Wasn’t actually necessary to quote all this, but I just wanted to mention that that is awesome that you are a watchmaker. Kudos sir. That truly is an art and a skill.
What we are trying to say is that we do play them. Yes, I would beat up my onestar before I would beat up my supernova, but that’s because it plays better. Its like saying, would you want me to destroy your 2001 Toyota, or your 2014 Lamborghini? You would obviously say Toyota. Now your probably thinking " yes,but then I would never drive my lambo" thats a whole different story, a lambo is like 1 million more dollars than a yoyo…
Do you expect somebody to buy a Lamborghini as an everyday car or as a car to enjoy and to push the limits of luxury? Kind of a similar analogy, maybe not so extreme. They probably have both for the appropriate scenarios.
I think there are some people who are missing the point of “collecting” altogether. Anyone who cannot understand the point of paying for something and not using it, or just using it carefully, to preserve it in it’s purchased state, simply does not understand the “joy of collecting.” People collect all sorts of things, and it is not always because they believe it will appreciate in value, or even retain it’s present value. It might appreciate or retain value, but part of the point of collecting is the joy of doing so in the first place. There are people who enjoy the “hunt,” for certain limited yo-yos, and enjoy keeping track of organizing them, making deals for them, or sharing their collection with other collectors. Anyone missing the point of all that is missing the point of collecting altogether. Now, if a collection appreciates in value, that is an added bonus, but…you have to think smart. If a yo-yo collector was trying to make an investment to make money grow, they can put their money in stocks or somewhere else. But, the point of collecting is the joy of collecting. A person who only values a yo-yo as long as they can beat it up and ding it, that is perfectly fine too. But, they have no business looking down on a collector for the joy of collecting. You can look on Youtube and find a collection for almost anything…Rubik’s cubes, dolls, you name it. At the end of the day, no one is misguided about how to make their money grow, they are having fun and minding their own business. A collector is likely a player too, but they have found a hobby within a hobby, and that is what the difference is. It is the collectors who are paying the big money for yo-yos, and helping to keep all these yo-yo companies in business. If I only need 12 yo-yos to play, that’s cool, but if I need 500 to collect, the industry is better off financially. Everyone has a right to their point of view, but they should note that if everyone behaved in their point of view, the industry would be entirely different…in a bad way, and far less yo-yos would be bought and sold.
Titanium has very different characteristics than aluminum. Perhaps modern yoyo design hasn’t caught up to it yet, but you could have far thinner walls in the places where you don’t want weight, and more intelligent weight distribution utilizing Ti over Al. Again… Perhaps we’re not there yet technologically, but it’s not merely novelty. Titanium is an amazing metal and has the potential to change the game entirely for advanced players.
Few do… Most do not. Spending $100+ on a dozen yoyos puts you at over $1200 of investment into a collection. If two or three out of that dozen were to appreciate to double or triple their value, and you somehow find the right buyer to pay what you want for it, you’re still in the hole. Realistically, 3/12 yoyos won’t appreciate - 1/12 is more likely. People do the same thing with watches, sneakers, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Most of them buy stuff they don’t even like - simply banking on the premise that they’ll ALWAYS resell that stuff for more money. That’s being a businessman - not an enthusiast. An enthusiast buys something because he wants to enjoy it.
I know a handful of people who have Porsches that they beat the utter-living crap out of at the racetrack. They then swap the tires and suspension setting back to their road setup, re-map the ECU, and drive their cars daily. In the Lambo/Toyota comparisons - it’s really no different. Any car was engineered and intended to be driven. Buying a Lambo and babying it, or using it sparingly is pointless. The truth of the matter is, people who can truly afford the maintenance of owning an exotic car push them to the limits. People who put them on a pedestal, keep them pretty in a garage instead of covered in brake dust on a racetrack are wasting a perfectly capable vehicle.
It’s really no different with yoyos. They’re toys. They’re meant to be played.
Buying one and not using it is a total waste in my eyes.
You guys might think differently, that’s fine. Heck, I’ve collected watches in the past, but even then, I’d wear them. Some appreciated, most didn’t. Some I’ve resold, others I’ve hung on-to… But if I don’t intend to wear one anymore because I’ve out-grown it, or I just lost interest in it, it serves no purpose in a drawer collecting dust. Someone else could appreciate it, so why not sell it and pass it to someone who’ll enjoy it?
What the yo-yo is “meant” to do is determined by the person who buys it, for whatever purpose they bought it. No one else’s opinion matters to that buyer. I can buy a yo-yo to throw it, to collect it and put it on display, or both, or to just use it as a paperweight. It is all a matter of opinion how it serves it’s best and most useful purpose. If it’s my money, and my decision to buy the thing or not, it’s also my prerogative how it will be most useful once I own it. If anyone is annoyed by my use of what I owned and paid for, I say…be annoyed and let it eat away at you. At the end of the day, annoyed or not, someone paid their money for the thing, it is theirs and they can do what they want with it…and there is nothing you can do about it.