Over the years I built a few amplifier and pre-amps, not pretty. I was starting to think of selling some home built components. Since they are heavy do you guys have any suggestions on how to post on the DIY audio Market place ?
I guess I would need to provide pictures, schematics and may be weight.
Do items limited to local pick up sell( San Diego, CA) ?
Do non-mainstream designs sell ?
For example, pre-amp is a single power mosfet running class A with no negative feedback, dual step attenuators, power amp is 100W into 4 ohms class A, no negative feedback, and no voltage gain, OTL vacuum tube amp each channel has 9 parallel 6AS7. Just starting to consider thinning the herd.
Any and all feedback on whether to actually thin the herd, and if so how to go about it?
P
I guess I would need to provide pictures, schematics and may be weight.
Do items limited to local pick up sell( San Diego, CA) ?
Do non-mainstream designs sell ?
For example, pre-amp is a single power mosfet running class A with no negative feedback, dual step attenuators, power amp is 100W into 4 ohms class A, no negative feedback, and no voltage gain, OTL vacuum tube amp each channel has 9 parallel 6AS7. Just starting to consider thinning the herd.
Any and all feedback on whether to actually thin the herd, and if so how to go about it?
P
You´ll just have to post what you have and wait for questions.
Offer as much data as you can; as you think pictures, maybe schematic (not so sure about that unless specifically asked for), same with measurements, if any.
Local pickup only is not imposible but unlikely, basic Statistics; San Diego is an important city but anyway .... you are shooing away potential customers from everywhere else.
Non-mainstream is not a handicap by itself, but you should try to find something good and unique to say about your product; being "average/plain vanilla/like anything else" are not exactly selling points.
In a Marketing class I took long ago, Professor split us students in 4 or 5 member groups, gave each group a bottle of as generic as can be Industrial detergent, the thick greenish hue type, no brand, all taken from the same 55 gallon drum, and gave us Homework: "next week you must try to convince me why YOUR product is better than all others and WHY I should buy it"
So start thinking what can you say about yours 😉
PS:and don´t limit yourself to *just*this Forum, search around, any Hi Fi or Audiophile associations you know of? Hamfests? Local Craigslist and such? EBay? Any Audio shops nearby you can leave them on consignment?
Offer as much data as you can; as you think pictures, maybe schematic (not so sure about that unless specifically asked for), same with measurements, if any.
Local pickup only is not imposible but unlikely, basic Statistics; San Diego is an important city but anyway .... you are shooing away potential customers from everywhere else.
Non-mainstream is not a handicap by itself, but you should try to find something good and unique to say about your product; being "average/plain vanilla/like anything else" are not exactly selling points.
In a Marketing class I took long ago, Professor split us students in 4 or 5 member groups, gave each group a bottle of as generic as can be Industrial detergent, the thick greenish hue type, no brand, all taken from the same 55 gallon drum, and gave us Homework: "next week you must try to convince me why YOUR product is better than all others and WHY I should buy it"
So start thinking what can you say about yours 😉
PS:and don´t limit yourself to *just*this Forum, search around, any Hi Fi or Audiophile associations you know of? Hamfests? Local Craigslist and such? EBay? Any Audio shops nearby you can leave them on consignment?
Likely there are some in LA or SD who would be interested.
Often people buy such items for parts or chassis.
Shipping would probably be cost prohibitive.
Often people buy such items for parts or chassis.
Shipping would probably be cost prohibitive.
I would wonder about liability for any home made device incorporating mains power supplies and wiring.
Does it need to have certification ?
Probably why a lot of people and places sell things that use a mass produced external power brick.
Does it need to have certification ?
Probably why a lot of people and places sell things that use a mass produced external power brick.
Your home insurance company probably has an opinion about that, especially if the home brew causes damages.
An online boutique to show and sell. No in person showroom, keep over head costs down. At least in the first few years. And always imo.
Advertise where you think most of your potential clients will surf, rent banner space to link your audio home page, keep them simple and creative. Or just simple. Hire or get a graphic artist to make a simple logo.
