[ale] OT: Manufacturing an idea....

[hbbs at attbi.com]

FWIW, eBay does have "fixed price" auctions now, but the only real benefit there
vs. selling from your own site is the inclusion of your item in eBay's search space.

- Jeff
> No.
> 
> If the item is fresh off the diagram sheet, a single prototype exists, and
> you don't have suppliers for the parts yet, why would you even CONSIDER
> taking orders? Plus, no bank would give any crackpot with a napkin sketch
> of their invention to "get started"... not to imply you're a crackpot,
> John; I'm speaking from the bank's point of view.
> 
> And eBay? For a product that has just reached the prototype phase? That's
> the worst advice ever. You're giving your idea away to the entire
> internet, giving anyone the chance to duplicate it and beat you to
> development, Plus, an auction? You're not even selling anything. What
> would you tell bidders? "This isn't a real auction; I'm gauging interest
> in my potential product." Unless of course you plan on selling the
> prototype, but erm, why?
> 
> Seriously. Real advice would be to talk to a lawyer first; one who knows
> patents. As for suppliers and manufacturers, it depends on what it is
> you're planning to make. If you tell a company that makes and supplies
> electronic components in bulk, typically you can give their sales
> department a call and say "Look, I'm considering mass-producing $widget,
> and I'm considering using your $doodad. You think you could send me over a
> lender sample of $doodad to see if it fits my needs?" If you plan to make
> lots of your $widget, they'll enjoy the idea of being your supplier and
> they'll typically send you a single demo unit of their $doodad. 
> 
> As for custom manufacturing, I'm not entirely sure about that. I would
> definitely say to talk to a lawyer first, so that you can establish that
> this is your idea, and you're considering taking it to this company to
> find out about custom manufacturing it. So that way if they turn you down,
> and a year later they introduce $wadget, you can say "wait a minute!"
> 
> Legal security of your idea is the first step, not the prototype. Good
> luck.
> 
> -- 
> Christopher R. Curzio     |  Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax
> http://www.accipiter.org  |  si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
> :wq!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thus Spake tom hawks <tomhawks801 at yahoo.com>:
> Wed, 14 May 2003 07:22:48 -0700 (PDT)
> 
> 
> > Building a prototype is the first step. If you can
> > shop it around and maybe spark some interest and
> > possibly an order, banks would be likely to lend you
> > the money to get started. What you could do is stick
> > it on Ebay to guage the interest level.
> > 
> > tom
> > --- John Wells <jb at sourceillustrated.com> wrote:
> > > As I know at least one of you (Bergeron) is going
> > > through this right
> > > now...
> > > 
> > > Say you have an idea for particular
> > > invention/product, but this product
> > > would require numerous electrical components and
> > > assembly, or even
> > > possibly custom component manufacture...where do you
> > > start tracking down
> > > suppliers/manufacturers?  What are the steps
> > > involved in taking your
> > > product from paper to prototype?
> > > 
> > > Thanks,
> > > 
> > > John
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
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