Selling Ideas

[Mr Invention]

Selling Ideas

by Mr Invention » Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:57 am

Mr Invention

Green Belt

 

Posts: 180

Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:23 am

Please help us or at least me, by telling what ideas you have sold or licensed, to whom and did you make any money? Most importantly did you achieve this success without any money? I have been looking for a person just like you for years and now that I have found you, I would like very much for you to tell me your secret of success? If I had had this information 40 years ago I would have passed on your information and helped a lot of people with a lot of idea but no money. Thank you.

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[Toymaker]

Re: Selling Ideas

by Toymaker » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:18 am

Toymaker

White Belt

 

Posts: 42

Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:54 am

Please help us or at least me, by telling what ideas you have sold or licensed, to whom and did you make any money? Most importantly did you achieve this success without any money?

Hi Mr Invention

If you haven't already done so, please take a look at my website (www.conceptioneering.co.uk), it's not fully up to date (there are a few more to add) but it will give you an overview of what I have achieved to date, the products I have conceived and the manufacturers who I sold to. Some of my inventions have sold millions of units, so the royalties have been very good. My business was completely self-financed from the start, but in all honesty it was very hard at the beginning (7 years ago). I always try to encourage fellow inventors that with perseverance the dream is possible but (as with all things in life) luck has a part to play. As I have said in another post, in my opinion the biggest lesson is knowing when to move on to the next idea if placement is unsuccessful. I have seen so many inventors spending a lifetime (and all their hard earned money) pursuing an idea that will never (unfortunately) get to market.

Toymaker

Conceptioneering Ltd - Inventors of the Award winning Cube World - Visit: www.radicagames.com/cubeworld/index.php
To see Product Innovation - visit our website at www.conceptioneering.co.uk

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[Mr Invention]

Getting Product Placed on Retail Shelves

by Mr Invention » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:02 am

Mr Invention

Green Belt

 

Posts: 180

Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:23 am

Toymaker, correct me if I am wrong but after having gone through your entire web page, would it be fair to say that what you contributed to each of those product by providing one or more components for the finished product? Also can any of those products be seen in any retail stores here in the United States? I am sure that you are aware there is a difference of having an idea in the R&D stage and manufacturing stage than actually having sold product and it being available to the general public for purchase (I owned retail stores for 20 years). I am glad to see that you did in fact indicate you did spend money of which most of it was yours initially. Not unlike myself over 40 years ago with my first idea and no money other than the equity that I had in my home which I sold and move me and my family into a small apartment only to go on and misspend over $10,000 in 1960's dollars on stupid mistakes. Even back then as a bank vice president I was unable to find investors and I was aware of every type of lending organization in the world. I was curious if you are involved in the marketing of any of the products you have on your web page or is that solely the responsibility of the company that licenses your idea or components therein. I am very familiar with licensing and the percentage of royalities offered by such companies and I feel safe in saying that not every licensed idea gives his or her originator large returns. If I am not mistaken, the UK's currency is the pound verus the Euro which if you are involved in any of the financial aspects of getting product to market on an international level, that has become quite difficult because of the rate of exchange. You may not be involved in that aspect of the idea business whereas I am involved in all aspects of getting an idea to market and that would be and is a major uncontrolable factor for me to deal with now. With the rate of currency exchange with countries that have Euro's and the cost per barrel of crude oil, my shipping cost for importation of 20 and 40 foot containers of components has skyrocketed (Raised substantially). I have only been involved in one game (Take Two) that we researched, developed, marketed and manufactured and because of my clients limited budget we were not able to afford components such as those that you make or out source but we go the job done. Do you infact manufacture any components or prototypes and if you do what is the price range for such parts or services? The reason I ask is because we are thinking about putting together a new product that will require such components. It is nice to communicate with a person that has actually done something with his or her idea even though it may be regulated/limited to licensing only. Thank you.

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[Toymaker]

Re: Getting Product Placed on Retail Shelves

by Toymaker » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:43 am

Toymaker

White Belt

 

Posts: 42

Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:54 am

Hi Mr Invention.... my inventions/concepts are available in many (many) countries around the World. In the US, Cube World (including Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and Cube World Places) have and are still being sold in Walmart, Target, KB toys, Toys R Us, Brookstones, Amazon and many other stores. Our other toys have been sold in Walmart, Dollar General etc. In Japan Bandai Cube World is very popular across the country.

You are right about the currency, because we are paid in US Dollars for some of our big items, we lose a lot of money on the money conversion! We now forward sell dollars where we can (when the rates are a bit better).

We produce all the prototypes here, and that's another big plus for us - we can produce specialist ICs, develop specialist electronics and we have access to a great model maker. This is a critical point today, manufacturers want to see working (proof of concept) prototypes - a few years ago it was possible to get concepts in with just 'concept drawings', but this doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

We are not manufacturers, but purely an inventing house. We do, however, from time to time undertake briefed work, but it all depends on how busy our development schedule is at that particular time. We have also been able to help a couple of inventors who have approached us, but it has to be a really good concept that we feel fits our market sectors (being toy, games, and gifts).

Toymaker

Conceptioneering Ltd - Inventors of the Award winning Cube World - Visit: www.radicagames.com/cubeworld/index.php
To see Product Innovation - visit our website at www.conceptioneering.co.uk

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[Mr Invention]

It takes money to make money

by Mr Invention » Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:28 am

Mr Invention

Green Belt

 

Posts: 180

Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:23 am

I have never been able to get any of the 125 different items that we have manufactured (100 of them were home accessories, gifts, novelities and souvenirs) on shelves just by merely showing a potential retailer, jobber or distributor a picture or drawing. When I was on the road with vans that we set up as mobile display room marketing, we had to have finished product with at least five price breaks. We would have to wait in line with the large buyers at their district headquarters and were given from 5 to 15 minutes to give our presentation and demostration of our finished product. That is another thing that novice inventors think they can do and that is merely sell a patent (If in fact they have money for a patent and the technical drawing can be duplicated, which in some cases they can't be. I don't want to get started on patents, it would take a three day symposium to explain that process) with a drawing in it to a buyer which doesn't happen and as for licensing, the couple of incidents that I am familiar with, the person had actually done the prototyping and had his manufacturer lined up, which in my mind, he had done everything and should have gone to market himself without licensing for a royality of a few pennies on a dollar sale (The return is a little bit better than what a recording artist make per record sale). I refer to getting a patent as 5% of the total package requirement and having an idea as 1% inspiration, leaving the really hard part (Marketing). I have been working on one project now for almost three years and it appears as the multinational company will be buying 500,000,000 units from us and we will realize $.01 per unit profit but in order to get to this point it has required my coordinating everything required with four (4) countries and four (4) states here in the United States and with a $.01 per unit profit margin, nothing can go wrong and it if does we will have worked for nothing thus I must oversee every little detail constantly with constant follow up. I wish there was an easy way to get rich quick from an idea but up to this point I haven't found out how. It is hard to convey this message to young first time inventors and they do in fact sometimes become very resentful toward me for telling them the truth. It is good to be able to communicate with a person such as yourself that can relate to what I am saying.

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