Yb 3 Cu 6 Sn 5 , Yb 5 Cu 1 1 Sn 8 and Yb 3 Cu 8 Sn 4 compounds were prepared in sealed Ta crucibles by induction melting and subsequent annealing. The crystal structures of Yb 3 Cu 6 Sn 5 and Yb 5 Cu 1 1 Sn 8 were determined from single crystal diffractometer data: Yb 3 Cu 6 Sn 5 , isotypic with Dy 3 Co 6 Sn 5 , orthorhombic, Immm, oI28, a=4.365(1)A, b=9.834(3)A, c=12.827(3)A, Z=2, R=0.019, 490 independent reflections, 28 parameters; Yb 5 Cu 1 1 Sn 8 with its own structure, orthorhombic, Pmmn, oP48, a=4.4267(6)A, b=22.657(8)A, c=9.321(4)A, Z=2, R=0.047, 1553 independent reflections, 78 parameters. Both compounds belong to the BaAl 4 -derived defective structures, and are closely related to Ce 3 Pd 6 Sb 5 (oP28, Pmmn). The crystal structure of Yb 3 Cu 8 Sn 4 , isotypic with Nd 3 Co 8 Sn 4 , was refined from powder data by the Rietveld method: hexagonal, P6 3 mc, hP30, a=9.080(1)A, c=7.685(1)A, Z=2, R w p =0.040. It is an ordered substitution derivative of the BaLi 4 type (hP30, P6 3 /mmc). All compounds show strong Cu-Sn bonds with a length reaching 2.553(3)A in Yb 5 Cu 1 1 Sn 8 .