I don't mean to be a yes-man, but just to offset some of the other comments: The site is clearly an early (but totally functional) version. It will get better + prettier + more ajaxy as time goes on. Bravo on your launch!
Swish (YC W13) Makes Selling Simpler For Inventors And Creators
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Re: Swish (YC W13) Makes Selling Simpler For Inventors And Creators
#12Sounds like a great concept. But 35% of markup is too high. Margins for hardware goods are low enough already. Then you take 35% of that. I think you'll end up with a bunch of overpriced items with inventors struggling to make a profit.
I can see why you might think 35% is high. Compared to Kickstarter or Esty who only charge ~5%, we do take a larger percentage. But at the same time, we are not just a platform like they are. We are actually a retailer, and we take care of payment processing and fulfillment to consumers. Most retailers charge 50% of the retail price for these services (which cost real money). Though Kickstarer only takes 5%, you pay…
I understand where you're coming from, but I would argue that your true value add is discoverability or customer acquisition.
Payment processing can be added easily to any customer-facing website. One-time product fulfillment for any number of customers, for completed products all located at one place isn't too hard. Yes, packaging is a challenge, but there are dedicated e-fulfillment services like Shipwire that don't cost so much.
Assuming I have a product that I would like to sell for $100, after accounting for payment processing and order fulfillment (let's say at 3% and 5% respectively), that leaves around 27% for customer acquisition. So I have to decide if paying more than $25 to acquire each customer is worth it. If we're talking about Costco, Amazon, Walmart, maybe. Some inventors would give their first born to get on a Costco or Walmart shelf, probably for good reason too. I don't think Swish offers the same value proposition, at least not yet.
Re: Swish (YC W13) Makes Selling Simpler For Inventors And Creators
#13Sounds like a great concept. But 35% of markup is too high. Margins for hardware goods are low enough already. Then you take 35% of that. I think you'll end up with a bunch of overpriced items with inventors struggling to make a profit.
If you're going through mainstream distribution, even at large volumes, at least 30-35% between the retailer and distributor is expected for electronics. More for other classes of goods. If the value proposition is really to handle distribution and fulfillment 35% could be attractive to small businesses that are below volumes for mainstream distribution.
Re: Swish (YC W13) Makes Selling Simpler For Inventors And Creators
#14This is good. This is space is really ripe because of Entrepreneur-empowerment angle definitely has legs. And the Kickstarters, IndieGoGos and Quirkys of the world are paving the way. Refining this further and regional plays would be great too - perhaps get more stake holders involved as mentors etc?
Re: Swish (YC W13) Makes Selling Simpler For Inventors And Creators
#15Sounds like a great concept. But 35% of markup is too high. Margins for hardware goods are low enough already. Then you take 35% of that. I think you'll end up with a bunch of overpriced items with inventors struggling to make a profit.
I guess it depends on the industry, but in my experience in homewares, 35% is not high at all. 35% is about what a normal online retailer would aim for.
From a manufacturers perspective, it is great to sell through places like this because it allows you to assess demand before investing cash in a product.