan quality in the coming years.
Man, I fudging love these toys and their community.
I always appreciate all the concerns and inputs no matter what.
Good point about giving a $3 dollar toy to a kid.
Changes takes a while for beginner yo-yos. Small change with assembly and process means cost increase. Cost increase will need to be approved by certain amount of people, giant retailers involved. That doesn’t include the mold cost, butterfly alone has multiple mold, engineering time and such needs to be included too.
It’s a very complex matter. I personally think economical ($3) yo-yo shouldn’t exist. I think it’s a huge mistake in the past that is harder to correct now. It’s affecting the business, distribution and end player. This issue alone is way before Flambeau bought Duncan. Now it’s just a pressure to Duncan to keep that line available to the market. People complain over $5 yo-yo, don’t be surprised!
Anyways, a lot to discuss. Maybe I should create a live stream while I’m drinking coffee or beer and answering a bunch of yo-yo questions!
It’s definitely a very complex issue. Mold costs alone play a big factor. Not even sure how many $3 yoyos you’d need to sell to break even, has to be a huge amount. Then you have the issues with the global supply chain, steel and aluminum prices increasing, that’s all going to play into pricing. Then when a corporation is ultimately the final say so, they want the largest profit they can get for their investment, which is completely understandable.
This is all stuff I deal with on a daily basis at my job. Great job on all that you’re doing though Bryan. The new “Aluminum” series is great, and who isn’t looking forward to the plastic FH1 reboot???
A 50 cent beginner yoyo back in the day would easily be equivalent to $15 today.
I received at $30 yoyo (not Duncan) this week that shouldn’t have made it through QC. The gap was almost closed at one point and extremely wide on the opposite point. The axle hole was miss drilled / molded.
So, it can happen even at 10x the cost of a beginner yoyo.
I didn’t realise that could be done without destroying the yoyo. I figured the axle would have been heat staked in. Had I have realised that I would have pulled out the axles and replaced them with Tasmanian oak ones. Probably drillled some response holes too.
