Best Way to Sell A Physical Product

[Maaz Hasan]

The idea of creating a product that acts as a tool for magic has always intrigued me. I now have a few ideas for products people can't make themselves. What would be the best way to manufacture and sell these products? In fact, what would be the best way to manufacture and sell anything - magic or non-magic related? My best guess is Kickstarter, but not sure how well that would bode with a magic product.

 

[obrienmagic]

It really depends what you want to make. I will not re post my "How to create and sell Magic" video again because i know you have watched it already. lol

But IMO you should find which manufacturer works best for what you want to make. Then figure out cost, then start hyping it up. Kickstarter will only help fund the initial run which if you do not promote, people will not want to buy it lol. Once it is produced, there are several online hosting stores you can sell it from yourself (square,etsy,ebay,paypal,etc.)

If you want your product in distribution, you can either contact different magic shops or companies yourself, or have Murphys magic supplies distribute for you.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

It really depends what you want to make. I will not re post my "How to create and sell Magic" video again because i know you have watched it already. lol

But IMO you should find which manufacturer works best for what you want to make. Then figure out cost, then start hyping it up. Kickstarter will only help fund the initial run which if you do not promote, people will not want to buy it lol. Once it is produced, there are several online hosting stores you can sell it from yourself (square,etsy,ebay,paypal,etc.)

If you want your product in distribution, you can either contact different magic shops or companies yourself, or have Murphys magic supplies distribute for you.

So how does one go about manufacturing a huge amount of products? If I ever plan on actually releasing this idea in the future, would I have to make each one myself or are there companies that I could pay to make them?

 

[obrienmagic]

So how does one go about manufacturing a huge amount of products? If I ever plan on actually releasing this idea in the future, would I have to make each one myself or are there companies that I could pay to make them?

I would need to know what it is you plan to manufacture first. lol but yes, you can hire someone to do a 3D design for you and submit it to manufacturing companies who can do the run. Typically they charge you both a 1 time set up fee and if need be a mold casing fee. Then you would pay for the full run. Usually high volumes are required to fulfill an order. like you would need to have 10,000 of what you want made produced.

This differs of course from company to company. It may be more practical to look into #D printing if the thing you are trying to manufacture can be made of plastic.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

I would need to know what it is you plan to manufacture first. lol but yes, you can hire someone to do a 3D design for you and submit it to manufacturing companies who can do the run. Typically they charge you both a 1 time set up fee and if need be a mold casing fee. Then you would pay for the full run. Usually high volumes are required to fulfill an order. like you would need to have 10,000 of what you want made produced.

This differs of course from company to company. It may be more practical to look into #D printing if the thing you are trying to manufacture can be made of plastic.

Basically my idea is a little tool allowing you to do lapping - style coin (or anything) vanishes in a walk around routine (ie. without needing to sit down).

My initial idea is metal (possibly plastic) and leather or fabric, so 3D printing may be hard to do here.

 

[UrbanEntityTV]

The idea of creating a product that acts as a tool for magic has always intrigued me. I now have a few ideas for products people can't make themselves. What would be the best way to manufacture and sell these products? In fact, what would be the best way to manufacture and sell anything - magic or non-magic related? My best guess is Kickstarter, but not sure how well that would bode with a magic product.

There are people who do just the thing you are inquiring about. A guy by the name of Peter Loughran does this. Here is his website.

http://www.masterofillusions.ca/custom-built.html

By the way, he's not cheap.

Then there's Penguin that does things like this. But if you have ideas that are not fleshed out, people will not want to help make the product if you don't have some sort of visual or working model. You see guys who do have ideas only and they are developed later by these companies. These people have a history of having good material and therefore companies are willing to invest in their ideas.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

There are people who do just the thing you are inquiring about. A guy by the name of Peter Loughran does this. Here is his website.

http://www.masterofillusions.ca/custom-built.html

By the way, he's not cheap.

Then there's Penguin that does things like this. But if you have ideas that are not fleshed out, people will not want to help make the product if you don't have some sort of visual or working model. You see guys who do have ideas only and they are developed later by these companies. These people have a history of having good material and therefore companies are willing to invest in their ideas.

Thanks!
I plan to make a few prototypes for myself and really work with it and fully understand it before I even think about releasing a full product.

 

[notsoltd]

TheUrbanEntity mentioned Peter Loughran and he may be a good option but, I would suggest you think of it this way - decide what it is you want and how you want it to function. Draw up designs with measurements (or approximate measurements because, ya know, prototype) and then decide what this 'thing' needs to be made out of. Metal, wood, plastic, electronics, etc. Then, find someone (not necessarily a magician or a creator of magical things) that specializes in that field.

You need metal? Find a machinist. Wood? A woodworker. Plastic - someone with a 3D printer and software. If you need electronics, you can hop on a maker forum and find someone that'll make you something. Befriend them, give em some money and work with them to hammer out a prototype. Try it for a little while and then refine it. See what's wrong (or what could be better) and make necessary adjustments with whomever you've commissioned to create this thing.

Once ALL of that has been done and you've worked out kinks and you've actually been performing it for a while, you have more than just an idea - you have a real working proof of concept for yourself. You can then take this to a manufacture that you decide on and have them produced in quantity. You could even contact Murphys, T11, and other magic distributors via their 'submit a trick' and if they like it, they'll work with you to produce what you need to sell it in mass.

Good luck man! Can't wait to see what you're working on!