How do you market and turn a profit on an idea that everyone will steal as soon as you reveal it. No real way to paten the idea and would be easy to copy it in other ways and steal the idea. It could be marketed to the Sharper Image crown for $99.99 or end up at Big Lots for $9.99. I would say its an idea similar too the pans with holes in the lids. Great idea that sold quick. But just as quick it had people stealing the idea and selling cheaper. So how do you make enough of a profit off a killer idea ASAP that everyone will steal. Is there any real way to get paid for the idea????? Would only take a sec and the docks would well over with copies from japan.
Sounds like the way you do it is to amass large quantities of the finished product and the flood the market with it! Lots of advertising right out of the gate. If it is a super idea, people will buy quick and you will make your profits before being undercut. The internet is a great way to spread an idea quickly. Being First to Market and having the quantities to meet the initial demand is how you would make your money. Or sell the idea to someone else, and make a portion of the money. When you approach a retailer, or anyone else (producer, supplier, financier, etc.) make sure you have them sign a Non Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement. Sames goes if you are going to sell the idea.
Well where do you start. I do not trust anthing you can find on ideas and inventions. How do you really find someone who will pay for a million dollar idea, without stealing it??? Of course i couldn't make one ir have the funds and last time I had a million dollar idea, it only took 6-8 months and it came to pass after a friend told me it was dumb. I wanted a new kind of can opener cause I hated geting tuna fish oil on my fingers when I goto drain it, 6-8 months later Black&Decker has the cordless can opner that hold it for you while you drain it over the sink. ou: Of course the friend had nothing to do with it being marketed but we were using ICQ and who knows.
You need much more than a great idea. You need a great idea that will make people want it. I used to work for a company that has an outsyanding product in the composites industry. It really works, and it also cures a common composites issue- delamination. The product is a carbon fiber pin that is ultrasonically inserted into a staged laminate, through a second laminate, and joins the two togeter. Aside from co-curing (staging each part and then curing them together- size is a huge issue for practical application), the only way to do it before was essentially glue or bolts. An adhesive needs to meet strict parameters and can fail, and a bolt needs a hole wich robs the laminate of strength. this stuff doesn't make a hole, it slips and slides around the fibers, leaving the panel as strong as before. It's like sliced bread, this stufff is so good. Took 10 years to get industry acceptance. Now it's on the F/A-18 E/F SuperHornet. I was a quality inspector, among other things, for the project for years. The problem was: the Navy knows bolts. they know what to expect with bolts. they like bolts because they are a known quantity. Winning them over was almost a flippin miracle. Commercial aviation, at least in the US, is still steering clear of the product, although they continue to R+D stuff with the company. Only military contractors like Sikorsky and Boeing/Northrop have taken the plunge with this stuff, or something similar that the company makes. I'm not too sure I can talk about the particulars more than that. The funniest thing is: now I work for a company that makes the parts that my old company will join to the F-18! (Plus I got a raise):laugh: So, take your great idea, and make sure that someone wants to buy it. A great idea doesn't make you money if nobody knows about it or won't be the first to use it.
Oh yea, once listed in the Sharper Image catalog every yuppi in the world will have one. Give one as a gift and have one at work. Its a money maker for sure. You would like one its so cool. Its so cool it could be rush out for this chirstmas and still turn a big buck.
You either have to have the BIG $$$ to try and do it yourself OR--you could license the idea to someone who has the wherewithal to do so. First thing you HAVE TO DO IS PROTECT YOURSELF, even if you think it's useless---that way if the idea is a success for you, you then have something to "fall back on" in terms of protecting your rights. Put it this way---if you did not protect the item via patent and copywright registration and you started selling it successfully(ie making good money) then you have left yourself open to getting ripped off. Without any protection, you have no way of enforcing your rights should the product be successful. Manufacturing and selling the product without any protection is just asking for it----if you can't afford to protect it then you can't afford the much higher costs associated with marketing and making the product. The few thousand you will spend getting patent and/or copywright protection will pale in comparison to the other costs you will incur to make and market the item. I've seen those shows on Discovery Channel, etc --- don't fool yourself into thinking this is a "laydown"---- there are tens of thousands of these ideas out there---all these people going to these inventor's conventions and showing their products---all vying for the attention of a few buyers. As they showed the various inventions they all looked cool and useful --BUT ONLY A HANDFUL EVER GET TO THE POINT OF BEING SOLD IN ANY SUCCESSFUL QUANTITIES. These sellers-Sharper Image, etc. are INUNDATED WITH IDEAS!!!---they probably turn down thousands of ideas a year, Protection first, then TIME, PERSISTENCE, and a whole lot of money if you want to do it yourself. Patton BTW What exactly is it?
The first thing you have to do is research - research if a patent for your idea already exists. Just assuming it doesnt because no product like it is currently available for sale is a wrong conclusion. Many, Many patents are issued and their related products never manufactured. This alone can cost thousands of dollars to research properly.....which brings me to costs. Unless you have the personal financial backing to manufacture and market sucha "gizmo" you will need alot of money in startup costs. This leads to...... investment backer of some kind......there are plenty of them out there. The FIRST THING YOU MUST DO is sign a non-disclosure agreement which means, you tell them your Idea and they are forbidden to take it and produce it without your involvement. This is how you protect your intellectual property. Once this is done, you will be required to detail your "gizmo" in writing to them. They will either accept the idea or reject it. If they accept, they will usually start doing the research phase on there own. If the turnuot is good, then you will enter an agreement with them. This agreement can vary widely from them purchasing your idea from you for a stated amount, to them providing you with the capital to "set up shop" and start production. The former gives you alot les potential money in your pocket....but its money immediately in your pocket. The Latter will require Alot more from you to prove to them your capabilities in handling the job at hand. ....or you could always call Ron Poepiel :laugh: Yes....I've been down this road myself a few times hope this helps......
To Alan's point, there may exist Intellectual Property that affects your idea. While I'm sure the idea is probably original to you, you may not be the first to have it (if you know what I mean). If you're serious about it, you can conduct your own search (for a subscription fee) here: http://www.delphion.com/ Or go straight to here and do a search: http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/search-bool.html And if you think there's a foreign market, you'll need to search foreign patents as well. Good luck, it isn't as easy and simple as it might appear to commercialize a successful product. Not trying to discourage you, but as Alan put it, "I've been down this road myself a few times".
