I’m curious what you think about a calendar for upcoming yo-yo releases. My guess is, that this varies considerably. Given that, I think it would be really cool to know as soon as possible when a project has been planned, and maybe indication of a potential release date on a calendar, just because it would help plan purchases. How many times have you seen a limited release pop up, and your wallet was just not ready for it. If you knew in advance, you could have saved up and been ready without missing out on getting the yo-yo, or the colorway you’d rather have. How many times have you been surprised by a release, and it is still in stock two weeks later when you have the money, but the colorway you wanted is gone.
I admit that I know nothing about how long it takes to make a yo-yo. The Summit video makes it seem that it can be done very quickly, but it does not seem the average timeline for a project either. Some yo-yos are promoted extensively prior to release, and other releases seem to come out of nowhere. I buy a lot of music, and I’m always on sites that maintain a calendar of potential release dates. It helps keep upcoming music in mind, and even if the album is pushed back, you know it’s an approximate date, and you’re ready for it. I think it would be more helpful with yo-yos, because they are more expensive than music, and often limited releases. Online stores that sell music, usually have a calendar of upcoming release dates. Would you like to see a calendar like this? For example…if a company has a yo-yo release planned for November, would you care to know now?
What are the pros and cons of us knowing about dates for releases well in advance, or as soon as possible anyway? Thoughts…
Don’t see how it could hurt anyone, pretty much every big industry has previews and promos long before the actual release date, and it helps them. Maybe some releases could sit on shelves for a little longer, but my guess is no, this would be overall very beneficial to everyone.
Yeah, there are times that if I knew an approximate release date, I would have bought the yo-yo when it first dropped. Sometimes the timing of the release will dictate if it gets purchased at all. Other times I would have bought the yo-yo, but the colors I liked are no longer in stock by the time I’m ready to buy. It’s almost like the luck of the draw with limited releases. When it drops, you might have a week’s notice, but that’s only one paycheck for most people…sometimes people are paid bi-weekly, so they may need another paycheck to have their money right to buy. Therefore a week’s notice is no good a lot of times. Sometimes two weeks is not a heads up enough either. Some people have a savings or a credit card to charge and pay off later, but for other people, that’s not the case. Some people don’t care about the release date…if they want it, they’ll just charge it. :-\ I would certainly be in favor of finding out months in advance…if possible. I realize it is not always possible though.
I would probably have found it useful when I was buying like a madman.
But to me, it falls in the same category as arguments like “Why doesn’t CLYW charge less for their throws so more people can buy them?”. Answer being, they don’t have to because they sell out anyway. A calendar would make it easier to plan for a limited release or something that didn’t get very much of a hype period, but still, the reason the calendar would be useful is the same reason companies would have no incentive to bother making the effort to keep it up to date. They sell out in a day without the calendar.
Most of the major releases that have enough stock to satisfy lots of demand are usually announced and hyped all over the place for a month right up until they drop.
Valid point, it has no real value to a manufacturer for a limited release. But, it might have some value to a store or customer. For a store, they will sell them anyway, but they would be providing a service to their customers as in…“it’s coming in November…buy here and not elsewhere.” “Come back in November…we will be carrying it.” Maybe that and to keep people tuned in on their site if they keep a good and reliable calendar, maybe generate a bit of traffic. The stores usually have a heads up when things are coming. I admit that it has most value to the individual buyer…which is the position I am in and why I’d like to see it happen. But yeah, the manufacturer has no use for us knowing exactly what’s dropping and when. For a store, the work to keep it up may not be worth it. I can’t really be sure.
The more I think about it, I usually get what I really, really want. In instances where I don’t, if I didn’t find a way to purchase it, I was too much on the fence anyway and was better off in the end.