I've recently come up with a great toy idea/design. In the veign of Lego and Meccano.
I have 3D printed a prototype and it's great but what I don't know what to do is how to find the options for the plastic/rubber materials be they new or recycled.
Where would I start with this process to understand the production costs to make it viable, and how would I go about patents. I'd love to hear some opinions of how to move it forward.
Thanks in advance.
How to Bring a Toy to Market
spartacus77 on 05/04/2017 - 15:47
Comments
first step, patent the idea…
put a presentation together.. and try and get on to shark tank.
Good idea. but no point going on shark tank with zero sales.
Yea there is, you get exposure.
Many people who go on their increase their sales even though they didn't make a deal.
Read your own comment.
"Many people who go on *there increase their sales even though they didnt make a deal"
Keyword is INCREASE.
You need to have sales before hand to INCREASE sales.
People who go on Sharktank without any sales are needing capital just to get started and unless you have a patent then you have very little chance of making a deal, as investors want proof of concept.
Yes will give you exposure. but you still dont have funds to create the product. so its useless.
Before looking into production or anything mentioned above.
If your product is unique in the way you make it and unique in the way end user puts it together. Then look into getting a patent.
No point going to the effort and spending tens of thousands of dollars and your time. if you cannot adequately protect your business model.
Once patented look into crowdfunding like kickstarter. Make a video that appeals to your target market or parents of. (or even both)
First step is patenting the idea, look at IPAustralia.gov.au as your first port of call and then research from there
A patent for Australia only will cost you roughly $20,000. Just remember, once the idea is shown to anyone the idea cannot be patented unless you had them sign a secrecy non-disclosure first.
This is great information. Thanks.
I understand the patent process - did not realise the expense though.
How would I get a calculate the cost to manufacture and the material selection, not being in the industry? Is there a logical place to look and educate in this. If unit cost was not viable then the project would not be viable.Whatever it is, it will be very expensive. Patent the idea and crowd fund it like previous comments. Avoid production in China as your product will get loaded on one truck for you and the extra stock will get out on a truck for them. Ideally the best way to do it is get a couple different factories making different parts and assembling in Australia.
With any new products the initial start will be very expensive and you will also have to find the appropriate distributor who can push it out to various retailers. If you do get the product made and ready to sell contact me as I have some contacts in toy distribution I can send you.
I suggest you read this article about KS projects being ripped off by their own Chinese partners. Patents are unenforceable in China, so they won't do squat.
Great article. Thanks.
Not knowing anything at about it, perhaps you could look for a similarly made product on Alibaba and contact the manufacturer to discuss making a custom design .. ?
I disagree with the advice here. A patent is costly, requires you to demonstrate what is new and unique about your idea, requires you to apply in every country you want to sell it/protect it, and requires you defend it. How are you going to do that with individual resources?
And what if you spend $250k on patents, then find the product isn't that big a seller because you didn't anticipate some costly production step or similar?And even with patents in place, China will copy you if it is very successful.
A lot of inventors spend so much time protecting their ideas from threats, they never get into production. If I was thinking a patent is critical, I would probably just get one in the USA, as it has the biggest market and a copier would think twice before putting in the effort if the US market was closed to them.How about you take a look on alibaba and identify a manufacturer of similar items. Get them to sign an NDA and get them to quote an initial production run. Figure you will need to spend ballpark $10-$20k to get tooling done to make the initial product run.
Once you have some info on what the production will cost, and a plan to get from this idea to holding a retail packaged toy in your hands, I would run a kickstarter/indiegogo to sell the first production run.
If the product is good, and the price is within peoples impulse budget (less than, say $40USD delivered) you will be able to sell a few thousand, and the money comes to you before you have to pay the factory.There is a lot of info about how to run a kickstarter, just Google it. There are companies that will assist with packaging, fulfilment etc. as well.
Would just like to wish you good luck OP!
There are so many patents out there that you may find your product not a 'find' at all…back in the day I invented a CD holder/display rack but could not Patent it because of a patent on sliding doors…the act of putting the CD up into the top retainer and sitting on a bottom rail 'resembled' the sliding door🙃
Good luck…search Patents and have a look for something similar to your toy and see what else is around…nothing wrong with good thoughts…keep going.
I remember there was a guy on OzBargain that said he had a great international track record coaching startups and disrupting various industries.
But anyway, here's an interesting read: https://qz.com/771727/chinas-factories-in-shenzhen-can-copy-…
Patent attorney needed. Shelston IP is the biggest and most well known that I am aware of, GET ADVICE on if you need a patent or not. The risks of not having one, etc. Don't rely on assumptions of your own or anyone that is not an expert.
You need to assess materials for safety when choosing (i.e. non-toxic, non-flammable, etc). Check ACCC website for standards related to toys that can be sold in Australia.
Be careful of Chinese manufacturing because of the lack of transparency in their supply chain. If you get samples, have them tested. Don't take their word for it. And then get actual manufactured stock tested also.
I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet.
Tell us the idea or better yet me and we'll bring it to the market.
OP, look into the Hegs (laundry pegs) story and maybe get in touch with them at some stage. IIRC, they manufacture locally…my recollection based on an ABC story about them. Australian Story?
Again thanks for all the feedback.
It's a really interesting environment to be developing a product. This doco on Shenzhen and the copycat culture is really interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJ5cZnoodY.
I'll keep you all updated on how it goes, but all really good information.
3d printing is expensive, get an investor, outsource to china, work on your packaging, limited release (maybe shopping centers)