Design/Manufacturing/3pl/Shopping cart.

[hoganfarter]

Dear Forum Frequenters,
The 4HWW is my bible.
I have had a product/business idea at the forefront of my mind for a long time now and being completely inexperienced and untrained I have procrastinated and stagnated any progress on it. I need advice.

My product idea is for a 'Novelty with a function' type of product, similar to the 'Snuggie', or the 'Orabrush'. Both are novelty, unpatentable products, they have a function, both being a little humorous, big novelty factor, and rely a lot good marketing. My idea is in this category, but may be less mass marketable (probably cannot be sold to As Seen On Tv), which is ok, as I have some good marketing ideas primarily YouTube videos and Iphone game ideas and social networking ideas. I am yet to progress past this ideas/planning stage as one, I do not know how to find a manufacturer, find a 3pl, shopping cart system etc, and secondly I am a poor student and only have 5k finance.

After some research, I am confident I can get a Cad design and prototype on Elance for very cheap 500-1k at most. I am confident I can get a good website for cheap as well. But I do not know where to start with Finding Manufacturer quotes to see if this is even possible to start as a business? and also cannot find a suitable 3PL? for such a small novelty idea.

Ideally I want this product, to be manufactured cheaply in china (it is a small low weight plastic product so it can be cheap), shipped to a 3pl in America (as the market will be there), and then a shopping cart system on my website will do most of the rest. How the hell do I fill in the gaps though, from my desk in Australia???

Thanks everyone, Any help at all will be appreciated.

[Sven]

- does it need to be assembled?
- How many pieces is the the product when unassembled
- what price range are you aiming for?
- does it need a manual?

Need some more input...

[hoganfarter]

I have yet to develop an exact official design,
But the product is very simple, it is basically a small nearly enclosed rectangular plastic and rubber box, with an opening door, dimensions around 26cm high, 35cm wide, hopefully with a logo sticker or plastic imprinting of logo on one of the sides. More or less, it will look like a large plastic shoe box.

In effort to keep shipping and warehousing costs low, I would aim for the design to make the box somehow foldable and flat packed, or possibly come in 2 pieces that lock into place, the 2 pieces being flat packed and then easily assembled by the user. I am making the assumption at the moment, that a flat packed object, will be cheaper to warehouse and ship, then a larger box shaped product of the same weight.

It should not need a manual.

I know I should have an exact design ready, I am yet commit financially to have a design made up, until I get confidence that setting up the business is even possible on a small budget. ie: Small order contract manufacturers exist, can make it cheaply, can accept very small initial orders, molds and tooling and start up costs for the manufacturer aren't too expensive. And then I can figure out how the batch gets shipped to a 3pl. and etc.

Selling cost would be around $20.

Common sense estimates tells me a plastic and rubber box, must cost only a few cents to 1/2 dollars each to make in china, and then maybe a few dollars each to ship to 3pl. Though, clearly, it is not as simple as that.

[pharmsj4]

Market it first, see if it'll catch on without actually producing it.. save yourself 500-1k in manufacturing by spending 100-300 on a graphic designer to render it and a sales page.

[Sven]

Well, if 20.-- is the price you sell the thing for (instead of marketing costs for selling 1) I think it can not be done... Not even in 100,000s.

Making 1 simple small mould would cost 1,000s if not 10s of 1,000s, Your idea suggests more than 1 big mould.

You call the box small but it is actually the size of a toolbox and those cost more than 20.-- All of this without any serious room for profit margin for your development.

I think you need to scrap mould making and go for adapting something ready made. But again, 20.00 will leave very little room for profit.

[hoganfarter]

Thanks for the responses Sven and pharmsj4,
I really like both your suggestions.

Current mold estimates from local (australian) makers, based only on description and no 2d3dCAD files, are between 7,000 and 15,000.

I am strongly considering now getting a real 2d3d CAD design made up, by a professional, who can keep mold manufacturing costs in mind. Then I can get proper quotes from mold makers and manufacturers, hopefully in places where the labor costs are cheaper than Australia. It still might be possibly affordable to have a mold made, if its 7-15K here, maybe a small order manufacturer could make one for half that in China, if a reasonable order was placed through them, there has to be cheap options out there. still looking.....

Secondly, the 3d rendered image to use for a simple sales page, to test the market, my first thought being through facebook ads (am yet to research the feasibility of this). ie: facebook ad --> sales page --> click to buy button --> sorry we are currently of stock notice

Thirdly re-purposing an already mass manufactured similar box shaped product seems a very interesting prospect! a quick search on alibaba.com has showed up a plethora of options, none yet completely suitable, but all are indicating a much more affordable option. ie: 10 cents per plastic box per 5000 order, if I found a suitable one product, possibly between manufacturer and 3pl somewhere a logo sticker could be put on it, and it is now a complete product. It would be compromise in quality, but then again it is a novelty gift product. All very hypothetical at the moment, but options worth considering.

Thank you both.

Sonny