Have some product ready to send out the door. Hope things get rolling and take off.
Advertise where you think most of your potential clients will surf, rent banner space to link your audio home page, keep them simple and creative. Or just simple. Hire or get a graphic artist to make a simple logo.
Have some product ready to send out the door. Hope things get rolling and take off.
Unless you somehow catch a break, or know somebody who knows somebody (good ol boy network), it's almost guaranteed to be a fruitless endeavor.
Brand association is very strong, especially in the audio world. Most people don't want anything to do with a DIY product. To consumers, you're just some dude, and nobody will trust your product. You can have your product next to the same exact product sold by a reputable name brand for 3x the price, and 99% of buyers will buy the name branded one. The best example of this is Victory Sonics tube preamps from about a decade ago. Awesome preamps, but they never caught on because it was a DIY endeavor.
I am not trying to throw shade, but this is what I have experienced over the last decade trying to sell my own products. For a few years, I used to do subwoofer recones, and you literally can't even give those things away.
IMHO, your best bet would be one of two things:
Brand association is very strong, especially in the audio world. Most people don't want anything to do with a DIY product. To consumers, you're just some dude, and nobody will trust your product. You can have your product next to the same exact product sold by a reputable name brand for 3x the price, and 99% of buyers will buy the name branded one. The best example of this is Victory Sonics tube preamps from about a decade ago. Awesome preamps, but they never caught on because it was a DIY endeavor.
I am not trying to throw shade, but this is what I have experienced over the last decade trying to sell my own products. For a few years, I used to do subwoofer recones, and you literally can't even give those things away.
IMHO, your best bet would be one of two things:
- To develop your product and start approaching brands and manufacturers to see if they would be interested in making a deal for rights or licsensing to produce your product
- Register for an LLC and create a brand for your product, and then start marketing it as if you are a big company.
Oh I almost forgot never listen to ppl telling you you won't succeed at it. If its worth doing to you.
Perhaps there will always be a niche market for stereo components, but today the market is Bluetooth speakers and docking stations, and 2.1 channel computer speakers. I have considered putting a car stereo in a box with speakers. You could use a fat snake to power it to avoid compliance issues. An HDMI connection would be nice but most smart-TV's support Bluetooth.
You just want to sell some of your extra gear, not go into business building more?
I have several clients who build my products for others. It's (nearly) all about reputation - both the builder's and mine - which takes time to build. The rest is in the execution. If you have a finished product that looks like a million bucks you can command real money. If the finished product looks like someone's high school science project slapped together last-minute I wouldn't even expect to get the cost of parts covered.
My advice: Figure out how to do the shipping so that the product doesn't get damaged in shipping. Then set up a page on Etsy (or your own website). Announce it to the world. Post here.
Heavy items can be wrapped in bubble wrap and then cushioned by insulation foam board or styrofoam sheets. You can find those at Home Depot. You might need to double-box or use heavy duty boxes (1/4" corrugated cardboard). Select a few (3 max) standard box sizes that you use even if that means more packing peanuts or other filler. That way you can just program your shipping calculator to determine shipping for those sizes. This saves you time and frustration.
Tom
My advice: Figure out how to do the shipping so that the product doesn't get damaged in shipping. Then set up a page on Etsy (or your own website). Announce it to the world. Post here.
Heavy items can be wrapped in bubble wrap and then cushioned by insulation foam board or styrofoam sheets. You can find those at Home Depot. You might need to double-box or use heavy duty boxes (1/4" corrugated cardboard). Select a few (3 max) standard box sizes that you use even if that means more packing peanuts or other filler. That way you can just program your shipping calculator to determine shipping for those sizes. This saves you time and frustration.
Tom
everyone
thank you for all the suggestions.
just to clarify, I am not building stuff to sell. just planning to clean out a closet of stuff I built over the years.
p
thank you for all the suggestions.
just to clarify, I am not building stuff to sell. just planning to clean out a closet of stuff I built over the years.
p