I dont quite understand. scrolling threw the web im finding extremely cheep yoyos around like 7 dollars. Curious of if they were awful i looked up reviews and people are playing with them perfectly fine. long cool unresponsive tricks and everything. Yoyos like, “smart and cool” or “magic”. Have i just been paying for brand names all this time? How can this be??
Like everything else, you pretty much get what you pay for. I myself will stick with the brand name products.
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I can do virtually any of my tricks on a MYY N12 or an upgraded YYJ Classic just as easily as on a $100+ throw. When you buy a more expensive yoyo you’re paying for brand name, yes, and feel, and a whole host of other intangibles, as well as supporting the community.
This!
True stuff said above; however, it’s important to get to the bottom of the intent of the question.
Reading between the lines, I believe the OP has encountered some rubbish yoyos out there for $7, that if they were purchased, would surely result in tears and gnashing of teeth.
You can get a Classic (while supplies last!) for $10 and it is amazing and once upgraded (pads/bearing) will do all of the things, and do them well. But it would take a bit of research or blind luck to know that the $10 Classic is significantly better than the $7 die-cast throwaway hunk of junk.
So to the OP: you can get absolutely beast inexpensive yoyos. But you still need to put in a bit of research and ask around to know that you’re buying something legit. Throw $7 at international “free shipping” sites expecting to get a decent yoyo back is a crap shoot at best. The odds are against you. 
I would like to clarify that my comment does not imply nor endorse purchasing expensive yoyos. Some of my all time favorites are the low end YYJ yoyos such as the journey, or the Duncan FHZ. Most of my collection was purchased for under $30 and a lot of those under $20. All made by brand name companies. I’ve had a couple of no name cheapies and will not buy them again.
I have around 8 magic yoyos and 1 smart and cool. The magic yoyos are phenomenal. All are just as capable as my expensive yoyos. They do have a Chinese type feel EXCEPT for two magics I have. The MYY m002 and MYY purple line both feel in hand like high end 80$+ throws. The smart and cool is a Sc5 model. Its just as capable like said before and plays extremely smooth plus it came with a really well put together 10ball concave bearing. Might of just got lucky with that one.
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Keep playing “smart and cool” or “magic” $7 yo-yo’s until you feel you know all the main tricks very well. Once you reach that point, get yourself one of the “well known” “name brand” varieties and try the same tricks you’ve well learned with the cheap ones - THEN you will be able to accurately answer your own question 
The original poster sounds like he feels ripped off, but he shouldn’t feel that way really. It’s like ordering a nice, juicy steak and realizing you could sustain yourself and cure your hunger on Ramen and Wonder Bread instead.
Or driving to work and some teenager passes you on a moped and going “Wait, I could drive to work on a $1,000 moped instead of a $40,000 Lexus? I’ve been had!” Then you call your wife and tell her “Honey, we’re getting a moped!” So you lose the Lexus in the divorce and all you’ve got is a moped and a bunch of bugs in your teeth by the time you get to work.
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This is a very warped, twisted and elaborate comparison. Sounds like someone who has an extensive and expensive collection and has thought very hard and long for a reason to justify their purchases. Honestly you can find a cheap yoyo that will play and compete with the “Lexus’s” if you just take time and do your research. Let’s not forget how much the yoyo that won last year’s nats cost.
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…or it’s mostly for the giggles? It was pretty funny. 
If what op means Magicyoyos, then they are very playable and actually performs well.
If it’s one of those things that looks like pressed God-knows-what metal with plastic response, then they are totally not worth it.
Magicyoyo’s are great. The response on them is not the best, but a little silicone is a CHEEP fix. they even sponsor contests so why not buy them?
smart and cool on the other hand… might want to save up for a magicyoyo
Yah guys this is really serious stuff here no room for jokes.
“The yoyo that won last years nats”
It’s the player not the yoyo… The yoyo didn’t win anything
I think that’s what he meant. The winner didn’t need an expensive yoyo.
I know that’s what he meant, I see that logic thrown around a lot.
He could have used a $300 dollar titanium and won as well. People focus too much on what pros use, the pros are good enough to use just about anything current.
Buy stuff you’ll enjoy, if you are worried about getting the best performance you need to focus on practicing and not what you buy. That’s my 2 cents.
This is true, yet also one of the reason why pros exist; if the top players use it to win comps, then it must be good.
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You make the point I already made that there are cheap yoyos (although GregP makes a good point that finding a capable bargain yoyo is more of a crapshoot than choosing between OD or CLYW or YYF) that can get the job done. There are certainly cheap yoyos that can get you from point A to point B, like I said.
Very true that there’s too much “The Replay Pro won Nationals!” hype. The yoyo that he used isn’t entirely meaningless, but Gentry Stein won Nationals, not his yoyo.
When you buy brand quality is pretty much guaranteed. I’ve had some cheapies where I put more into fixing them than I did in buying the yoyo.
Agree, the yoyo is merely a tool.
I kinda late for this discussion though, I know some people might think they don’t need an expensive yoyo to enjoy yo-yoing, which I agree.
But to push that logic for people who could buy an expensive piece of craftsmanship, built to reflect the brand names, is kinda wrong.
I think just buy what you wouldenjoy, and let people enjoy theirs.