So much for half and half. I was a few minutes late to the Zoo drop because I had some stuff to take care of. Figured I would get another chance at the public drop. Nope! I’ll survive, but I reiterate my statement. No point for two drops if one of them is going to buy up the stock.
5 Likes
I fully support your analysis and I also find it very unlikely that there are waste percentages of that magnitude and that above all it depends on the producer who is in one place rather than another.
I push myself a little further than you.
I see Chinese brands that have never missed a shot, make objects of undisputed quality, with quality materials (including titanium) and offer them at much more competitive prices, brands that have become firm and stable points in a few years.
On the same level, I see well-known and established brands that have totally or almost completely moved their production, entrusting it to Chinese professionals, for some years now, and have not moved from there.
Is there something wrong then or am I wrong?
I understand that the production process of an object in fact “simple” but where very high precision is required, out of necessity and not so much, has concrete variables that can actually give rise to problems … but bad luck cannot go all on one side … in that case, it’s worth investigating as you rightly suggest.
2 Likes
It was one per person per address so the 56 or so released got bought instantly be all different people no resellers
2 Likes
Yes, and that speaks to my point. If there are enough Zoo members to buy all the stock at one unit a piece, then get rid of the Zoo, or stop advertising two drops. I understand that it might have provided a benefit to a few dedicated people when they were a less popular company, but now it just seems like if you are not a member of the Zoo, then you won’t be able to buy direct. I’m fine with that, but it was disappointing when they didn’t actually have the second drop because they sold out during the first.
3 Likes
I was under the impression that there were only half available for Zoo members and half for public.
2 Likes
Why were you under that impression? Ive never seen anyone say that half and half is how the drop is going to be.
What is all this about 2 drops. Ive always thought there is just one drop(apart from the bsp which had other stores dropping 30mins later making it 2 drops) and zoo members get in 30mins early.
5 Likes
I’m taking a wild guess here, but I suspect this is for anodization/coloring flaws, not problems with the lathed halves. If there’s an issue during anodizing it affects an entire rack of items all at once, which can cause large B-grade rates. I’ve had this happen a couple times, myself.
14 Likes
I don’t have a good reason other than MFD not explicitly saying that the public drop will only get the leftovers
2 Likes
possible, but it is also true that anodizing is an easily repeatable process … and that is just a problem with the anodizer.
You make him an order and he has to provide you with yoyos aesthetically according to agreements, if they come badly, he repeats the process at his expense. it’s his problem not yours. Your money is good and his work has to be just as good, then, if there are different agreements, like he doesn’t charge you for the process because with defects and you sell the discounted yoyos as b-grade it’s your choice but if you you want to sell your products as a-grade and the problem is only aesthetic and finishing, he has to provide you with well-made pieces and if they look bad, he starts over and remakes them.
I honestly don’t think this is the problem and in China they know how to anodize very well.
4 Likes
It really isn’t as simple as that.
My ‘boutique’ yoyos for example are extremely limited because my time to make them is extremely limited. I wish I could make hundreds of them at one time.
People who own boutique companies often have other commitments (like full-time jobs) and don’t have the time, resources or the cash to make a huge risky run of yoyos.
14 Likes
The zoo is free to join though, it’s just an email sub.
3 Likes
Yes and no.
maybe I missed something because of my absence but if I remember correctly your work is purely handcrafted, which is quite another thing in order of time needed … you do not make an order to a producer who works your yoyos exclusively with CNC, where the greatest expense is that of setting up the machine, resetting tools, etc. after which, if the project is correct, beyond the material that has a cost (aluminum of any not excessively high alloy, titanium, stainless steel certainly more) to produce 50 pieces, 100 pieces 200 pieces has a increase in expenditure relative but on the contrary, the more volumes are increased, the more expenditure is spread and the margin increases.
Here they are not making fleas on anyone but neither can we hide behind a finger …
For years I have been reading a lot of “poetry” to justify prices that have very little justification, supported by quite unlikely processing methods (finishing passages at low revolutions, times to work a titanium cup of one hour, etc.), problems of any kind (which I do not understand why they should always fall on the end customer with a high price) or by marketing techniques designed specifically to make them perceive rarity and exclusivity that are hardly credible.
I’m talking about circumstances that have existed since the dawn of time, here no one has invented anything and every producer is and must be free to set up his business as he sees fit … but with onesty and sincerity.
2 Likes
This is all good discussion. Should we table this to a new thread for interested parties and get back to people posting new mail throws? 
13 Likes
Yeah Ray clarified this in Discord earlier today. The zoo drop time was intended to be more of a drop time just for MFD’s online store, 30 minutes before other retailers would drop their stock. So the “public” drop was more meant to be “other retailer drop.” And he acknowledged that moving forward things limited to just the MFD store may start being classified as zoo only. It seems like a lot of people got their first MFD on this drop though, including me, due to changes made to the store page. So I’d say they’re making pretty good changes. And for people who missed it there’s still going to be a straight up preorder happening later in the month.
Boutique yoyo companies can’t always afford to have massive drops or to keep doing more runs of a single thing, so scarcity is going to be inevitable, but it does genuinely seem like a lot of these companies really want these yoyos to get into the hands of as many people as there are who want them. Seeing transparency regarding how/why they choose to do drops in a certain way, and also explaining reasoning for quantities produced makes it really hard for me to believe any of this is done in bad faith. People want cool things and it’s hard to always make enough cool thing for everybody.
6 Likes
absolutely right … this came yesterday (but my time zone says midnight and 10 … I think it’s a forgivable mistake 
)
p.s. a twin of her, red, is traveling … 
15 Likes
To get back on topic I got a second Kamui Light in the mail a bit ago and I’ve been working on learning how to do soloham rolls. I love the shape and weight of these, the narrow width really isn’t much of an issue since I feel like it’s helped with my consistency a ton.
16 Likes
A ton of goodies from Layer Infinity: rims for the Mod44 and some Freehand rims (which I’m likely to try in the Atmos Khuno, too):
15 Likes
I’ve thrown one of those before, and honestly at the time I thought it was one of the worst yoyos I’d ever thrown. 
1 Like