July 1st was Canada day. Usually an explosive day of fireworks and drunkenness. But I had other things on my mind. It was the day that the Luftverk website opened, and customers were free to pre-order the Evora.
It was 8:29pm. I knew in that next minute if all the hard work and sleepless nights paid off. I knew I would have a few buyers - friends, and people who had messaged me about getting one. When 8:30pm rolled around, I opened the store. What happened next blew me away.
Years ago, there was a Yoyo store called Yoyonation. Back then, only a handful of new manufactures would release yoyos. When they did, people swarmed to get them. It was chaotic, but exciting. Yoyos like the first run Peak, the E1NS, Miroc. Bapezillas and Eetsits. They would cause so much internet traffic that servers would crash. The lucky few who were persistent (and lucky) enough to spam click refresh and crawl their way to check out with the laggy shopping cart were the victorious ones. This caused so much commotion. Who got one? Who experienced the server crash? How many minutes did it take to sell out?
When you look at the market today - it doesn't really happen anymore. A yoyo will be produced every week. New designs get pumped out to the public. Anodized bead blasted finishes, splash finishes, KK bearings all for a lower price than ever. It was what we raved about in the past. Yet somehow along the way, the soul - the meaning behind purchasing a new yoyo was lost. It was like a kid being told all his life he could only have candy once a year and then suddenly giving them an unlimited supply of Gummy Bears. Its going to end badly.
The moment I opened the store, my phone started to vibrate non-stop. I thought it had froze, but when I checked more than 20 orders came in within the first minute. 10 minutes in, the AMS2488 completely sold out, and there were 2 Purple Glass Dusted ones left. Those trailed off into the night where a few Europeans purchased them. From start to finish was just 5 hours. No servers crashed - but it instantly brought me back to the days of Yoyonation. The only difference was I was on the receiving end. It was completely unexpected and absolutely blew me away.
We can not turn back the hands of time. I don't think the excitement will ever be the same as it was back then. Maybe I am wrong to blame the industry; maybe I am just bitter because things do change. I hope I can bring back the excitement of getting a new yoyo all over again. I think we all need it, and I sure as hell miss it.
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Robb Weinstock
July 05, 2015
I am so happy you followed through on your dream. Through painstaking repetition and adversity, true art is born. I am excited that this is going to be my first Titanium throw. It isn’t merely a toy. It is art that tells a story. Your story Jeffrey. And the community thanks you for sharing it.