In Australia toasters are a weird product category. I cannot see any correlation to price and features/quality. The colour and style seems to be the only thing that separately them. I think a toaster that is objectively better than other toasters would be cool, but I've but it would be hard to beat my 10 year old A$20 Kmart toaster. But I suspect it would be a very difficult market to break into.
Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
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Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#12I have seen the lack of an American made toaster appear in several venues, so there is pretty clearly some interest in this topic. How many would buy one is another matter.
I worked for a company that made customized versions of relatively basic electrical devices and they didn't spend much money on it (couple thousand for the prototypes and the devices they disassembled to copy). The one pitfall they did note was that being the best in quality was difficult and expensive and focused on being valuable in another niche.
I am not sure that you need to make a good toaster. It may be sufficient to have an American toaster, even if it is no better than a typical toaster.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#13I know very little about toasters but I am rooting for you. Don't see much of these types of businesses on hackernews
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#14I wonder if there is a way to engineer a 'smart' toaster (no WiFi or major chip mind you) that could improve the detection of burning. Maybe the use of improved PID controller / ability to brown to your desired 'shade' of toastiness. Would be interesting to see!
I would love a toaster where the dial is a gradient from white to brown to black, and it uses a reflectometer (several?) to toast until the bread is the right color.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#15In my experience and not that I have tried every model but enough to say I am guessing they all suck as badly as the ones I have had. Space to improve exist, heating elements need fresh designs and more consistant heat distribution, should also be simple, I dont want options I want toast quick and easy.
Tried this one from 1948? It’s only been downhill from there.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#16I've had a similar idea, except in addition to toasters, it's midsize pickup trucks, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers...
What I've found is that regulations make it impossible to sell simple machines, labor costs make it impossible to compete on price, lawyers make it impossible to go to market without being sued, and consumers who say they want reliable, well-made goods will balk and buy cheap stuff en masse when it comes down to the wire. And that's if you actually succeed in designing and manufacturing a good product.
Someone could do it, I think. But I'm deterred by all the stuff I just wrote, and the people who succeed in businesses that seriously challenge the status quo are the ones aren't deterred by that stuff. And for every one guy who does succeed in pressuring the status quo, a hundred guys flame out... but again, guys who succeed aren't deterred by that either!
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#17In Australia toasters are a weird product category. I cannot see any correlation to price and features/quality. The colour and style seems to be the only thing that separately them. I think a toaster that is objectively better than other toasters would be cool, but I've but it would be hard to beat my 10 year old A$20 Kmart toaster. But I suspect it would be a very difficult market to break into.
Also Australian - agreed.
I got a toaster and kettle combo from a premium appliance manufacturer for Christmas. I've since seen the exact same kit in Aldi under their own brand. It's not just similar, it's the exact same product.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#18I assume the safety protocols required are an immense challenge. My recent toaster, for example, didn’t stop cooking and caught my cabinets on fire.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#19Why not set your sights a bit higher? In Europe there's a few companies making locally sourced and more sustainable wind turbines the seem to be doing quite well.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#20It would be nice to have an AI powered toaster that can provide me with early morning toast and light conversation.
Go on, start imagining. You wake up to make your toast, press the button down, and see:
* Sorry, you must complete a critical system update before proceeding.
* Wi-Fi unavailable, please check the network.
* Your AccuToast (TM) subscription has expired. Please update your details on the web.
* Non-genuine bread detected, please ensure you purchase AccuToast (TM) certified bread.
* Tampering detected, contact manufacturer.