Yoraveler. Yoyofactory Dogma for 10$.

General Yo-Yo
21

Well guys, I think there is a way that this could work. It’s much harder to do it with a yo-yo, but I was going to do it awhile back to promote yo-yo holders. I decided it would just be too involved for me to keep up with the project right now. It would have cost me too, but when you promote things, it costs sometimes to do it, so that wasn’t the problem. I just don’t have the time to organize it and make it happen. The idea, in my head, was this:

I was going to call it a “National Tour.” The point was that the holder travels all around the U.S.A, to locations of willing participants who want to try the holder out for a few days and then pass it on. It was going to be promotion for the holder, and an opportunity for people to try it out for free. The people who got the holder would take a photo with it, at some location in their hometown that would be “proof” the holder had been there. It would be a unique version of the holder too. Each place the holder had been would be documented on a map of the U.S. (with photo evidence from participants), as the holder travels to it’s final destination. When leather holders are used quite a bit, they get a really worn, soft look and feel. So, I enjoy seeing them get used, to see the wear on them. I would enjoy seeing that at the end.

The idea would have required anyone to return the holder to me, if there was some kind of maintenance issue needed during the journey. And, after handling it, I’d send the holder to the next location so it could continue on. Each person trying out the holder would be eligible to compete for a grand prize at the end of the tour (something big). There would be no prize if the journey isn’t completed. And, each person would be reimbursed for postage (flat fee via Paypal) for helping the holder along the journey ($5 per person). Estimated number of people involved, 25 minimum. So, it would cost me $125, plus the cost of the prizes involved. Very affordable promotion idea, without a doubt.

The idea never materialized because I don’t have the time to set it up. I first saw the idea on a forum for denim heads. They had a denim apron going around to different forum members. So, I believe the idea can work, if:

  1. The person organizing it wants to invest in the project the most.
  2. There is a geographical location set for the journey (solves many shipping/travel issues).
  3. It is worthwhile to promote something specific (it will cost you, so it should be worth it).
  4. There is a set number of dependable people involved (I mean really dependable too).
  5. You can keep people motivated (forum, social media, whatever) to want to see the yo-yo complete the journey.
  6. There is an incentive, prize or whatever, to motivate the item along it’s journey.

The idea the OP posted has value, but it has to be fleshed out to avoid pitfalls, and make it worth everyone’s while at the same time.

22

A holder is different as you can squeeze it into an envelope and seen it off cheaply. Sending a yoyo as a parcel is expensive if you want to do it internationally. Even when it’s nationally restricted, you need to add shipping times when calculating a total tour time.

23

Exactly. A holder is much easier to work with, less value, less maintenance, and easier/cheaper to ship too. Time from U.S.A. to U.S.A. is 4/5 days max, so a person can have the item for 3 days then ship, and be on to the next person within a week. As it gets shipped, the organizer would have the person ship no more than a few states over, so shipping is that much cheaper based on the distance traveled too. For example, me shipping from M.A. to N.Y., N.H., R.I., C.T., is no more than 2 days first class. 25 people, 25 weeks, estimated 6 month project.

With the right item, the right investment, proper organization, and the right people, it might work. I still think it’s tough either way, but it can be done in the right circumstances.

24

That’s a great concept, too bad it never materialized. It could be a great way to advertise your holders. I could see this start like some kind of “national holder swap” thing where many other manufacturers also do the same thing.

25

okay, then if no one keeps it and it gets sold who keeps the money?

26

I think he is saying that the proceeds from the sale will be reinvested in another yo-yo for a new journey. But, in the alternative, the proceeds from the sale can be divided among those who participated. That will offset the cost originally invested in the project.

27

Yeah, I had that idea way back in the beginning when I was doing the pushing. If I did it now, I’d have to spend more time making holders to keep up with all the promotion. At this stage, things have leveled out at a pace that I like.

