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>where? 3 days ago- 'Challenges Building an Open-Source E Ink Laptop'[1] > "According to conversations I’ve had, the minimum order quantity(MOQ) required for

>where? 3 days ago- 'Challenges Building an Open-Source E Ink Laptop'[1] > "According to conversations I’ve had, the minimum order quantity(MOQ) required for purchase at one time is between 10,000 to 50,000" In the comments of the same discussion[1], > "During the initial prototyping(MNT Reform) this was one of the options we considered, but back then it would have been prohibitively expensive and we decided to focus on an IPS display and to get to ship a viable product as quickly as possible -- with a tiny team." [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26901757 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26901757

robinsoh 6y ago
> minimum order quantity(MOQ) required for purchase at one time is between 10,000 to 50,000 Yes, that's quite reasonable. Approaching E Ink would be the equivalent of approaching Intel's tier 1 supply chain and asking what's their MOQ. You wouldn't expect them to sell you 1 unit would you? Like all display manufacturers, they also have distributors that supply the various tiers. At the lowest value tier is the individual customers (ie: developers) who cost the most to support and provide the least profit. So expect pricing to match that value level. It is the same for Samsung. Same for LG. What I perceive is some kind of entitlement syndrome (that's the feeling I get when reading that blog, it was also the same blog that alleged E Ink was abusing patents based on an HN post and when I challenged it, they finally relented and marked it as "unproven" ) where product ideation people (that blog author for example) think that display companies somehow owe them support. They get hundreds of these kinds of messages all the time from universities, research organizations, educational organizations, product startups all demanding responses and attention but mostly unwilling to pay for it. The reality of the display market is that unless you're coming to a display company with a MOQ or a strong value proposition, you can be certain they'll either ignore you or ask you to talk to one of their lowest tier distributors.

robinsoh 6y ago

> minimum order quantity(MOQ) required for purchase at one time is between 10,000 to 50,000 Yes, that's quite reasonable. Approaching E Ink would be the equivalent of approaching Intel's tier 1 supply chain and asking what's their MOQ. You wouldn't expect them to sell you 1 unit would you? Like all display manufacturers, they also have distributors that supply the various tiers. At the lowest value tier is the individual customers (ie: developers) who cost the most to support and provide the least profit. So expect pricing to match that value level. It is the same for Samsung. Same for LG. What I perceive is some kind of entitlement syndrome (that's the feeling I get when reading that blog, it was also the same blog that alleged E Ink was abusing patents based on an HN post and when I challenged it, they finally relented and marked it as "unproven" ) where product ideation people (that blog author for example) think that display companies somehow owe them support. They get hundreds of these kinds of messages all the time from universities, research organizations, educational organizations, product startups all demanding responses and attention but mostly unwilling to pay for it. The reality of the display market is that unless you're coming to a display company with a MOQ or a strong value proposition, you can be certain they'll either ignore you or ask you to talk to one of their lowest tier distributors.