Finding suppliers.

One of the hardest things for someone working on a prototype is finding what you need.There is a website called alibaba.com that is like Ebay on steroids. Just about every manufacturer is on it. You can buy things in large quantity. Actually a lot of things that you see for sale on Ebay are bought from someone on alibaba wholesale and then sold to you and me. If you can't find what you need locally, this might be a good place for you to look. Once you have built a prototype, you should find out what it would cost to produce in quantity. The first step you should do after getting a working prototype is file the provisional patent application. Once that is filed, you can then try and find a manufacturer to get an estimate of what it will cost to produce.

If your not ready to file a provisional patent application, you can have the manufacturer sign a non disclosure agreement. This will offer some protection. You need to know what the manufacturing cost will be so you can determine a retail selling price.

Manufacturing is only one cost of your product. You also have packaging, shipping cost (which may include Customs Charges) if you are importing any part of your product. Insurance, advertising (if any).  In the next blog, I'll talk about how to determine your sell price.