If I ever got injured and laid up for months, but still have use of my two arms, I’d do it, guaranteed. I just wanted to illustrate with proper planning, it can be a cool idea, profitable, and forum fun too. Not easy to pull off in any case, but imagine if it actually worked out. :o

28

Yes this is what I’m saying. I did had an idea that the yoyo will be In circle forever. But with shipping cost and even more chance of yoyo being damaged I had to drop it.

And I’m not saying it will be sold for 90 only read carefully I say if not Sold at 90 it will be at bst so even if it is sold at 60 or 70 we can buy a yoyo like Yoyofactory cyborg 2.0 or anything in that price range. And if you don’t agree on Yoyofactory Dogma we can vote for another yoyo. Which yoyo would you want and keep it under 150$.

29

So each yoyo you’re loosing money?
And that’s not taking into account people having to pay for shipping, organizing it, not returning it ect.

It’s a cool idea on paper but it wouldn’t work.

/thread

30

I’m not sure if you guys have seen it or not, but I’ve been doing something similar with www.thetravelingthrow.com. We are sending a few yoyos around the world for people to film with before sending them on to the next participant. We’ve got a OD Benchmark for more experienced throwers; they get to take the throw out into the public and film a video and then send it on; and then we have 4 plastic throws that are going around to beginners and intermediate throwers, they get to film their progress for a month before passing it on. This project is a little different because no one gets to keep the throw; its all about promoting the sport and bringing new people into the community.

1 Like
31

Yes we know I even stated in the post I made before for suggestions. Here’s the link.

32

Oh lol i didn’t see that. well my project isnt limited to just reddit, if anyone here wants to participate they can just email justin@thetravelingthrow.com. We’re always looking for new people to add to the list. Right now we have 4 sages for beginners and intermediates, and the one benchmark for experts. The expert list is a little long but we’re working on some ideas to help move things along.

33

Every couple of years someone tries to do this, and it never works. Heads up.

Sweet idea and all, but it has a pretty miserable track record.

34

^ For some reason, I’m really curious to hear stories about how past attempts failed. I get the feeling they would be really interesting.

35

Hopefully this is the one to break that record.

36

They aren’t. People just never send the yoyo along, or someone forgets to submit their address correctly, or someone breaks the yoyo.

There have been yoyos custom made just for this, there have been people like Drew Tetz and Ed Haponik attached to projects like this, they never work.

37

I can still try; Honestly I’m just having fun. If it fails, so be it, but you can bet I’m going to try to make it work. So far I’ve had a lot of positive feedback; I’m sure there might be bumps along the way but we will cross that bridge when we get there. I went ahead and made a post just going over what we’ve done so far and tried to address any concerns anyone might have. If anyone has any questions or suggestions feel free to hop over to that thread and I’ll do my best to answer them.

1 Like
38

Yeah, that sounds pretty disappointing. Imagine being the person who organized it, and wanted to see the journey completed the most. Or, imagine waiting to try the throw, and the person before you broke it, or lost it, or it got lost in the mail, or whatever. There are many other ways to have fun and get people involved that don’t have such a huge chance of disappointment attached to them. After knowing the history, I really give people credit for still wanting to give it a try. I guess the key is to keep hope high, but expectations low.

39

Yeah, I’m not saying it can’t work. I’m just pointing out that it’s not a new idea, and it has a track record of never being successfully completed.

Personally, I think what would make it successful is a very, very carefully curated list of people, and a small list at that. Six people who are really gung-ho. Short run, make it fun, and get the damn project finished for once. Expand very, very, very slowly after that. Like, do another run with 8 people.

40

That’s actually a really good idea, If it weren’t for the fact that I already have about 25 people on the list for our expert throw I’d implement it. I think if something ever happens to it I’ll cut back and try again. For now it seems to be working. The throw is currently on its way to participant number 3 and I have some interesting things in the works for some of the beginners throws. If I can get a few more companies on board I can revisit my list, do another round of vetting, and split the list up into a few separate lists. You’ve given me a lot to think about and I really appreciate it!

edit: one thing that would be cool would be to get a another high-end throw, and try to get a small group of well known players to do it. maybe call it the pro tour or something… hmmm…