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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?

#231

Post by iancmceachern »

frozenport wrote: post #181
iancmceachern wrote: post #83

I do this for a living. Setting up a small operation and doing the physical actions of designing, manufacturing and selling the toasters is the easy, fun and obvious part. I figure what your looking for, advice wise, is what's not obvious. A few things you'll need: -Product liability insurance, this isn't isn't easy or inexpensive to get. You need to have a lot of the below in place to get it. - UL certification (or…

Does the toaster on Amazon have these? If not they are extra.

Yes, they do. You can see the "UL" mark on the product label

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

#232

Post by janalsncm »

voakbasda wrote: post #99
dylan604 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>lawyers make it impossible to go to market without being sued, This would be my biggest concern. The potential field full of landmines that is the patent process would give me pause. Not spending the money to properly research because of bootstrapping the process could ultimately be more expensive if some other company comes after you for patent infringement. Whatever your idea is, I would definitely do some investi…

The trick is to tie it up in court for years, while you milk the marketplace. If you lose, pivot. That seems to be a standard playbook.

Usually you’ll be sued for your profits and ordered by the court to stop selling during legal proceedings. And if you don’t, triple damages.

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

#233

Post by Hackbraten »

floren wrote: post #190
frozenport wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the toaster on Amazon have these? If not they are extra.

When too many OOOOLOOO brand toasters start fires, they just close their Amazon profile and create a new one selling FOLGARP brand toasters. You can't have quite that level of untouchability as a US manufacturer, so you have to do it right.

I bought this product for my husband and he loves it!

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

#234

Post by Symbiote »

fullspectrumdev wrote: post #210
chubot wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I've only used them very occasionally in laundromats when travelling.

They are fast, but the clothes aren't cleaned properly.

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

#235

Post by janalsncm »

herbst wrote: post #230
sumoboy wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just don't use any plastic parts, over-engineer the whole thing internally, no wifi, just a dial for temp and lever to engage. All these fancy toasters still can't toast bread.

If you do WiFi, do it right. Nobody wants to install a toaster app but many Devs would enjoy a little API for their toasters

I would imagine the percent of people who are looking to buy an expensive toaster is small, the percentage of those customers who know how to code is even smaller, and the percentage of those programmer customers who have time to and are also interested in programming their toaster is vanishingly small.

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

#236

Post by [deleted] »

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

[deleted]

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

#237

Post by herbst »

janalsncm wrote: post #235
herbst wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you do WiFi, do it right. Nobody wants to install a toaster app but many Devs would enjoy a little API for their toasters

I would imagine the percent of people who are looking to buy an expensive toaster is small, the percentage of those customers who know how to code is even smaller, and the percentage of those programmer customers who have time to and are also interested in programming their toaster is vanishingly small.

You might be right but I highly believe that it would increase in popularity once you have more local only devices in this space.

I have plenty smart devices with stupid apps, but I would pay premium for a quality product with a simple API and no third party servers anytime.

Personally I base many buying decisions around 'hackability'

Edit:// actually I think this is a coming market as Google only recently started to support smart devices without third party servers for their home app so before that local only ment no Google home most of the time.

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

#239

Post by bythreads »

all your skills are moot if you don't know how to sell. Don't make the common mistake of "iterating in the basement" and when you need to goto market you flop around, spend too much time on a website and kinda expect things to "just happen".

I would not start ANYTHING before you figure out if you like this part of it, otherwise its just a "expensive hobby".

To figure this out, find something on Alibaba that costs a nickel that you think has some value, buy 10.000 units of it - figure out the shipping and import rigamarole and try selling it however you think works best.

if you like that experience and find it fun, and can "hack" it - return to your toaster.

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

#240

Post by nixgeek »

closeparen wrote: post #202
wnc3141 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Sub Zero and Wolf is also the US “sounds good in a real estate listing” and with prices to match. You can easily be over $10k for a fridge or freezer!

Worse is the warranty: we had an LED strip behind the crisper drawer fail after about 3 years and it was “Sorry; you’re out of warranty, that will be $220 in parts and $260 in labor”.

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