Mr. Invention,
I started a thread here
viewtopic.php?t=2103&highlight= where i listed a number of companies that are willing to look at outside ideas from Inventors directly. Some require a patent or patent pending others will look at a Sell Sheet after signing an NDA.
If you go to my website on the main page i have a link for some of the Sell Shhets I have used to get a license. Those Sell Sheets are the only thing I used, no prototype, no patent. The company that licensed the idea paid all of those expenses and I receive a royalty from the sales.
If you look at the main page on my website the Pebble Peeler is my latest item to hit the shelves last week in Wal-Mart. I received a licensing agreement Monday from a kitchenware company based solely on a Sell Sheet. Most of my expense comes from material to build a rough prototype if needed, faxes, or postage.
I rarely travel to any of the companies unless they are within reasonable driving distance. Otherwise I do it all over the phone, email, snail mail.
You can see an interview I just did last week at
http://www.allbusiness.com/entertainmen ... 048-1.html I hope this helps.