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  1. #1
    Just curious.

    Most on here I guess are weekend dabblers...but maybe some may have an end product in mind (if for no other reason than to justify the time & expense of their pastime!) end- so just wondering if antone has ever got a product to market?

    I think we're stuffed here in the UK - think about the amount of widgets & sub widget-ettes going into even the most simplest of products - a quote from a british company is inevitably going to be a little chunky (which would need to be passed on into the final selling price - pricing your product out the mkt) & my Cantonese (which is where things get produced at a better rate) isn't what it should be...so what's a guy to do?!!

    It's be nice to hear some uplifiting stories of folks on here actually getting a product to market? (or even stories from those who are thinking about it)

  2. #2
    Chas's Avatar
    Lives in Nottingham(ish), United Kingdom. Last Activity: 09-03-2013 Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 55. Received thanks 2 times, giving thanks to others 2 times.
    Tell me about it, I'm banging my head trying to go to market with my prototypes. I have proven designs for a proven & profitable market.

    All I need is a helping hand to guide me through the remaining stages. I have the funding & I have the marketing but I DON'T have the knowledge of how to get the product manufactured & packaged.

    At every stage of my project I have been quoted TOP $dollar for each service, I'm green but I'm not StOOpiD.

    UK manufacturing Co's obviously don't need the work, I've been quoted 2x the market price for the raw material & up to 4x the going rate for CNC milling. A packaging Co' I approached wanted £7 per box (200of) for a simple 200mm X 100mm X 50mm carton.

    If I can get a start, my business plan calls for a £500k turnover after 3yrs. If no one's prepared to manufacture my first qty' 200 at a price that will give me a 40% gross margin then it's not going to happen.

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  4. #3
    Trying to get anything done in the UK unless you can do it all yourself is a waste of time.
    Nothing I have done can be done in the UK due to high costs or short sightedness.

    I approached Crawford collets about one attachment, they quoted absolute telephone numbers, wanted a pre paid minimum order for 500 and quoted 6 month development and delivery for a part that consisted of two pieces.

    The Chinese did it in 3 months, including shipping, minimum order of 50 and 1/8th of Crawfords price.

    John S.
    John S -

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  6. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by HankMcSpank View Post
    just wondering if antone has ever got a product to market?
    When I got made redundant I did it, rather a big incentive being thrown on the scrap heap. I bought "Contents of the workshop and work in progress" from the liquidator for £800 and made enough money to pay for the injection tooling. I started making my "chronoscopes" at home, couldn't keep up, then China found me. I sell them for £34+tax and I have sold 26,426 to date. I also licenced the metric version which did very well in the toy shops of Tokyo

    A new product requires a champion if it is to succeed. Someone who will throw money at it and keeps pushing. That's you. You have to fix every problem as it crops up because nobody else will do it for you, nobody cares if your brill' idea goes down the plug hole. It takes over your life.

    After you do it once, people start emailing you because they have had a marvellous idea and want you to do all the spade work to make them rich. They can never understand why you seem totally uninterested.

    "Produce a quality product then strive to improve it".

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  8. #5
    The thing is, my little product calls for a couple of oddball things that I don't even know where to go knocking! for example a 3cm bit of spring stainless (or plated) steel, bent over on itself to about 110 degrees - with a small elongated slot on one of the legs for an M3 screw to go through (so it can be positioned/adjusted to suit) - now where do I go for one of those?!! (ok, I can probably fashion something that'll do - but do I really want to test my market with something 'that'll do"). Now in my naive little world, something like that ought to cost about 20p, but once i do eventually find someone to ask, you can bet you bottom dollar I'll get reamed!

    Another example - a custom plastic case to hold a small pcb - it's got to look nice (we live in an Ipod generation which has set the bar impossibly high) - I wouldn't even dream of approaching a Uk manafacturer (or else there goes my profit)...so who to ask - and can you imagine the diffs with language barriers, timezones, samples etc ....dealing with Asia etc.

    China is the obvious place but where the hell do you even go - I've not found a "So you want a widget X quote but don't know who to ask" website online.

    What the chinese need is an agency/office here in the Uk, where I can turn up, desciibe what I need ......they phone a few trustworthy people their end & bingo...I've got my 'factory' lead! (or even better ....a quote)

    But this is like swimming through treacle!

