5 ms·

Damn I kinda want to build little doohickeys and sell them on etsy instead of going to work every morning

by koromak 3y ago

tnecniv 3y ago
Well then building doohickeys would be your new “going to work”
- semireg 3y ago
  Business is a great way to ruin a hobby.
Workaccount2 3y ago
I can tell you that this has two possible outcomes: 1. You don't sell enough to get by. 2. You sell enough for Chinese knock-offs to come in and offer a good-enough clone product for 1/3 your raw material cost. Being a first world tiny shop in hardware is near impossible.
- masklinn 3y ago
  (3) you make good looking gizmos which are not really worth copying seems to be the niche of “William”. Apparently the slides were about 150, and they’re externally simple but good looking. They’re out of stock but the shop has neat kinetic sculpture for high hundreds. Could you get plastic versions for a third the price? Absolutely. Would you? Hell nah. I could see kits of spare parts to print and build your own, maybe, but not ready made.
  - itigtohft 3y ago
    If you search for "perpetual motion machine" you can find a ton of cheap knockoffs of this device. You can get a badly made wooden knockoff for $50 or quite a bit less?
- newaccount74 3y ago
  There are a bunch of tiny hardware shops in the audio community that seem to be doing fine, for example https://neurochrome.com/ https://neurochrome.com/ Of course, running a small business like this is not easy, but it's not impossible either.
  - MalcolmDwyer 3y ago
    When it comes to pricing products at absolutely outrageous multiples of material cost, the "audio community" seems to be in its own league. I don't think the desktop toy market is quite there.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  You are then no longer selling the toy, but the “My one is OG” status. And the certainty that it will work. Once you reach a certain age fucking about returning stuff to save a few bucks seems silly.
  - yencabulator 3y ago
    Not just OG status, quality. The Chinese knock-offs truly are worse. I've seen this gadget on Youtube before, compared to one of the knock-offs. Executive desk toys are a classic premium market!
    - quickthrower2 3y ago
      Yes certainly. This is what I meant when I said "certainty that it will work". A low bar for quality, but a bar knock offs can't reach usually.
luma 3y ago
Nothing stopping you! I have git and printables etc accounts full of stuff I've designed and shared, but some folks might just want the finished thing so awhile back I hung out my hat and started a small shop selling the widgets I design and share for free. Turns out a lot of people just want the thing, I can give the plans away and still make some extra on the side by making a few to sell. I'm incredibly far away from being able to quit my job over this, but it has turned a few of my hobbies into slightly net-profitable ventures instead of money holes and the result is a well appointed shop to spend my free time playing around with new ideas. My advice: give it a shot. There's nearly zero up front cost and if nothing else, you'll probably learn a bit.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Damn I kinda want to build little doohickeys and sell them on etsy instead of going to work every morning

tnecniv 3y ago

Well then building doohickeys would be your new “going to work”

semireg 3y ago
Business is a great way to ruin a hobby.

Workaccount2 3y ago

I can tell you that this has two possible outcomes: 1. You don't sell enough to get by. 2. You sell enough for Chinese knock-offs to come in and offer a good-enough clone product for 1/3 your raw material cost. Being a first world tiny shop in hardware is near impossible.

masklinn 3y ago
(3) you make good looking gizmos which are not really worth copying seems to be the niche of “William”. Apparently the slides were about 150, and they’re externally simple but good looking. They’re out of stock but the shop has neat kinetic sculpture for high hundreds. Could you get plastic versions for a third the price? Absolutely. Would you? Hell nah. I could see kits of spare parts to print and build your own, maybe, but not ready made.
- itigtohft 3y ago
  If you search for "perpetual motion machine" you can find a ton of cheap knockoffs of this device. You can get a badly made wooden knockoff for $50 or quite a bit less?
newaccount74 3y ago
There are a bunch of tiny hardware shops in the audio community that seem to be doing fine, for example https://neurochrome.com/ https://neurochrome.com/ Of course, running a small business like this is not easy, but it's not impossible either.
- MalcolmDwyer 3y ago
  When it comes to pricing products at absolutely outrageous multiples of material cost, the "audio community" seems to be in its own league. I don't think the desktop toy market is quite there.
quickthrower2 3y ago
You are then no longer selling the toy, but the “My one is OG” status. And the certainty that it will work. Once you reach a certain age fucking about returning stuff to save a few bucks seems silly.
- yencabulator 3y ago
  Not just OG status, quality. The Chinese knock-offs truly are worse. I've seen this gadget on Youtube before, compared to one of the knock-offs. Executive desk toys are a classic premium market!
  - quickthrower2 3y ago
    Yes certainly. This is what I meant when I said "certainty that it will work". A low bar for quality, but a bar knock offs can't reach usually.

luma 3y ago

Nothing stopping you! I have git and printables etc accounts full of stuff I've designed and shared, but some folks might just want the finished thing so awhile back I hung out my hat and started a small shop selling the widgets I design and share for free. Turns out a lot of people just want the thing, I can give the plans away and still make some extra on the side by making a few to sell. I'm incredibly far away from being able to quit my job over this, but it has turned a few of my hobbies into slightly net-profitable ventures instead of money holes and the result is a well appointed shop to spend my free time playing around with new ideas. My advice: give it a shot. There's nearly zero up front cost and if nothing else, you'll probably learn a bit.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]