Discussion
Doing some comparison shopping...
I reckon if I can get the materials for my #merephone project at ~$1 per component... That'd be ~$20, or pessimistically $30, to manufacture the device.
Covering my time & distributor fees I could probably sell merephones at $100, or $200 if CrowdSupply can't find me a significant discount on cellular modems.
These are all ballpark figures from a hardware novice, but still very cheap! I think USD.
Thoughts?
What's the most you'd happily pay?
1/2 tangential
@alcinnz do you need to get FCC certifications to sell it or is that covered by the components?
And my default advice about pricing is to always start high - it’s much easier to make a business work when your prices are high enough to cover surprises, give margin to partners, cover additional employees etc. as lowering prices (permanently or via discounts) is much easier than raising them.
So I’d suggest $400-450 as a target and give yourself room for stuff like shipping w/lithium batteries
@Rycaut Regarding FCC: If I'm not worrying too much about size I suspect it can be covered by the components.
And yes, that's fair advice regarding pricing! I'll take it on board.
Anyways here's test for how serious the interest in my #merephone project is: Anyone interested in buying me a Portenta Cat. M1/NB IoT GNSS Shield? There's Black Friday discounts.
Its a necessity for me to promise to deliver a phone! I'm not aware of other options.
https://store.arduino.cc/products/portenta-catm1
I think early next year (once I've got enough of a prototype together to impress CrowdSupply) I'll probably start a crowdfund, but until then... I'll refurbish my LiberaPay:
https://liberapay.com/alcinnz
2/2!
alcinnz's profile - Liberapay