    I find myself looking at the cheapest & nastiest of 99p toys & being amazed at the amount of seperate components involved (a chassis/case, an axle, a motor, switches, LEDS, battery compartment, a sound chip, speaker, wires etc - etc ...& on it goes) all the sheer number of parts, different 'disciplines' (& factories) needed to bring that whole thing together ...and still make make a profit selling it wholesale for probably near 10p!

    And don't get me started on patents!!!!
    Last edited by HankMcSpank; 11-11-2010 at 02:02 PM.

  9. #6
    I don't think you have the right frame of mind for manufacturing yet. You have met obstacles and started complaining rather than deciding how you will overcome them. Stand back and look at it again. Start by redesigning your spring so it can be made from wire, you will get your target price at much lower quantities. You do have target prices, don't you?

  10. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt View Post
    I don't think you have the right frame of mind for manufacturing yet. You have met obstacles and started complaining rather than deciding how you will overcome them. Stand back and look at it again. Start by redesigning your spring so it can be made from wire, you will get your target price at much lower quantities. You do have target prices, don't you?
    At least allow me 5 mins to complain amongst those with similar frustrations!

    Believe me - I spend every waking minute trying to overcome them (the spring steel is a minor one - and I'll circumvent it, but just happens to be the most current) - this is bordering on obsession!

    Re redesigning the spring - I see your angle, but it needs to be robust & erhm springy-backy-ish (else the whole thing will not work properly soon after someone has bought one!)

    Re target prices - well I know my target selling price, & I know what most of the parts to make it will cost me, & I know what margin I seek - with all those variables to hand, I therefore know how much I'm prepared to spend on the 'widgets' I've still to source ...but then there's the 'HankMCSpank is it worth that-o-meter' (patent pending)

    For example, when youve busted a gut to source 95% of the parts for under a tenner - then one simple mini part costing £3.00 sticks in the throat!

    Anyway, vent over - I look forward to similar stories coming - well done btw with your product - that's seriously good revenue! Off to research chronoscopes now (just kidding!)

  11. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by HankMcSpank View Post
    - this is bordering on obsession!
    That is a much better frame of mind :naughty:

  12. #9
    NB70's Avatar
    Lives in Swansea, United Kingdom. Last Activity: 22-05-2023 Has been a member for 9-10 years. Has a total post count of 61. Received thanks 10 times, giving thanks to others 9 times.
    Quote Originally Posted by HankMcSpank View Post
    What the chinese need is an agency/office here in the Uk, where I can turn up, desciibe what I need ......they phone a few trustworthy people their end & bingo...I've got my 'factory' lead! (or even better ....a quote)
    Have you ever tried mfg.com for quotes? I haven't but it looks like one way to get quotes from China. I imagine that the initial setting up of the tooling etc accounts for a lot of the costs- so you need to order in big quantities to get a good price per part.

  13. use alibaba .com
    use gold rated contacts only if your parting with big bucks!

    Quote Originally Posted by HankMcSpank View Post
    The thing is, my little product calls for a couple of oddball things that I don't even know where to go knocking! for example a 3cm bit of spring stainless (or plated) steel, bent over on itself to about 110 degrees - with a small elongated slot on one of the legs for an M3 screw to go through (so it can be positioned/adjusted to suit) - now where do I go for one of those?!! (ok, I can probably fashion something that'll do - but do I really want to test my market with something 'that'll do"). Now in my naive little world, something like that ought to cost about 20p, but once i do eventually find someone to ask, you can bet you bottom dollar I'll get reamed!

    Another example - a custom plastic case to hold a small pcb - it's got to look nice (we live in an Ipod generation which has set the bar impossibly high) - I wouldn't even dream of approaching a Uk manafacturer (or else there goes my profit)...so who to ask - and can you imagine the diffs with language barriers, timezones, samples etc ....dealing with Asia etc.

    China is the obvious place but where the hell do you even go - I've not found a "So you want a widget X quote but don't know who to ask" website online.

    What the chinese need is an agency/office here in the Uk, where I can turn up, desciibe what I need ......they phone a few trustworthy people their end & bingo...I've got my 'factory' lead! (or even better ....a quote)

    But this is like swimming through treacle!

    I find myself looking at the cheapest & nastiest of 99p toys & being amazed at the amount of seperate components involved (a chassis/case, an axle, a motor, switches, LEDS, battery compartment, a sound chip, speaker, wires etc - etc ...& on it goes) all the sheer number of parts, different 'disciplines' (& factories) needed to bring that whole thing together ...and still make make a profit selling it wholesale for probably near 10p!

    And don't get me started on patents!!!!

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