Anyone actually made a product and sold it?

[smurff]

Hi all,

My friend got made redundant a few months back and we have had chats about making something to sell. We had one or two ideas, nothing special, very niche etc etc.

Anyway, other than electronic projects or PIC programmers etc, has anyone ever made something and sold it?

Cheers and have a good weekend
Danny

 

[tcmtech]

I do a far amount of business making custom stuff! It pays very well!
Do some market research for things you are familiar with and build on that.

Do some advertising around places with people that have (or think they have)disposable incomes. Think about younger single people. They love spending piles of money on useless crap that looks like it really does something!
Dont concern yourself with how practical or functional something is if its custom. If the customer wants it and can pay, build it!
I do get loads of requests for dumb stuff though that is not practical or even possible. So there are times when the request for custom has to be denied too.

One big obstacle for most people that go self employed is over coming the fact that you dont get a paycheck every two weeks.
If you can budget properly the year round income can be far greater than the regular job pay but it often feast or famine. I can make $5000 in a week and then not make anything for a month or better.
When you got money pay the essential bills far in advance. I often pay my electricity, phone, insurance, and loan payments in advance when a large payment is taken in. You wont regret it later when there is a slow time and you dont have any money to work with!

A good money making secret is to bump the design price up a bit and then offer a cash discount! That works very well. But when it comes time to pay make sure its cash. I have a few retards that cant get past the fact a check is not cash. As soon as the check book comes out tell them the deal was for cash. If they argue stick to your higher price agreement and dont back down.
The people that want to pay me with checks after they have repeatedly been told payment was to be in cash are the ones that bounce checks!

If someone pays you and wants you to hold the check take measures that it will pass the day they said it will. Find out exactly what day his paycheck gets deposited and be at his bank waiting!
His check will only pass while there is still money in the account. So let his bad check writing be someone else's problem!

 

[smurff]

tcmtech,

Thanks. Made an interesting read.

Take care
Danny

 

[Ross Craney]

Back in the 70's I was making CDI ignition systems for speedway cars. This was about the time that transistor assisted ignitions were first appearing. Sold heaps & made a bundle $$.
What you need is to find something NEW that you can do well. Get in
early before others start doing it (maybe better / cheaper)

 

[smurff]

Thanks Ross. Easier said than done

 

[HiTech]

This little item isn't electronic but an old friend of mine (along with my help in the scale up production end of it) crafted up a valve core removal tool to safely remove cores from high pressure/high volume tires so as not to have the core jettison off in the meantime. He is an aviation tooler and being around aircraft he saw the need for such a device. There are copies of his design but they are not as effective as his is. Our little tool is made on solid titanium and threads onto a standard Shrader valve. The core is then unscrewed and safely trapped within the tool as air pressure escapes through two small holes. Unscrew the tool and the valve core comes with it. Safe, very effective, and the tool doesn't rust. Thousands have been sold to numerous airlines, the military, and Israel as well. A machine shop produces the parts on a larger scale, while he assembles them for shipment to a specialty supplier who then handles the sales.

 

[Mikebits]

I would think that anyone who has made a product, and has been successful in selling it is far to busy to visit forums.

 

[HiTech]

I would think that anyone who has made a product, and has been successful in selling it is far to busy to visit forums.

If your comment pertains to my above reply, you're somewhat mistaken. As I inferred, the tool is completely outsourced, including sales and advertising. My friend only assembles the three parts in his garage using a small punch press. When orders come in, he is notified of them and has a turn-around time to the supplier. There is a law firm that he retains to handle the business end of it all. Of course all this cuts into profits, however he can focus on other things in the meantime, like his present undertaking of trying to market a portable chiller. I receive a small compensation per order, for my initial efforts with the project. This tool is a specific use item and favored by the aviation industry primarily. Order numbers vary in amounts and frequency. He receives a tidy little sum of money periodically.

 

[Papabravo]

I've been doing it for a long time. Was there anything specific you wanted to ask about?

 

[Mikebits]

If your comment pertains to my above reply, you're somewhat mistaken. As I inferred, the tool is completely outsourced, including sales and advertising. My friend only assembles the three parts in his garage using a small punch press. When orders come in, he is notified of them and has a turn-around time to the supplier. There is a law firm that he retains to handle the business end of it all. Of course all this cuts into profits, however he can focus on other things in the meantime, like his present undertaking of trying to market a portable chiller. I receive a small compensation per order, for my initial efforts with the project. This tool is a specific use item and favored by the aviation industry primarily. Order numbers vary in amounts and frequency. He receives a tidy little sum of money periodically.

I was responding to the original post. To be honest I had not even read your post yet.

 

[tcmtech]

I would think that anyone who has made a product, and has been successful in selling it is far to busy to visit forums.

Maybe some of us have enough residual income coming off our stuff to not have to work very much and thusly donate our time to the good will cause of helping others!

Not every one is driven by the need or greed to have more money than what it takes to live life as we feel we are comfortable with now.
I am not well off but well enough to not feel that I have to work 50 hours a week 52 weeks out of the year.

And I do not care if people think I am lazy because they work that way and justify a persons standard of worth by hours worked and not by work accomplished.

Work smarter and let others work harder! I dont recall too many death bed confessions stories where the person dying said they wished they had worked more hours when they were alive and well!

 

[Triode]

of course, if your product is for electronics enthusiasts, being on this forum could actually be part of your buisiness.

 

[smurff]

I've been doing it for a long time. Was there anything specific you wanted to ask about?

Thanks for your comments all. But I or my friend have never made anything to sell before. Like I said, he has a job now (in the last few days) but its paying only half of his last job did. Thats what the discussion was about. Is it really worth trying to find a product, make it and sell it? How many people actually make enough money to pay the mortgage or is it like people trying to get into the music industry? e.g. 1 million fail 1 doesnt.

Just wanted to know peoples experiences. Did people take them serious? etc etc

I really appreciate anyones time to reply. Thanks again
Danny