Where do people get all these throws?

I’ve been looking at collections of YoYos and I’ve seen people with a boatload of YoYos and Im wondering if they legit bought them, or if they won some of them from contests

Over a few years time people can have huge collections. But, it does take awhile to build up a large collection. There is an exception, which is rich spoiled kids that get whatever they want from their parents. People get yoyos from a large number of sources: online yoyo stores like this one, is the most common method. Probably the next most common is off the BST where people can get a LARGE amount of yoyos for a low cost, either by trading or selling, because they are used. They can also get them as gifts. Another way is at yoyo contests, where they can get yoyos from vendors for a discounted cost. Probably the least common way is winning a yoyo in a giveaway or something held by a company or store, which is not very common.

Can you win them from contest?

Mine fell off the back of a giant truck labeled, “All the World’s YOYOS!”

I’ve won a couple, have been gifted with a few (family, friends, and one awesome person from YYE!), and have purchased the rest. I don’t know if my dozen or so metal plus several wood and plastic yoyos counts as an enormous collection or anything, but there you have it.

You can get good deals, like the Avant Garde I got in a YYF mystery box, or by scouring BST.

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Many contests have raffles, and often the prizes for winning a contest include yoyos. Most folks just buy them though.

I’ve gotten a few from eBay for low prices but they weren’t in mint condition

Like I said, yoyo companies and online yoyo stores have giveaways on Facebook and things like that so you can win a yoyo that way but that isn’t very common.

And about at actual yoyo contests, SOMETIMES they will give away yoyos to people, or raffle them off, or something like that. Most people just buy yoyos at discounted rates at the vendors stands or buy/sell/trade with the people there.

It’s not that often that you win yoyos when you win a contest anymore. Most have no prizes, some have money prizes.

BST all day

I buy most of mine new from various shops.

BST has gotten me some.

I’ve gotten some special deals on others.

Got a few given to me for partial payment for work.

Ebay got me my Magic Yoyos and few other items.

Some arrived as test/evaluation models for reviews.

I don’t do raffles or lottery stuff. I dislike gambling. I will enter in give-aways though. I never win, but that’s how it goes.

Unless someone is stealing them, it’s most likely legit.

If you need proof of my collection, schedule an appointment. It’s all here except for what’s in the latest YYE box heading my way, one that’s being made, two that will ship in a few days, and any future purchases.

I mostly work, earn money, and buy my yo-yos from YoyoExpert. But, second to that, I’ve sold things at auction, from hobbies I’m no longer active in, and flipped that money into this hobby. I’ve found some nice things on the BST, mostly stuff that’s no longer in production. I won very few of them, and I was gifted a few.

My collection is in my signature, because I’m proud of the photos, and when I do business on here in the BST, it’s convenient for people to have a look. But, I make it a point not to brag about my collection in every single post, as I realize that all I have can be taken away from me at a moment’s notice.

In my opinion, a yo-yo collection should never be a claim to fame. If it was, that would be sad.

Just got a huge check… its going to be gone in a little bit.

I don’t have that many expensive throws just a handful over $50, but I have alot in the $20 to $30 I have 18 throws total with 3 more on the way! I have been throwing for almost a year. I got alot of my throws through working or gifts

People have jobs.

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I’ve only bought on online and been gifted yoyos. Of course, I own a grand total of seven, but that’s how I got them.

I never would have guessed

This. I’ve also picked up a couple as gifts.

Yuki

I stole them from the yoyo store;)

Having the hobby in your life for so long makes the collection grow more and more.

Plus more yoyo’s=more power.

Got to bear in mind that the cost of even 15 or 20 high end throws really isn’t all that exorbitant when considered in light of what people may routinely spend on various other hobbies.

An amateur photographer can easily spend a couple of thousand dollars on a single lens or a single body. Even some lighting equipment can cost more than half a dozen of CLYW’s finest.

A 5 day ski vacation can easily cost more than a dozen top-of-the-line yo-yo’s. A golfer can drop more on course fees in one season than I’ll spend on yo-yo’s in a decade.

An avid swimmer who wants an in ground pool in his backyard may wind up spending more on it than he would on a new car (and more on maintaining it than he spends on auto insurance). A serious cyclist will often have several bicycles, with even his cheap ones worth several times as much as a great yo-yo. (As for someone who enjoys gasoline-powered bikes, a single motorcycle will usually cost more than dozens of yo-yo’s.) And don’t get me started on someone who enjoys sailing - there’s more than a little truth to the old saw about a boat being a hole in the water into which one throws money.

No, by many standards yo-yoing is a dirt cheap hobby, with equipment costs extremely low, even if one chooses to own a broad selection of quality throws.

Heck, I enjoy classical music, and spend more on concert tickets than I do on yo-yos. But nobody’s ever asked me in amazement how I can afford a pair of season subscriptions to the BSO at the Meyerhoff.

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Got three as gifts. bought 3. that’s about it.

I have a job and also I make and sell yoyo strings. I take a large share of that money and spend it on my hobbies, yo-yoing is one of them. I find really good deals on the BST (here and the facebook bsts). You just need to play your cards right. I bought a raptor brand new from a local shop, and through the course of 5 months ended trading up and trading up and eventually I had a mint OG 28 stories avalanche. So basically that Avalanche cost me a whopping $45.

TL;DR Make good deals on the bst