The EEVblog guy on YouTube recently did a video on the economics of selling hardware that was interesting:
He suggest pricing at 2.5x the cost of goods and draws some interesting conclusions about what happens to profit margin when distributors are brought into the picture.
Iād say look at Cricut or Silhouette. Making the Glowforge work out of the box will tap into markets like that for folks who never would have dreamed of getting a laser. Granted, the price point cuts the potential for customers, but still there is surely a good market for a Glowforge. They havenāt even begun the hard sell. Once the true shakedown of 10,000 beta users is in the bag, then theyāll be ready to gear up for real marketing and production. At least, thatās how I see it from totally no experience in manufacturing and marketing.
This thread really has really gone a different direction than what I had planned. Itās been 2 months since the last update. Itād be great is @dan could toss another one out there. I (and Iām sure other backers) would like to know if progress has been made since the delay.
I would expect an early target market will be schools. Lots of those who will likely add one or more to their farm of 3D printersā¦
Iāve been talking to the 11-year-oldās school, and if/when my GF arrives, and if it does what we hope they will likely be looking to buy one. Theyād probably put a few hours a day on it.