Where to Sell or License Your Ideas, Products & Inventions
MAKE MONEY SELLING YOUR IDEAS
Maybe it will be yours!
INSIDE FIND:
Ø Manufacturers that accept unsolicited ideas
Ø How and WHERE to submit your ideas
Ø Which manufacturers require patents
Ø Products manufacturers are looking for
For an excerpt of To Market-To Market: Where to Sell or License Your Ideas, Products & Inventions, click HERE
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Special Deal:
Invention Radio
Have questions? Get expert answers and advice at http://www.gotinvention.com/main.php , a radio program for entrepreneurs and inventors. Check it out, Thursdays 8:00 pm EST or 5:00 pm PST. Of course the right advertising always helps but there were obviously more than four million consumers that decided it was all that and a book-light and were willing to shell out their hard earned cash to order one or two or three or more of this product. Four million! And that was just in a four month time span. Not bad for a simple idea, huh? The making of millionaires from a single idea is not uncommon these days. How’d You Get So Rich? hosted by Joan Rivers, spotlights average people that have turned a basic product or idea into a profitable enterprise. Who knows, eventually there might be some brainy techies included in her cache of interviews, but one of her poor man turned rich stories includes the invention of a five chamber bubble wand; a plastic child’s toy…something the average Joe could have dreamt up. Many have gone before and proved that you don’t have to be an Edison to invent a useful or even a useless item….think Pet Rock….and be able to turn it into a successful venture. It’s a matter of stepping out and taking a chance on an idea, a dream, or a vision. If you have come up with an invention or product idea, you should be cautious about who you approach for assistance. There are a number of disreputable companies that don't follow through on their promises and oftentimes bilk aspiring inventors out of their money. Before signing on with anyone always do your research. To check out complaints filed against invention promotion companies, go to: www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm Never Quit During my brief venture in the underwear industry, I learned a valuable lesson and it only cost me a strand of twine, a printed brown paper header card, a plastic bag and a postage stamp to figure it out. The lesson? You can have a product idea that appeals to a large number of potential customers, but it isn’t going anywhere if it won’t make the retailer enough money. In simple terms, my idea was too cheap. It isn’t the cost of the components of the product that matters, but the value of what those components comprise in their final state. You can throw together some inexpensive plastic and a few other parts and still create something that is worth more than the parts involved, like a computer. But if the value of the end product isn’t much more than the combined parts, like my thong, it can’t be marked up enough to justify the retailer carrying it.
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Important Note: I have recently read a number of complaints against Invent-Help. This particular company is included in the third portion of, To Market To Market, under Business Organizations and Publications for the Inventor. Although the majority of the listed businesses are well known manufacturers that have proven themselves to be reputable, it is always wise to check out them out. You can use the Better Business Bureau online, National Inventor Fraud Center, The United Inventors Association(UIA), and IP Watchdog. (See Inventor Interests page for links to some of these sites.)
Inventions & the Recession
Strange Tastes = Big Profit
“Who would buy something like that?” Those were my exact words after watching an infomercial for something I thought was completely ridiculous. I won’t “name drop” the item in question, but I’ve read enough comments to know that I am not alone in my opinion, and if you're like me, you would be asking yourself, how did it make millions?
Just hearing these crazy success stories makes me want to go out and invent something new. Maybe you already have an idea for an innovative product or procedure that the rest of us might be missing out on or just plain want to laugh at. It may not make you millions, but it could be the extra cash to cover the monthly car payment or take a nice family vacation. If this is you, don’t let it sit there, who knows what might become of it? You could be the next one Joan Rivers interviews.
Casttoo
Check out http://casttoo.com/Casttoo.com/Casttoo_Home.html and learn a little more about Jess Smith and how she designed and marketed Casttoos, artistic decals that will liven up any cast. Scoring a marketing agreement with 3M and with orders from the international market, this bad break ended with a good twist.
Don't Get Scammed
"There's a sucker born every minute," and with the advent of the internet that number is increasing. Even this particular phrase has scammed many, its origination erroneously being credited to PT Barnum.
A good resource book on this and other invention matters is: 20 Questions to Ask if You Have a Great Idea or Invention, by Michael Jester. Available at Amazon.
Protecting Your Innovation
Patents don’t come cheap. For those of us who find it necessary to invent on a shoe string budget a traditional patent is out of the question. So what can you do to protect your product?
If you can afford a little something, a temporary, but cheaper option is a provisional patent. Fees vary, but as of this writing the rate is $220.00. With a provisional patent your invention will be protected for one year which would allow you the opportunity to shop it around to potential manufacturers without risking your idea.
Applications must include the names of all involved inventors and can be filed up to 12 months following the date of first sale, offer for sale, public use, or publication of the invention.
In order to receive a filing date, the provisional application must contain a written description of the invention that complies with all requirements, and any drawings that are necessary to understand the invention.
For complete information on how to file a provisional patent, fee changes, and what is required, go to: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm
It's no secret that we are living in difficult and uncertain economic times, and when the future looks so bleak, as impossible as it may seem for some to press in and continue, this is not the time to quit. In fact, there is never a good time to quit.
We have some prime examples of success from those who have gone before in what we all know as the great depression. Not only did many businesses prosper during that era, but a number of them, such as Proctor and Gamble, are still operating today because they continued to advertise, to sell, and to meet consumer needs.
In the midst of the economic decline of those days, creativity and ingenuity did not die, but spawned new creations like Scotch tape, pantyhose, the well known board game, Monopoly, baby food, drive in movies, Superman comic books, road reflectors, and the movie classics, Gone With the Wind, Snow White, and the Wizard of Oz.
You may need to revamp, revise or start something altogether new, but even in tough economic times, there will still be needs to meet and a purpose for products, businesses, and inventions. So instead of allowing discouragement to weigh you down, remember that this too shall pass, and rise to the challenges set before you.
Cheap Lessons from a thong
Move over fruit guys, it’s jute of the loom, thong underwear for rednecks…..Made from all natural, 100% jute.
Okay, it was a wacky idea I came up with, but it was a simple prototype to make and package. People got a good laugh out of it. I even had someone volunteer to model it….Ewww, bad visual. But, I thought
it was funny and so did a popular retailer. They called me and expressed their interest. For a minute....
Another company I contacted got a kick out of it too, but if it was up to them, and it was, there would be no rednecks picking twine from their backside any time soon.
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Custom Handbags-Wallets & Stickbags
www.myspace.com/claudeandmonique
Of interest to Writers & Readers
http://www.cjdarlington.com/
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Contact info: momyer@live.com
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A small business owner, Julie Momyer has several years of research experience in a number of fields with extensive practical knowledge in small business start ups and designing new product ideas. |
