Sounds like a newish bow-technician was told "the strings have to be replaced by factory strings", which is not accurate. Plenty of aftermarket strings available, sometimes at a higher quality than the factory supplied strings. Some guys even have a strong enough preference for one string manufacturer, so they replace the factory strings upon purchase of a new bow even, which is a bit much IMO, but hey, whatever! (There are some components that should be replaced with factory/OEM components - limbs, cams, draw stops, etc. - but strings is definitely NOT one of those items.)
The shop makes/stretches their own strings but said that they can’t do that for the saddle strings and they would have to order those from Mathews. The bow and all its components are in great shape. I just wanted to replace the stock zebra strings as I noticed them stretching and have to readjust my sight every 200 shots or so.
I haven’t seen any string/cable sets come with new yoke donuts. The donuts typically get reused when changing the string/cables, so the ones on your bow are probably the original ones installed by Mathews at the factory.
that’s just plain dumb. Order a set from a reputable maker. They’ll build you a complete set including the yokes. I personally wouldn’t put parts of two different string sets on my bow unless it was an emergency rebuild to get back hunting.
Yeah that's not really true. I work in a bow shop and we order the 5 part custom strings from 4 different manufactures without any issues.
