Re: Very cheap molded enclosures?

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 22:02:06 +0100, the renowned "Frank Bemelman"
<f.bemelmanq@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>"Joerg" <notthisjoergsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> schreef in bericht
>news:wxZnf.40021$D13.30667@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>> I strongly believe there is a market and that many products never come
>> to fruition because the enclosure costs are breaking the deal. So there
>> should be a healthy market. I really don't know why box mfgs don't offer
>> boxes with some standard size holes in them for switches, potmeters,
>> LEDs. Then they could offer plugs for those holes that you don't want
>> and it should be the often cited win-win situation.
>
>That's a daft idea. The holes would always be in the wrong place, or
>even worse, slightly misplaced. The plugs would cost 2 cents which you
>find too expensive.
>
>Products come to fruition because some companies have the guts to
>get on with it.
>
>If you plan to make a 10k-20k/year of these boxes, you should at least
>have the guts to buy 1000 cases at *whatever* it costs to see if your
>product flies. You are *making* it an impossible project, because you
>want to make profit on the first box.
>
>Did you buy a few of those cable testers? No, of course not. You're
>not even prepared to buy them, rip them apart, to 'massage' your own
>creativity, and to see what happens, to see if it sprouts other ideas.
>You only see elephants that crush your boxes, you only see 9V batteries
>that you don't like, warranty claims, stickers that were too expensive,
>and what have you.
>
>Make 1000 boxes for $15 a piece, and sell them for $5. You can save
>a buck if you drill them yourself, using a steel template/rig, if
>that makes you sleep better. The $10.000 loss on the first batch
>is just an investment.

Good advice, though I think I'd try to make 500 for $7500.

In any case, you don't want a product like that that only sells 500
per year. If it fails in the marketplace, forget it. If it succeeds,
go buy the proper tooling. Consider it "forward pricing" or a
marketing experiment.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@xxxxxxxxxxxx Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
.

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