GatorTools
Made in the
USA
So... You have a great idea!
The ideas are the easy part, making them come to life and sellable is another quest.
We had a great idea for a plastic widget for the locksmithing industry. One of those things that was cheap and easy to make in the back of the shop. Every van had one and we thought every locksmith in the world would want one. Everyone knows plastic is cheap and could be produced for nothing. what we did not know was to make the mold for injecting this small widget was estimated at $20,000.00 and they said they would throw in a thousand pieces for free on the first order. Well... that made the cost for manufacturing $20 each. But that's not the end of the story. The guy wouldn't make the mold with out drawings of the widget and the mold and this was another $5,000 then packaging , advertising and the list goes on and on. By the time we were done getting estimates it would take 5 years to recover the money spent to just get started. That's if we sold a zillion of those widgets. This was a widget that cost me $0.40 cents to make in the back of my shop. Needless to say we still use the widgets in our day job, we just don't sell them here at GatorTools Co.
Some advice... the harder it is to make the tool, the better the idea. If anyone can grab a piece of wire and bend it into a special shape, just because they went to a trade show and saw one, it's just that, a bent piece of wire. If you can afford to make them out of the back of your shop... do it. If you think it is worth patenting, do it! But... don't pay a lawyer, learn how to patent it yourself. Your first patent will be hard to do, after that they are a piece of cake and you can walk right through paper work. REMEMBER!!! If your friend, buddy or fellow locksmith gave you the idea, it's not your idea and if they think your getting rich from it. You'll be spending your profits on lawyers defending yourself in court, then paying them for their idea. Even if they don't have a patent on the idea the lawyers don't care, they are in it for your money.
Where to go for Patent info - http://www.uspto.gov
The last thing I am trying to do is stop the new great ideas from happening. GatorTools started from problem that I solved because of frustration in doing my job. I have had many ideas since the "Gator Tool" and the "Wafer Popper" yet you most likely never heard of the last few I have made. Keep in mind that I have a proven record and wholesalers that already have my products on their shelves. What I found out was, just because I think its a good idea doesn't mean it will sell.