YONEX Frenzy

[budi]

Is it only me or others are also crazy over YONEX products?

Currently I own:
YONEX racquets with YONEX strings and YONEX grip
YONEX thermal bag
YONEX polo shirt
YONEX shoes
YONEX socks
YONEX stringing kit
YONEX shuttlecocks

Planning to buy:
YONEX towels
YONEX shorts
more YONEX racquets .. and shirts ...

I really make YONEX rich!!
I guess the money that they put into advertisement and sponsoring major tournaments has really paid off..

[budi]

Actually this afternoon I bought YONEX shoes and I was also looking for YONEX shorts.
The shop owner had tried very hard to convince me that YONEX is not that good, only the name and its products are more expensive than others because we customers are paying for their ads and sponsoring expenses.
He also said that other products like ashway, gosen, etc. are actually better in quality than YONEX. )

But the more he tried to convince me the more I'm convinced that YONEX is the best badminton products. I made a conclusion that this shop owner doesn't earn much if he is selling YONEX product compared to if he sells other brands. Or maybe he got commission for selling other brands. Or maybe he is related to the owner/distributor of other brands.?

Or I'm just being stubborn ...

[Yudhi]

I also can be consider as that

yy shoe
yy shirt
yy bag
yy short
yy rackets
yy grips
yy socks
yy school bag

Budi what shoe did U buy and how much?

[Cheung]

Can't really see much advantage a Yonex T-shirt/socks/shoes/shorts has over other companies.
Does having so much Yonex gear make you feel the like the best? :-)

[Byro-Nenium]

Shop owners are always like that, they always tell you that Yonex is lousy and other brands are better. Stuff like that.... its all personal preference. It annoys me though. Not that their giving advice but that they never stop yacking

[Byro-Nenium]

Lets see,

i've got

Yonex,..............

Rackets
Strings
Grips
Bag
Shirts
Shoes

and thats about it

Oh i have other brands of rackets with Yonex grips and strings on them. not coz of the brand, just because i like those strings and grips

[marshall]

I have Yonex racquets, strings, shoes, and thermal bag because I like the dealer (Sportsnet International in Houston, Texas) and he has always given good service. Of course I like the equipment, too, or I wouldn't use it.
Oh, I almost forgot about the Yonex shirt, but that came free with a racquet. I wouldn't pay the high prices for Yonex clothes when other brands like Mizuni are as comfortable and durable and are less expensive.

[Kelvin]

you mean Mizuno right?

[Jeff L]

Some of the people I play badminton with say Gosen is better as well, although for some reason I keep coming back to Yonex.

[budi]

I couldn't find SHB-90 size 43 anywhere in Singapore, and I couldn't wait any longer, so I bought AR902 for $32.

[budi]

Yudhi,

YY shool bag? now that I never heard of ..

I wish they also have YY laptop bag so I can use it for going to the office

Forgot to mention that the YY shoes AR902 is not bad!!!

[Kelvin]

actually it's a backpack.
they have them readily available in Japan, and I think special order at other places.

[Gladius]

Well, its a matter of personal preference really. An example would be strings. I used to string only on Gosen strings way back in my school days as everyone said it was good. Until I tried Yonex strings one fine day some time after .... That was some 10 years ago...

I have occasionally tried other strings such as Asahaway, Gosen as well as Pro-Ace again... but found that they were not to my liking for some reason or the other .. be it in tactile feel, or durability ...

Currently, I've got 4 Yonex rackets with me and I have to say I like all of them for some reason or the other. But I have tried stuff like Pro-Ace and Sintec too from my friends but I just didn't like the feel of it . Maybe its the strings or something .. but guess its not the main reason many of us stick to Yonex.


There's consistency in quality.

[Bad man]

I also got a yonex watch, with the yonex logo on the dial

[budi]

When most people are buying NIKE or Reebok products, we on the other hand are buying YY product.
Different is good ..

[marshall]

Right, Mizuno. Thanks for the correction. Oh, and I almost forgot the two Yonex warmup suits and the extra Yonex jacket. It's so hot now I haven't worn any of that stuff in months.

[Brett]

Shouldn't this thread be in the Equipment Forum?

Budi, sounds to me like you are probably right about the dealer's profit margin incentive for selling you a different brand. However, he is also correct that other companies make goods that are equivalent or perhaps even better than Yonex goods, but sell them at a much lower price to the consumer because the other companies do not have the excessive marketing costs and are not participating in the near-monopolistic price jacking policies that Yonex does.

I don't question that many of Yonex's products are of very good quality and that some of its racquets, for some individuals, may be the best possible match for their skills and playing characteristics. However, what bothers me is that some of you are just blindly buying into Yonex's advertising schemes and advocating Yonex products without knowing if indeed they are are the best ones for you. Do you buy Yonex shuttles, even though there are plenty of brands out there who produce better quality shuttles at the same price point than Yonex, and whose top of the line shuttles are as good or better than AS-50's but sell for 20-30% less? Since you are big Yonex fans, are you also big fans of adding Ti to any and all of your sporting goods, racquets or otherwise? If you do/are, you are suckers and there are a couple of really nice bridges in New York City I'd like to sell to you. Some of you are simply not trying out the competition, or if you do try some non-Yonex racquet, you are trying equipment from second-rate manufacturers, rather than the better equipment from companies like Carlton, Gosen, Yang Yang and Forza. Don't compare a Hyundai to a Mercedes, compare a BMW, Volvo or Lexis (high-end Toyota to you non-Americans).

This ultra-pro-Yonex attitude reminds me of girls in my 8th grade classes many year ago who absolutely raved about how great their Benetton sweatshirts were (at US $70 in 1980) and who snobbishly looked down on anyone wearing a "lesser" brand; some of these people still probably think that they got a better product than the kids who wore an identical, no-name brand sweatshirt that cost $15. For those of you who think you are getting better product support and warranties for Yonex products than other brands, the comments posted on this forum, particularly from people dealing with Yonex Canada, do not support that contention.

Kelvin wrote a lengthy but interesting posting on the Equipment Forum on this issue. Maybe some of you should read that message.

I'm not saying that I won't ever purchase a Yonex product again. My Cab 8300 is a decent racquet for the price I paid for it, US$55. If my control on my Carlton AB900 does not improve when I get it restrung with a better string and practice with it more, I may get another racquet and would not rule out a Cab 23 (which seems to have decent value) or an older Yonex if I found a good deal on it. What I will not do is rush into any purchase thoughtlessly chanting the mantra "YONEX IS BEST!! YONEX IS BEST!! YONEX IS BEST!!"

Just remember the old adage "It's not the arrow, it's the archer that matters." We'll all win more games by practicing harder and more intelligently, rather than by purchasing the newest, latest and shiniest equipment that some Yonex marketing nerd decides to try shoving down our throats.