Help me get my part on the market on a grassroots budget

This morning I got an idea for a part that I think would be popular for the track and offroad crowd. A simple thing that maybe costs $8 to build and would be easy to install. I think if I sold them for $20 nobody would bat an eye.

Now here's the best part, it's NOT ALREADY PATENTED I can't believe it. This is amazing. This is GREAT!

What now? Patent applications for the USPTO cost about $10k right? Well look where we are, I don't have that money lying around. At $12 profit I'd have to sell 834 to make that back, which given the number of people alive racing cars right now, is probably the most I could hope for...in total.

Should I just sell them and see what I can make before some megacorp patents my design and takes away my customers? Anyone done anything like this before?

I think it used to be you could start selling with no patent and not prevent competitors but no one could squeeze you out. I think the law changed where it is now first to file so if you invent something and sell it with no patent a megacorp could decide that's a great idea file a patent and then force you to stop selling. I may be wrong about this (and hope I am) but that was my understanding of recent law changes

That's what I understand as well. This problem happens every single day in the software world, and has been happening for a long time, so I'm trying not to step right into the very same problem.

I have been down this road a coupe times. There is an initial application that you file that costs something like $100. This gives you something like a year to file the full application. Ever seen "Paten Pending" on a product? This is what they are really talking about and it locks in a filing date for the paten. It also lets you get your product out there and test the waters before you spend a bunch of cash on a full blown paten. Another thing is that a paten should not cost you 10K. 3-4K (even less) is a more reasonable number if you do the legwork your self. With on line search ability of the database the days of going to Washington and manually searching there files are over.

I'd go for the initial application no problem...but once costs go into the 4-digit range it starts to make a lot less sense.

Apply for patent for the $100. Build some and sell them see how the selling goes over the year then either finish the patent or not. Also maybe someone will buy the patent off you.

Also I know you are full of optimism and everything but be realistic. I am doing something similar (rebuilding Porsche steering shafts) and bringing something or some service to market is a lot harder than you can ever imagine. I had visions of a new 996 in the garage and quitting my job at first but the reality is it pays for a family vacation one a year and keeps my cars on the road. One thing that most people under estimate is the time involved. Emails and phone calls from customers (this little thing called customer service and I encourage my customers to call me) takes allot of time. Just packaging and shipping things. And the cost of shipping materials. I am not trying to be the wet blanket just a realist. Think it through get out a piece of paper and walk your self through the process of getting the wiget from nothing to the customer and then put time to each thing. You will quickly find out that your proposed sell price is way to cheap. Ohya, another thing. Book keeping and records of sale. I offer a 90 day replacement warranty (IT is a rebuild not new) so I have to keep records of each unit sold and when and to who.

So in short I wish you all the luck. We need more people like you. I much prefer doing business with the little guy.

Full of optimism? Hardly But it is easier to get excited about small amounts of money in the 3rd world

Datsun1500 wrote: If you are saying that at best you will sell under 1,000 of them why bother worrying if someone will squeeze you out? No company will bother with a market that small. It's probably not already patented for that reason

Not sure that's the case. Look at the number of Chinese knock off's of every racing product on the market already on e-bay. There are even 'respected' aftermarket suppliers who are known to knock off other peoples products and either under sell them or out market them while selling for more $$"s

Also why $20 as the selling price, why not $30, $40 or $50. If it costs $8 to make and you sell 1000 your profit is $12k. If you charge $35 and 'only' sell 800 as a result you've now made $21.6k profit that gives you the $$'s to develop your next product.

On a side note I sold my first unit to Norway the other day. The web is a wonderful thing!

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Not sure that's the case. Look at the number of Chinese knock off's of every racing product on the market already on e-bay. There are even 'respected' aftermarket suppliers who are known to knock off other peoples products and either under sell them or out market them while selling for more $$"s

This is why I wouldn't go the "outsource to Chinese factory" route. Because they'd just turn them out after hours and sell them on the side for $2 profit.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Also why $20 as the selling price, why not $30, $40 or $50. If it costs $8 to make and you sell 1000 your profit is $12k. If you charge $35 and 'only' sell 800 as a result you've now made $21.6k profit that gives you the $$'s to develop your next product.

It's a pretty simple thing, I figure $20 approaches the point where the grassroots-minded like ourselves would start to consider building our own (you could probably hack a large and ugly version of it together for about $20-30 in off-the-shelf parts). The Shiny New High-End Sports Car crowd wouldn't blink at $100 I'm sure But yeah $20 is a conservative estimate for a sale price.

GameboyRMH wrote: It's a pretty simple thing, I figure $20 approaches the point where the grassroots-minded like ourselves would start to consider building our own (you could probably hack a large and ugly version of it together for about $20-30 in off-the-shelf parts). The Shiny New High-End Sports Car crowd wouldn't blink at $100 I'm sure But yeah $20 is a conservative estimate for a sale price.

Two versions then, the down and dirty $20-35 one and the blinged up high falutin version for $100 sold through Excellence and Roundel etc. I'll take a prototype ILO payment for besiness advice rendered

I was actually thinking of having two version already, one with manual controls on the part itself and one with in-dash electric controls. The electric controls wouldn't even double the production cost...

GameboyRMH wrote: I was actually thinking of having two version already, one with manual controls on the part itself and one with in-dash electric controls. The electric controls wouldn't even double the production cost...

Ssshhhhhh.

Folks, he's wrong, the controls will quadruple his costs that's he's already underestimated 2-3 times. He needs to charge more for this widget. Please send all enquires to me and I'll let you know the truth on pricing.

Just watching your back here dude!

Found a factory part for a car, intended for something different, which with just two cheap bits added on would serve the role of the electric control variant of this part.

It costs $100

Edit: Phew, found a couple different ways to replace the $100 part with a $30 one.

OK so to assemble this thing from off-the-shelf parts it's looking like about $40 for the manual model and $60 for the electric control model.

i think you're going to take a beating if you sell them at $20 apiece.

Also, what is the perception of a $20 part? A more expensive part may actually provide a better image of quality, even though it is the same exact product. While others could put it together for less, who's to say that people would be willing to go through the work?

Umm... Kickstarter?

Thought about crowdfunding, it requires me to give away the idea before I have anything to sell.

Kickstarter's policy specifically excludes automotive stuff.

Wow that's weird...but they have all kinds of weird rules. There are plenty of similar services such as Indiegogo, Autosport Labs used them for the Race Capture Pro.

I'll take my 100-mpg with the electric choke, please. Where do I send the $60 to?

forget the patent- just make a bunch, sell as many as you can, and move on to something else by the time a bigger company notices it and makes their own copy...

You are being pessimistic.

Your market is bigger, and your pricetag is bigger. People are NOT interested in building it themselves.

Those who are would never buy it at any price. They are not your market.

Never try to sell a product to DIYers that they can build themselves. They won't buy.

Do a little studying of JG's camera dollie inventions. He's doing very well assembling stuff any DIYer could do in an evening, and PLENTY of people are paying him to do it.