Question regarding my balsa wood models...

[Subzero]

...ok serious question here peeps, remember the balsa wood models ive been making? well ive been thinking about this...I've actually had quite a lot of GOOD feedback about these and was wondering if it was worth taking orders and actually selling them - would people actually buy them you think???

[Vosla]

I think there are people who would buy them. But I don't think that it will cover the costs and time you invested.

[Analog-X64]

figure out the costs of inkjet, paper, material and sell them as a built your own balsa wood arcade model.

You would have to sell alot I guess to make a profit.

[Mordi]

You could always just make a bunch and then sell them on eBay.

[tomsk]

You could always give them some "functionality". Try adding a slot and turning them into a money box ? Of course you'd have to figure out a way people could get to their cash as well.

[Subzero]

THey'd only be able to hold about a pound in change!!!

[LMan]

How about offering one of the ones you made at ebay?
At worst, no one will buy it.

At best, you'll sell it have to replace your own.

[Subzero]

you mean LIST one on ebay?

[LMan]

Yeah that's what I meant. Is "offer" the wrong term in this context?

If you list it, you'll see if it generates interest. If someone buys it, all you have to do is replace it in your own collection; likely you'll end up with a better version yourself.

[beyond]

As a small hobby thing, I think they are great. Not many people these days take time to build stuff like this.

A piece of advice when trying to sell anything: Think TARGET GROUP. Who is your target group? Why should they buy [whatever]? How can I turn my [thing] into something that the buyer needs or thinks he needs? Can I do something to my product so that it seems unique or rare? Is it art or fun or crap? (No intention of being mean here, but a artist/seller/whatever needs to be hard on himself) What is my competition out there, if any (http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/iCade.shtml)

You could for instance say that there will only be made one of each, or there is a numbered set of ten of each. You could make a series of arcade machines with only car games, shooters, platform, etc. You could if you hit gold think in terms of using better and more expensive materials, add "glass" (a piece of transparent plastic on the print or something similar) for the screens, optional 12v power cable and add some lights, turn them into lamps... You can get key-rings with pacman sounds, buy them, mod them for your purpose and add them. I sure there is a lot one can do.

To be honest (this is the honest, cruel part, nothing personal), I wouldn't buy those that are in the pictures. They're fun but the finish is simply not good enough. But don't let that take away your motivation. My experience with my own stuff like yours is that the first ones are made in a period of finding ways and materials and good solutions to do this and that. I would suggest using glossy print instead of ink jet prints, for instance. So with some more models down the road, I believe you could make some that look like a million - and those you'd be able to scoop gold with

[Subzero]

Wasnt that ipad thing an april fool?

[Analog-X64]

I'm a bit slow at times ok... I'm slow most of the time. I cant believe I forgot to mention this earlier.

I sell artwork here: http://www.etsy.com/

Its perfect for one off stuff or unique stuff. People make stuff and sell them. Its different than ebay because its not about getting something for cheap.

I would suggest try selling them on Etsy. Let me know if you need help doing it. Setting up shop is quite easy.