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I think what you're describing would be referred to in court as fraud.
by dpark 10y ago
I think what you're describing would be referred to in court as fraud.
- huebnerob 10y agoI read this more as a Kickstarter-style setup where you are pre-ordering the product, not that you actually promise them something you can't yet immediately deliver.
- aantix 10y agoThat isn't fraud; contracts are drawn up all of the time (with X amount needed up front) promising future work.
- skdotdan 10y agoReally? Maybe the way I didn't write it didn't imply it, but I actually meant that you always had to make very clear that the product doesn't exist yet. You are selling the concept of something you are or you will be working on. If after a week you have managed to do only 1 sell, then return the money, say your product didn't receive enough interest, and try something else. However, if you manage to do 1 sell, you will probably manage to do more than 1. The first one is the difficult one. If you achieve a decent amount of sales in a week, then build quickly the first version of your product.
- dpark 10y ago> I actually meant that you always had to make very clear that the product doesn't exist yet. That wasn't clear to me. It looked like you were proposing the sale of a nonexistent product. If you're openly and clearly stating that it's basically a preorder, then sure, that's fine. That sounds like a tough sale, though.
- skdotdan 10y agoI was proposing the sale of a nonexistent product, but making clear that it doesn't (already) exist and telling properly how it will look like. Also, this product should be feasible to do in, say, less than a month. So, it's kind of a preorder, but a cancellable (by the seller, obviously by the customer too) one. It's a very tough sale, but precisely for that is a way of discarding business/side projects ideas in a massive way. If you can sell it before it exists, it means that there are people VERY interested in such a product, so you are on the way to success. Disclaimer: it's very easy to speak and very difficult to put in practice, and I have never tried.
- hyperliner 10y agoIt's only a fraud if you take the money and never deliver it. If you don't take the money or deliver within the stated parameters, how is it fraud? Many business sell product they don't have. It's a standard practice in some businesses such as when you don't take delivery of the product as a seller, or when you use someone else's inventory, etc.
- dpark 10y ago> If you don't take the money or deliver within the stated parameters, how is it fraud? I already answered that in the comment you replied to: "If you're openly and clearly stating that it's basically a preorder, then sure, that's fine."
- inputcoffee 10y agoI think they meant they would return the money if they ended up not delivering the product. But, you are on to something. I think this is what always bothered me about the "lean" approach: it almost feels like you're tempting yourself to create vaporware.
- HeyLaughingBoy 10y agoThis is no different than buying a house that hasn't been built yet. People do it every day.