Questions

RE: [spiers] Questions

John, thanks so much for all the help! I'm really leaning toward trying to
partner up with a manufacturer for shared revenue. I will provide the
designs and the Australian importers to the manufacturer. I have a couple
of questions in regard to this.



1.) Which order do you suggest I make first contact with retailers,
importers, and the manufacturer? My plan is to contact about 10 retailers
to see if they would be interested enough to place an order once the
products are available. Assuming they all provide positive feedback then
I'll contact a few importers to see if they would like to place orders and
if so then I'll finally make my proposal to the manufacturer. Is this the
order you suggest or does it really matter if I contact importers or the
manufacturer first?

2.) Any suggestion on what percent of revenue I should start
negotiations with the manufacturer at?

3.) Would there be anything preventing me from buying and selling these
products at the same time I'm getting shared revenue from the manufacturer?
Maybe after I built up some capital from my shared revenue I might decide it
is more profitable if I buy and sell the items.



Thanks,

John Teel









_____

From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
John Spiers
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 7:32 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [spiers] Questions



John,

thanks for your kind words, and welcome aboard.

On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 13:47:01 -0700, wrote :
My research shows the idea to be essentially unique and various
> Australians that I've shared the concept with agree it could be very
> popular. ...

***It's a hard requirement, like measure twice and cut once, but the only
research that
matters is orders from customers... I wouldn't do anything without orders
from customers for
the samples you present. That will answer all your subsequent questions.
As Drucker says,
"entrepreneurs do not take risks... (Innovation and Entrepreneurship... Page
139... check it
out the the library or find an amazon link at
http://www.johnspiers.com/resources.html )...
so we minimize risk by geting orders first...


1) I buy from manufacturer and sell to retailers
2) I buy from manufacturer and sell to importers
3) I partner with manufacturer and share revenue. Any comments on
> the advantages/disadvantages of these three business structures?

I pick #3, assuming an australian importer, is placing orders with you.

>
> My research shows that a mousepad ... retail for
> at least $10USD. > Why is the manufacturer's cost so much cheaper than the
retail price?

***this is where the process of getting orders first reveals answers to your
questions. I've
used mousepads for 20 years...and i have never bought on. Mousepads are
free. They cost
75 cent in Taiwan cause they are a giveaway (or they are a giveaway cuz they
cost 75 cents). I
saw a $30 mousepad in a museum store that was a oriental rug. cute. it is
a consistently
available item, with new design every so often, so they must sell. (and
aren't mouses
evolving into stationary items on computers?) Perhaps you anticipate
selling 75 cents
mousepads for $10, when the $10 ones actually cost $2...perhaps there is a
mixup in the
analysis of the chain...***

It
> seems to mean either I can mark them up almost 7x and make insane profits
or
> use the standard 100% markup and then let the retailer make all the big
> profit. >
> Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

***I can't say exactly if there is a problem, but bottom line, get the
orders first, then proceed,
A garage full of mousepads would be serious annoyance.***

John

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