Thoughts on "One Per Customer"

General Yo-Yo
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So I just watched @Roy_Dodge great review of the Panorama (go check it out). In the video he mentions the hype surrounding the yoyo and shows a couple pictures of collectors who have bought multiples. This got me thinking why do we never see companies do a “one per customer” system? Perhaps this does happen from time to time but I have just missed them.

I have bought vinyl records my whole life and it is very common to see this with record labels that produce in small quantities or they know there is hype around an upcoming record.

You could argue that the yoyo community is smaller so companies need to sell multiplies to pay the bills but I think One Drop, and the retailers who stocked the Panorama, knew this one would be a big seller. At least after the first run. Same with RSO, MFD, G2, ART etc. If they did 1 per customer, on drops that have a lot of attention, more people would be able to try it out and overall they would get a larger fanbase and then be able to grow even more. They could still keep to the same sized runs and therefore keep the limitedness/rarity/hype if they are so inclined to go down that road. I only occasionally try to buy on drop dates as I know there are collectors out there who can click faster than light and buy multiples of the same throw before I can even blink haha

Just wondering what peoples thoughts on this are? Could it be a good thing for companies to do? or maybe there’s downsides to it. For instance a company over estimates the hype and they don’t end up selling all their stock.

Oh and this isn’t like a bitter post about not being able to get a Panorama I was able to get one on the second run :joy:

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I’ve seen discounts on multiples…

“You could argue that the yoyo community is smaller so companies need to sell multiplies to pay the bills”

Sums it up.

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I think it is a balancing act, getting the yoyo out to as many who want them, not irritating the collectors who need every colorway, and not making a run so large as to be reminded of a mistake in market size estimation every time you go into the stockroom.

I’m also not bitter as I was able to snag a NQP Panorama (as typical for One Drop, the ano flaw is minor and the yoyo plays perfectly). I also don’t know the right answer, there are brands I haven’t even considered trying to buy on drop day as I’m just not into the stress of wanting everything to work out so I can buy myself a toy. Then again, as a middle age man with intermediate skills and minuscule social media following, I’m not in the companies high priority hype audience.

I’m the end, I think it comes down to each company needs to decide for themselves how they can get the best return on investment for a run of yo-yos. Hopefully, regardless of what that looks like, they always treat their customers the right way (which all that I’ve personally dealt with do).

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Totally agree. I think comparing this to records isn’t that accurate as with vinyl there are way more scalpers out there. Since there are a lot of sites designed purely around selling second hand records it makes it very easy to buy multiples then just stick the extras up for sale at crazy prices.
I would be interested in seeing a yoyo company try out the one per customer system but the more I think about it there’s more cons then pros to this.

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MFD most recent drop was one per costumer (mailing address and emails where checked).
There where only 57 so 57 diffrent people where lucky enough to grab one.
TI Vayder was sold 2 per costumer for the first few months (not sure when the limit was lifted)
to prevent scalpers from buying up the stock which ended up lasting a year i think.
Both of these are unique situations and not the typical drop by any means.

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As a 3A and 5A player having at least two is either required or just useful. Sure that’s a minority of players, but explains why limiting to one isn’t always a good option. A limit does make more sense for anything that’s focused towards a collector market or in very limited quantities though.

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I mean I think preorders would solve this dilemma easily. Especially when planning to buy multiple.

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How much of it is just for flexing? Look at how many I got, suckas!

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ah I didn’t know about that. Thats cool to see them try it out. The 2 per customer system might be the way forward. It would also cover what @mable was talking about with the 3A and 5A players. Plus collectors get to get 1 they can keep perfect and 1 to swing about.

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yeah this is most likely the best solution but I guess this could have a couple negatives like you would have to wait quite some time before getting what you paid for (and if it goes the way the recess nickel plate preorder you’ll be waiting over a year and it turns out to be a B-grade)

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I have a ton of yoyos. If I have multiples it’s because I like the yoyo that much to want more. I like two at least.

One to play one to display.

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yeah but I assume you bought 1 first then decided you liked it enough to buy another. so perhaps not making it as difficult for people to pick one up at drop times

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It’s true but if people really want something they will wait for it and also be happy that they are guaranteed in getting the color and amount they want. You can get stuck waiting longer than a year if even ever for a buy sell trade for a particular yoyo you want regardless of color and condition to so it’s just a better root to do preorders. Also it helps the company determine interest if they do decide to do a second release as well as cost for material and anodizing

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Maybe they could have a 2 per customer on initial drop day?

And then afterwards lift that after an amount of time? Like a day or week+?

That way gifted yo-yo players (looking at y’all 2/3/5a) can get their drop and ideally lots can but then for the rest of everyone they can buy however many stock later that way you’re not limit profits as much aside from day one?

Only downside I’m thinking immediately of us how that actually translates to sales but at the same time if you make a good product it likely won’t matter I would like to think

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It could be as simple as having a raffle, really. Especially in the case where yoyos are expected to be in high demand, this is the only way to maintain fairness of outcome. Also if there aren’t enough applicants to wipe out a drop then everyone wins and some are left in stock…

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Indeed this is what I do.

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I recently read that what company’s especially with titanium only get like 40% a grade. What happens to all those B grade titanium throws? Never see them posted for sale at discount or anything

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Bgrades are sometimes sold, otherwise they are returned to the shop and melted down.

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Oo wow I didn’t know they poored the titanium into molds to make them I thought they just bought a big rod of titanium and then machined to specifications of the yoyo. Would be cool to see a how it’s made video on that. Guess there are 3D printers that print in titanium now too. Technology is getting so cool.

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1 per customer is a nice notion if you are a brand that really has the demand, but even some of the most popular brands don’t always garner split second sell outs at drop time.

RSO Bowl XL took weeks to sell out.
A-rt Furn and Garret drops recently took up to a day or more, which is insane for them.
One Drop oftentimes will have stock for weeks (months? Go buy an Aitch!) after a release.

Another thing to keep in mind is this…if you are a small business owner and someone says “I wanna buy 10 of your yoyo,” are you really going to be able to say no? Besides how flattering I imagine that must be, you need to be considering the margins and uncertainty these individual/family owned businesses operate under. I am absolutely not one of these, but I imagine some customers may even get offended if they were denied a large purchase like that. There are few things as destructive to a business as losing or alienating good customers.

Albeit, most “boutique” yoyo companies are side businesses or hobbies…it still doesn’t make sense to have unsold stock laying around and operate in the red. I imagine most are breaking even or only making small profits. Also consider how much work it is to test, package, market, sell, and ship 100 yoyos. I guarantee you aren’t getting that done in one evening after dinner. That’s a major reason many yoyo companies will have multiple drops of the same model, like G2 and A-rt. Some just have extremely limited runs, like ILYY.

Something else to consider is the reality of how few people are actually out here buying multiples. I’d bet it really is only a small percentage that are getting duplicates, let alone 1 of each colorway. I am guilty of going after 1 of each color, but only once…so far :sweat_smile: Out of the 100 or so yoyos I own, I’d guess only about 10% are duplicates.

Even apart from collecting, there are several viable reasons for owning duplicates. 5a can wreck a yoyo, 3a requires 2 at a time, maybe you want a daily carry to destroy and 1 case queen/carpet dancer to throw at home. Or even a duplicate purchase as a gift. Maybe you need to keep one in your wife’s purse so you always have it when you forget the other one :upside_down_face:

All of that said…it all really is beside the point, as each individual owner must decide what is best for their company and should do so as that’s their right. Selling yoyos (or anything else for that matter) isn’t a charity and it certainly doesn’t have to be fair.

That’s my $0.02 :grin:

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