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Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

simonberens.com

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Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#361

Post by [deleted] »

Rychard wrote: post #148
mylifeandtimes wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't know enough about your neighborhood, and I might have misread your comment (the "under the eaves" makes me think these are outdoor) but as someone who appreciates darkness I'd be really upset to live near someone who did this. Unless you can keep your light on your property (as in, you are extremely rural). why are you lighting up outside unless you are outside in the light?

The lights are indeed outdoor, and cover most of my backyard. It's a neighborhood within a major metropolitan area, but the light doesn't bleed beyond my property lines. As for the "why", the answer is security. If someone attempts to hide in my yard, they'll find it quite difficult to remain unseen. Most of my neighbors have floodlights of their own (though mine are easily the brightest), and I've gotten no complain…

[deleted]

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#362

Post by wredcoll »

vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #348
graybeardhacker wrote: post #333

"As someone who generally stays out of politics, I didn’t know much about the incoming administration’s stance towards tariffs, though I don’t think anyone could have predicted such drastic hikes." Except those with ears and/or eyes.

[flagged]

You mean the president famous for illogical and incoherent tantrums and a complete lack of understanding of policy?

You're right, completely out of the blue.

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#363

Post by delecti »

vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #348
graybeardhacker wrote: post #333

"As someone who generally stays out of politics, I didn’t know much about the incoming administration’s stance towards tariffs, though I don’t think anyone could have predicted such drastic hikes." Except those with ears and/or eyes.

[flagged]

Things are maybe worse (more chaotic and incompetent) than I expected, but I think his first term showed him to be extremely capricious. I'm not going to say that I predicted it, but it was definitely predictable.

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#364

Post by wredcoll »

pizzafeelsright wrote: post #360
mlrtime wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Look up what it means when they say "yes", when you're explaining something. Is there a term for this? Because I see it in my personal life as well dealing with some low price manual labor that doesn't speak english. Instructions often get lost in translation, the reply will be "yes" and it doesn't get done. I know they want to sound professional and confident, so saying no or asking questions is a "bad thing".

Lying. It is called lying, deceit, or bearing false witness. In my house I do not permit "yeah", or "okay". It is "yes" and anything else is interpreted as a 'no'. Once you press someone to speak a "yes" as a solid commitment, for example to an understanding of an instruction. If this puts the person on the defensive then you are dealing with someone who is not interested in being held accountable. Let your yes be ye…

People are frequently held accountable for things they do not control. Children even more so.

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#366

Post by mixmastamyk »

brewdad wrote: post #157
ungreased0675 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you need bright lights on outside all night?

In my case, I park a car in my driveway overnight. My lights also help deter anyone who might wander near my neighbor's open carport. I run GE daylight 100w equivalent bulbs purchased from Lowe's from dusk to dawn. They last for years and are cheap. Two bulbs at my driveway and two 60w equivalents on my porch.

We have a gated garage in the building, well lit as well, but cars are regularly broken into, bicycles stolen etc. Doesn’t discourage, in fact the light probably helps them do their job, haha.

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#367

Post by RataNova »

ggm wrote: post #132

This is the second article about hardware supply from China I've read and it reads very much the same, albiet in a different niche (the other one was about SBC construction) -Anything you don't specify will be done least cost, and there is no amount of "least" which cannot be chased in manufacture. The other one noted if you don't specify the density of plastic for bags, or paper for bags and packing, you get clingfi…

Feels like the real skill in hardware isn't just engineering, but learning how to be absurdly literal with reality

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#368

Post by RataNova »

morbusfonticuli wrote: post #283

This reminded of the YouTube guy of "Smarter Every Day" who tried to manufacture a a grill brush completely in USA and still be competitive in the marketplace (i.e. China) [0]. It turned out that USA / "the west" lost the engineering knowledge to manufacture "stuff" (in this case injection molding and other procedures): Nowadays, we simply create the plans and schematics (e.g. CAD files) and let the Chinese do the bu…

What China really has is not just cheap labor but dense, living industrial ecosystems

Re: Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

#369

Post by RataNova »

pinkmuffinere wrote: post #208

I would not advise jumping to mass production for your first deliveries, i think your story would have had less stress and more lower risk of failure of the first n (maybe 10?) units was bespoke, made lovingly by hand in a machine shop somewhere. I don’t think this is unusual advice, it matches the ethos of the lean startup, and pg’s “do things that don’t scale”. We made our first hardware by hand, i believe we did 1…

In some sense it seems like hardware has two cliffs: the handmade one, and the factory one. You need to fall off both to really know what you’re doing
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