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domtimothy46176 -> RE: anyone out there who could help me market something? (8/4/2006 3:16:17 AM)
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I would think turning the idea into an appealing board game would most likely be fairly easy. Marketing it shouldn't be too difficult either. With all the online stores catering to BDSM toys, plus all the brick and mortar establishments plus that monster called EBay, it sounds like a time-consuiming (read lots of correspondance) but manageable task. Even having dismissed those two factors, however, there is still a lot to chew on.
1) As mentioned in another post, the funds required to produce and ship a product like a boardgame in any serious quantity could be considerable.
2) Believe it or not, the most difficult aspect to running a successful tangible goods sales operation is office organization, specifically managing the flow of information. We ship less than 150 packages in an average week but the correspondance can sometimes take over an hour a day and we're pretty well organized. Tracking incoming inventory, outgoing shipments, questions from customers AND potential customers PLUS keeping track of expenses and cashflow can be a more than one person can handle at times. If you're successful, it gets even harder because it increases the flow of information.
3) Unless you're going to fabricate the product yourself, every aspect of it, as well as package it and ship it to the customer, you're going to be dependant upon a variety of different companies for whom you are small potatoes. Researching your suppliers and the other people you'll need is absolutely critical. Speaking from experience, there's nothing that sucks harder than making a time-sensitive sale (read the customer wants it yesterday) only to find that
a) your supplier closed up Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for the 4th of July holiday
b) your supplier busted ass to get your overnight ready in time for UPS pick-up but UPS lost the package...for THREE days
c) that new supplier with the great pricing has horrible quality control issues and your stock order simply will not be usable
d) the postal service has no idea how your Express Mail package disappeared at their facility in Georgia but they'll be happy to report it to the Inspector General's office. And don't worry, that insurance will pay for the lost package if it doesn't turn up...in 90 DAYS!
MORAL: Things will go wrong. Being prepared to deal with them when they do is crucial to your success
4) With the exception of a double handful, such as monopoly and scrabble, boardgames come and go. Don't overextend yourself if you're immediately rewarded with success. The market can be fickle. Slow sustained growth is a good long-term strategy and diversification is a hedge against sudden fits of consumer apathy. Even if it sells well enough to become a full-time job, find other things to bring to market so that all of your eggs aren't in one basket. It always a good idea to bank a percentage of your net against a rainy day, just in case.
Dunno if you'll find any of this useful. Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.
Timtohy
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