I think we’re mostly just reframing the same question. Or rather, both questions have the same answer “They do it because the DV888 makes YYF a profit.” If it didn’t, there would be no reason for it to exist.
Well, it could also just be that YYF has a glut of excess inventory they need to unload, and they’d prefer to sell them for as much as they think they can get away with. If that inventory doesn’t move then at some point we may see them deeply discounted. On the other hand, if YYF is continuing to manufacture them, I have to wonder where the demand is coming from. I mean, seriously, who is buying DV888s these days?
Well I bought myself one, and both of my boys love it and want one for Christmas so looks like I will be buying two more. Lol, I guess newbies like me and their children are the dv888 culprits.
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If you like it you like it! I say play what you like because the joy of yoyoing is fun! Can’t go wrong giving yoyos to kids! 
(Even big kids like yourself.)
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I agree, for the most part. It’s just that paying $30 for the privilege of throwing a DV888 is hard to fathom today, that’s all. I mean, if someone said they scored three DV888s at a yard sale for $5 each and is having a ton of fun with them, then I wouldn’t even blink. But buying them new at $30 a pop is a puzzling choice given all the superior alternatives (and quality free purchasing advice available from the community).
(BTW, I prefer to give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are the opposite of me and have more sense than money and tend to be a lot smarter with their yoyo purchases than I am. For instance, I do not recommend that anyone buy a Draupnir at full price today unless they are a serious collector interested in owning a piece of yoyo history; for actual use, equivalent play/performance can be had, IMO, from alternative throws a half the price.)
So what would be a cheaper all metal alternative that is responsive and plays better than the dv888? I did a fair amount of looking around and mostly found plastic responsive yo-yos and metal unresponsive yo-yos.
This thought has crossed my mind too, but don’t forget they created the new Galaxy colorway on the Dv888 last October.
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I am very much a budget yoyo buyer, so I am always looking for something on sale or something cheap. I was eyeing several throws here on YYE that would fit the price range of the DV888. Keep in mind that I have not tried many of these myself yet, so my thoughts plus $3 will get you a Starbucks, but they are options you have at your disposal that look to me like they would perform better than the DV888, which I have tried. Furthermore, I am not sure if they will come responsive or not. Many times they do not. I am not sure why that is except that a responsive yoyo has a nasty tendancy, when you’re learning, of snapping back on you, which can be very painful with a metal and can even break bone. That said, one that I’m pretty sure will come responsive stock that I have at least tried the older version of will is the Duncan metal drifter. It’s a little lighter than the DV888 but it typically comes stock with thicker pads for responsive play and 5A, but I’ve enjoyed using it for 1A just the same.
Again, I don’t know if these come responsive or not, so you’d want to check, but YYF has the Boss, which looks to me like what the DV888 should/could have been. There are also a couple of yoyos in that range that I’ve been interested in, but haven’t yet decided to try by Top Yo or C3yoyodesign. I have kind of been curious about yoyos from the Colossus series, I think there are at least 2 varieties you can get on YYE still. You can find these yoyos here by searching the store by price range and go for the $15-35 range.
One all metal that I saw on here that is on sale is the Duncan Echo 2. It’s normally in the $40 range but last time I looked they had it marked down to $25. I have one of the first Echos and it’s not bad. The first one has decent spin times and is a decent performer. I’m not sure if they were able to improve it much for the second generation, though. It looks like they gave it a straighter profile, which I’m not quite as fond of as a personal preference, but it can help with landing string tricks without losing as much speed from the sides rubbing on the string. I think there are a few I didn’t mention too in your price range as well. As I said, just search the YYE shop by price range rather than by brand or skill level. I imagine there are others who have tried these yoyos themselves and can do a better job of telling you whether they are any good or which one to try.
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Check out the Duncan metal drifter if you like organic shapes
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Ah, you beat me to that one. I was just adding that to my post.
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@Yoyosampler raises an issue that may or may not matter to buyers: who to buy from. If you restrict yourself to YYE, for instance, then you won’t have access to Magic Yoyo, who offers some very good monometal values today (the N12 and the Y01 receive a lot of praise). However, by limiting yourself to YYE’s inventory you’ll be supporting the finest online yoyo store and community there is (IMO). It’s a trade-off I suppose, but I suspect there are quite a number of loyal YYE supporters here who have more than one MagicYoyo throw in their collections.
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True enough, @zslane. I don’t always buy from YYE, either, there are other deals that crop up in other places, but I have always had good experiences with them.
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Another thought that might help: you can get one of those unresponsive metals and you might be able to play it responsive if you use some thick lube or some grease. Then you can clean out the bearing and use thin lube later if you decide to go for unresponsive play.
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It’s better in that case to just go with a yo-yo that’s designed specifically for both styles of play
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Thanks for the well written reply yoyo sampler, the boss is unresponsive, I might get one anyways though and try the thick lube like you mentioned. I have not been a fan of much of Duncan’s line so far, but I might try one anyways just to give it a shot, I think my kids mostly like the way the dv888 looks with the galaxy design. I will do so more research with the ideas you have shared with me and come up with something, I am sure. I decided for a heist as my Christmas present to myself, and will do some looking around for the kids, thanks again.
In my experience, when trying to get kids into something, you’re better off letting them get the one that ‘looks cool’ and works well enough rather than trying to force them into something better that they aren’t into. If they get hooked, they will be onto the good stuff soon enough.
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Well said, I am going to do research on a few different types and let them pick which they want for Christmas instead of surprising them and have them end up disappointed with it and have it be a wasted gift that collects dust.
Thank you for your kind words.
I hope I was able to help a bit. I suspect that if you get into unresponsive, you’ll really enjoy it too.
I haven’t been a big fan of the Duncan line either. Except for the Torque, the ones I’ve tried don’t have enough rim weight for my tastes.
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I would super duper recommend you buy other yo-yos if you already have a dv888.
Heck, just generally, I’d advise against a bunch of duplicate yo-yos because a) variety is the spice of life and b) there’s a lot of really interesting yo-yos out there to be experienced.
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Agreed @anon19434144. Like the TopYo Colossus 4, which is an excellent yoyo
Or the TopYo creator, which comes both responsive and unresponsive.