Preorders!!!!

[knownothingmags]

im just looking for some information & points of view on how to make a pre order successfull.

-i would think have 60-75% of your cash already in hand or available would help.
-communication key.
-quality product.
- something new, never seen or an improved version of work in the past.

add please,

,
KNM

[Frizzle Fry]

No hate to the OP, but Pre-Orders + AO =

35% down to the vendor, and 15% handed to a reliable third party like Tunaman or Army or Beemer so they can afford to fly/drive to the sellers and knock his teeth in when he inevitably fails to deliver the product functional, in a timely basis, or at all. This third party would have an envelope with a notarized piece of letterhead with the vendors SSN, tax information, business and home address, etc. If the vendor goes AWOL as usual, the third party spends what they need to get to the vendor and sort things out, and pockets the rest of the cash. Obviously in the rare case that the vendor follows through and delivers the product, customers pay the remaining 50%, and when everyone has their product in hand, the 15% is sent from the third party to the vendor. The third party gets a small percentage and one or two of whatever product was up for pre-order.

Only way I could see it work... And if you can't do the job with 35% down you shouldn't do the job - soft goods being the exception.

[knownothingmags]

good input.
my endevor depending on what life throws at me will be all upfront made.
then presented.

of course teasers here and there but im hoping to unvail all the products after they are made and i have put up my investment to get the job done first.

keep em coming.

[TOTShadowCompany]

Not all pre-orders are the same. I can't speak for others but I try to run my pre-orders to be smooth with good communication during the whole process. My current 35ci tank project is taking longer than I hope for but I have kept everyone up to date and have given full disclosure concerning status.

[MANN]

devil mag, gforce frame, emag board, ptp, logic, vd stuff.

AO has been failing with preorders for what seems like forever. IMO preorders should be banned. Very few people know how to do them right.

[kcombs9]

If I ever had the creativity to come up with a product I think I could sell to the masses I would not do a pre-order.

I would hope I had enough faith and research into my product that when it was finished it would sell its self and I would come out ahead (break even/small profit margin)

[cougar20th]

I think the real problem is communication. That and timelines. Most preorders dont seem to take into account that things happen. They dont allow for this in the timeline. If anything I would add a good amount of extra time into the timeline and if a product is early everyone will be happy.

devil mag, gforce frame, emag board, ptp, logic, vd stuff.

AO has been failing with preorders for what seems like forever. IMO preorders should be banned. Very few people know how to do them right.

I hope by emag board your not refering to P8ntball4me's boards. Ive seen most of the parts and seen the prototypes when I dropped off my emag for him to look over. Its a impressive amount of parts. He is doing as he says if not more.

[MANN]

I hope by emag board your not refering to P8ntball4me's boards. Ive seen most of the parts and seen the prototypes when I dropped off my emag for him to look over. Its a impressive amount of parts. He is doing as he says if not more.

No I was referring to the 2 or 3 people before him that have fubared the process. Chris Nacho was the last one and before him was the predator preorder/refund.

[cougar20th]

forgot all about those disasters.

[robander3]

As cougar mentioned,
I think doing what P8ntball4me is doing is a great example;

Stay in touch with customers
have semi-weekly updates
answer questions and ask what the customers want
be in good standings with the members, not just someone who comes out of left field
have your own personal funds into the project (gives you more of a drive to follow through)
Have little to no distraction (no new born baby on the way, moving to a different location, stable job, etc)
IMO the biggest one BE SURE YOU HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO DO SOMETHING BEFORE YOU START IT

[wimag]

preorders are a joke. If you dont have the cash up front to control inventory that should be on hand or production, then get an investor or back out.

[Frizzle Fry]

preorders are a joke. If you dont have the cash up front to control inventory that should be on hand or production, then get an investor or back out.

That's not the point of a pre-order - but that's certainly how AO pre-orders have operated so I have to agree.

Pre-Orders are a big part of my business so I'm a little bit more familiar with why the concept exists. The logic is, you get more than just a rough estimate of how many customers will actually buy your product before you create it - on a large scale it allows the producer to avoid over-production or product shortage, and on a small scale (like on AO) it should be for the aforementioned purpose but more to decide whether there is even a market for the product you are creating. A pre-order isn't always a binding agreement to purchase the product, and in most cases you put down 10%-50% to hold the item. In many industries there is a "pre-sell" as well as or instead of a pre-order which is usually for ultra low (too cheap to warrant partial payment) or ultra high-ticket (difficult/expensive to produce) items.

When I see small guys offering pre-orders, I opt not to put my name on a list. If you think that you're not making a risky investment when you "pre-order" from a one or two man operation, you're dreaming - especially if they're not a business but a hobbyist or group of hobbyists. A judge would agree with me on that, too.

If you're pre-ordering from a large company before they have a working prototype, be ready for a wait and don't whine when it's a long one. You've got nobody to blame but yourself if you pre-ordered based on a blueprint or cad file instead of a physical product.

[RogueFactor]

The best way to do a pre-order is to require a nominal non-refundable deposit as a placeholder. Be up front with the process and delivery dates. If a buyer backs out, they lose their deposit. If you dont meet your dates, you offer a full refund of any deposit.

This is how I did the SLUG pre-order here on AO and the process went smoothly. Its pretty simple if you do it right.

[M98Punk]

No hate to the OP, but Pre-Orders + AO =

35% down to the vendor, and 15% handed to a reliable third party like Tunaman or Army or Beemer so they can afford to fly/drive to the sellers and knock his teeth in when he inevitably fails to deliver the product functional, in a timely basis, or at all.

I vote for Army he's got the kinda cantankerousness that gets done

[luke]

humm, well I've written up 4 posts to drop in here and just ended up deleting all 4, I guess I'll just leave well enough alone.

[mpsd]

I won't be getting on to any pre-order ever again. PTP's mess was just enough for me. I've seen what happened with Metadyne as well as several others already mentioned here.

The only pre-order I got right so far was the VER frame.

Not only that, every product I've seen for sale on a pre-order basis end up being available right away after the pre-order is done, some times for even cheaper then what people paid and waited for.

That's just me though.

[Hobbez]

I understand the financial reasons why most folks sell products as preorders. Not having to put up your own cash to start the process makes it easier to get a project done. That being said: I don't and wont buy into a preoder. ever.

IMO, if you can't afford to bring a product to market without your customers paying for it first, you shouldn't be in business. When 100% of the cost is on your shoulders, your more likely to do whatever it takes to make sure that product gets done correctly and on time. I have my own business to supliment my regular income. My customers would never pay for half (or any %) of what I'm being hired to build before they could see it built.

[RT Lover]

I would say unless you have cash and dont care how long you are sitting on parts, especially on custom and on one of a kind items. unless you have a guarantee that they are going to sell the only way is to do a preorder of some kind. this will help fund the project and will almost guarantee the part has a home.

[bound for glory]

and lets not forget the devil mag nonsense. i got mine, it worked for about 4 cases of paint, sent it back, the idiot did'nt want to fix it. i had to pay tuna to fix it. then i sold it. and i think some people got ripped off on the pre orders on those guns.
pre orders+ao=bad idea

[Swampy]

I will never preorder anything, or offer a preorder type of service. I my line of work would you pay me before I cut your lawn? No. The only "preorder" type of payment is called a draw system but that is used for construction purposes only.

[splatzone]

Pre orders suck. I am still pissed about not getting my devilmag. I understand as a business. you want to cover cost to get the items built. but more and more people will not buy preorder because we all have been burned