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Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#201

Post by stephen_g »

cbracketdash wrote: post #133
neonlights84 wrote: post #82

Given all of the regulatory obstacles and logistical headaches surrounding manufactured products these days, I personally feel that mechanical/electrical entrepreneurship is a path to ruin. Since you're in software already, would it not make more sense to create a strictly-digital product? Keep your day job, work at your own pace on software products (ideally with a partner), and see whether the market actually wants…

Enter Elon Musk with Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, & Neuralink... he seems to have it figured out

Doesn't only one of those companies actually make any profit so far? And even then, its stock price still regarded as likely over-valued given the P/E ratios of any of its peers?

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#202

Post by closeparen »

wnc3141 wrote: post #138
vidarh wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you need to aim for a luxury-ish niche, or at least a occupy a space where people feel like they're buying a piece of luxury, that's aspirational, where people know they're paying over the odds and that's part of the feel good factor of buying it. A toaster might well be a good space for that - cheap enough that it can be expensive in relative terms without being out of reach. But figuring out the marketing o…

I have a theory that anything that takes permanent, visible-realestate in the household has someone of a niche for people wanting tastefully designed things. In essence, things that do not appear "disposable" as so many kitchen appliances do. People pay extra for designer hot water pots. However purely aesthetic upgrade products will need serious work to maintain differentiation. Dyson is a more glaring example (fans…

People will do Bosch or Miele appliances because it sounds good in a real estate listing, but that’s relying on the cachet of a known brand.

I looked at a condo once with an interesting sort of art deco kitchen on and a custom refrigerator that fit the theme. My first thought was, it’s got to be hell to get parts for that or find someone who knows how to work on it.

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#203

Post by Tao3300 »

gffrd wrote: post #165
dheera wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> premium grade products. Premium grade != Made in USA Here's a $200+ toaster I was seriously considering buying at one point. It is not made in the USA, and most made-in-USA stuff sucks honestly https://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-Electric-ST1-T-Toaster-ult...

Isn't that a griddle?

> Toaster which burns 1 sheet of ultimate

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#204

Post by jszymborski »

dylan604 wrote: post #54
starky wrote: post #40

I think you are greatly over-estimating how many people would be willing to pay the cost of a North American made toaster. This would require an absolute ton of capital to do it on anything above a craft scale. The challenges of design, testing, certification (very important for a device that could burn your house down), manufacturing, supply chain, and support that are all specialized careers in themselves. I've got…

> I think you are greatly over-estimating how many people would be willing to pay the cost of a North American made toaster. Who wants a $75+ toaster just because it was "Made In USA"? Is it going to make toast better than a $15 toaster "Hecho In Mexico" or whatever other country? Even making the infrastructure to make a toaster would not do much in the way of increasing the manufacturing abilities in the US. What co…

I would by a $75+ toaster that:

- was made in a free Democratic country

- is of quality

I often pay a premium for such items.

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#205

Post by jongjong »

zztop44 wrote: post #174
jongjong wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything is regulated these days and it usually costs a fortune and helps nobody except incumbents. Makes everything feel rigged and makes me not want to participate in the economy. I wish we could go back to a time when everyone takes their own risks and has to do their own research. Manufacturers could optionally pay some standards company to add some safety label to it to help boost customer confidence but it sh…

I love that regulations kill people through both excessive mental distress and false peace of mind. That’s wonderful.

Regulations are anti-competitive as they prevent people from successfully bootstrapping their startups and becoming entrepreneurs. It forces ambitious people without capital to be wage slaves which causes substantial mental distress.

False peace of mind harms people because it makes people assume that all products on the shelves are safe by default which isn't always the case and drives harmful behaviors on a massive scale. Take the adoption of Glyphosate for example. Had people not been reassured by the government that it was 100% safe, many people would not have used it. Consumers outsourcing trust to the government instead of the individuals who produce the goods is harmful because it creates an environment which gives untrustworthy people a competitive edge and a certain degree of protection from liability. It shifts some responsibility away from producers who understand the product best and towards government agencies whose interest is to help large private companies maintain market dominance.

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#206

Post by aspectmin »

A few thoughts.

1 - do it. Absolutely do it.

2 - I love being around first time entrepreneurs- they don’t know about the bumps ahead in the journey so they just plough through. This is a great thing. Once you’ve ploughed through, you learn about all of this and it either causes you to be too afraid to do another, or to try to warn everyone else off by describing how impossible it is (doesn’t work and doesn’t help), or you get the bug and keep building more and more. 3) You’ve identified what seems like an awesome opportunity. Go chase it. Don’t spend too much time talking. Endless talk is the death of entrepreneurial endeavors. Do more talk less. Sounds like a super fun opportunity during which you’ll learn so much along the way.

4) Two entrepreneur credos:

A) when you see an opportunity the door is already closing. Get moving. Did I mention more talk less do?

B) the universe is interesting. The moment you start on an endeavor, the people you need to be successful just come out of the woodwork. It’s like you become attuned to the universe. Just gotta pay attention. Sorry - sounds preachy, but I’ve found it to be true over and over again. It’s like they find you through the cosmos.

Don’t listen to the naysayers. Those who say it can’t be done should stand aside for those who are doing it.

Welcome to the entrepreneurial journey. Pretty much the most fun you can have in business.

All the best.

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#207

Post by fullspectrumdev »

tcmart14 wrote: post #176
jongjong wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything is regulated these days and it usually costs a fortune and helps nobody except incumbents. Makes everything feel rigged and makes me not want to participate in the economy. I wish we could go back to a time when everyone takes their own risks and has to do their own research. Manufacturers could optionally pay some standards company to add some safety label to it to help boost customer confidence but it sh…

Its not there to help incumbents. New companies come up all the time to make these kinds of products. Its a barrier to entry to keep Joe dipshit who learned how to solder together two wires last night thinking he can has an overnight get rich quick scheme shoddily throwing some random components together without knowing or acknowledging what they are really doing and selling that product to some unsuspecting person t…

I thought this was America, why are we infringing on Joe Dipshits god given right to sell incendiary devices on random delay timers to unsuspecting members of the public?

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#208

Post by bufferoverflow »

Incipient wrote: post #199

A fairly obvious note, and aside from the technical discussions, 90% of your challenge will be marketing. You need to build a brand that exudes quality and value. I have zero idea about marketing and branding, but it's damn hard/expensive.

Just add AI.

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#209

Post by fomine3 »

mitthrowaway2 wrote: post #65
rvnx wrote: post #39

Aren't the best toasters in Japan ?

I haven't seen much in the way of pop-up toasters, but for toaster ovens, at least, they have really taken it above and beyond. Plenty of made-in-Japan models too. Unfortunately, toasters are one of those appliances that can be sensitive to grid voltage, so a toaster bought in Japan might not work as well in other countries.

How much soft is top priority for luxury toasters market, so pop-up is nonsense because steam go out from the top.

Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?

#210

Post by fullspectrumdev »

chubot wrote: post #180
thatfrenchguy wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re also known to use a ton of water, be extremely inefficient, and destroy your clothing much faster than a modern washer. Fetishizing “the good old simple times” isn’t going to get us to better products.

citation? I never heard of Speed Queen, or even seen one, but someone recommended them on here a few weeks ago

I’ve only ever seen Speed Queens in laundromats in Eastern Europe.

I will grant them this: the branding is not lying, they are fast as fuck.

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