OK Guys, here goes:

Over the last several years I have been developing a reloading bench design which I finalized several months back and it is excellent! Problem is, now what do I do with it? I have tried approaching a FEW outfits, but NEVER get any solid interest shown. Any suggestions? Anybody have any marketing contacts? It really has potential - comes as a kit, doubles as a portable shooting bench too among its versatile design features AND could retail as low as $100 in mass quantities. It's a natural for any mass marketer like Cabela's or Midway.

P.S. I'm also looking for a woodworker or shop interested in making these; someone here in Michigan would be nice but I'm open.

The market is saturated with benches. Also people tend to make/find/buy used benches.
Take a look at your math... If your bench retailed at 100 dollars then you would be selling it to cabelas/midway for 66-50$ IF you sold a 100 a year that would equate to 6600-5000... then start nocking of that with big brothers intrests... If you were looking for chump change thats one thing... otherwise you would be one starving SOB
PS: thats not including overhead/labor

[ 12-18-2002, 00:16: Message edited by: smallfry ]

Saturated? I've done a lot of looking and haven't seen much. Can you refer me to where I could look at some of these designs you say I've missed? Thanks.

You misunderstand my pricing, I said $100 retail IN MASS QUANTITIES (like production levels of 100/week and up). Smaller production quantities would mean higher retail levels.

Anyway, I do have a possibility of talking with Cabela's - wish me luck.

[ 12-18-2002, 02:35: Message edited by: sonofagun ]

Any interest in selling plan's to guy's like me who need a new bench?

You made a better mousetrap...maybe, maybe not. What you need is a business plan to market, sell, manufacture, and distribute your product. Making a great hamburger is no big trick....running a profitable hamburger stand, is a very different proposition. Read the book, "Guerilla Marketing"
The first thing you have to do is establish market demand for your product and generally for a start up enterprise nobody is willing to do that for you....after all, if its such a great idea it should sell itself right?

K. Nimrod: right!

Yes, i live in alaska,80 miles south of anchorage. And yes, i do have a woodshop in the form of a converted 2 car garage, my wife was real happy .

I think a lot of people either use whatever shelf/bench space they can find, end up buying something generic premade like a Kennedy or Craftsman (myself), or order the plans from the Nat'l Reloading Manufacturers Assoc. (NRMA) for about $5.00 and build their own to taste.

In all honesty, reloading is a niche market in a niche market (shooting sports). Most people start out on a budget, and cobble together some sort of setup and make it work from there. I think very few start out w/ a bench that costs a couple hundred dollars retail. You might be better off trying to set up a personal web page, and sell plans for $15-20 a set, or a CD w/ some directions and some pictures/video footage if you want to get real fancy. If it's a real good design, and the presentation is right, you could do ok (talking pocket change ok, not retire now ok) by advertising on the various shooting message boards.

BTW, if it is something doable in a home shop, I'd be interested, at least after seeing some pics of this 'wunder bench'. I'm tinkering more and more w/ the various tools I've accumulated (compound miter saw, circular saw, router, jig saw, drill, etc.) and am considering building my own customized version of the NRMA bench, but much longer to fit my shop.

Monte

Anybody who reloads is handy enough to build a bench and usually ornery enough to want to build his OWN bench.

And he is usually broke enough from his gun and ammo addiction to be real cheap about the bench.

I own and run a cabinet shop near Madison and have also thought of marketing by own bench design. We build custom cabinets and store fixtures and do large runs of products as well. I also built my own reloading bench. Which was laminated frameless cabinets w/ maple countertop. Not exactly the design that lends itself to sensible shipping. Although they could be shipped as a knock down unit.
If you do find an outlet for your design, I would be happy to talk with you about producing the benches.
sandenwood@centurytel.net

That N.R.M.A. design is a dinosaur and unecessarily complicated. My design is simpler and more versatile.

Sonofagun - I'm going to have to vote with Leftoverdj. I dreamed up my own design and have built several of them for myself over the years and helped a couple of friends duplicate it. Mine is stout as tank, all bolted together for disassembly. But I don't think I would have prayer of marketing it.

I'm sure your design is excellent. However, one of the terrible realities of marketing ANY product is you MUST have a demand for your product. The business world is littered with the bodies of great ideas and wonderful products...but they died due to lack of demand and other such things as timing and location etc.

Any successful business plan first determines there is a real BURNING DEMAND for their product before they get too excited about trying to FILL that demand. So, in a sense you have the cart before the horse. Just because there are a lot of shooters does NOT mean there are millions of guys out here shopping for reloading furniture.

As Leftover says, MOST reloaders BUILD their own bench or modify something in their shop or garage. I suspect MOST reloading tables are also designed and built very differently from one another simply because of the dictates of space and configuration etc. In other words, one size does NOT fit all. I doubt any two reloaders agree what they want/need. I don't believe it is any accident that we don't see advertisements for many manufactured reloading benches. I think the reason is there is no demand for a commercial product.

Now these are a bunch of the negatives to your idea. If you still believe you can do something with it, go for it. I think I might try things like: Try to peddle some at gunshows. Take a couple of demo benches and possibly others boxed in a kit to sell. Or take deposits with orders from guys who want one. Advertize any way you can that is CHEAP. Then, depending on the interest and response you have, you will see better which way to jump with your idea. But I think you should design and make the things in such a way where you can ship them as a KIT just like self-assembled furniture. Selling finished and assembled benches is going to cause you LOTS of shipping problems IMHO...and warranty when they arrive at destination all trashed from the journey.

Good luck. I don't mean to be cold water on your idea but I am saying you'd better take a hard and honest look at marketing and business do's and don'ts before you walk into this buzz saw. And if you are successful, what's to keep every other bozo with a skill saw from overnight becoming competition? Danger, danger, my friend.

[ 12-20-2002, 09:39: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

sonofagun... By saturated I mean, generic benches from Home stores/hardware, or mail order catalogs. These benches I speak of arent "reloading benches" per-say. Like I said... I think many people make/find their own benches. The problem with "mass production" is where you will store them, and having large amounts of money tied up in inventory of non-moving product. Cabelas/brownels will not hold a 100 or 100s of them, they have inventory concerns of their own.
I do think the current reloading benches by Kennady ect. are over priced to the point that many people believe they can make/find/modify their own.
I do wish you luck.

GENTLEMAN (AND LADIES):

Here's product info from a brochure I have written:

SPORTSMAN'S UTILITY WORKBENCH

Design Objectives:
To create an optimum design for a multi-functional sportsman’s workbench kit incorporating ergonomically correct, utilitarian design, simple assembly, furniture grade construction, and select, high strength materials.

Design Features:
Workbench: Ergonomic, "user friendly"
design - work surface height selectable for work done sitting down for minimal fatigue/maximum comfort or for standing work positions. Shelf storage within easy reach. High strength materials and construction: 1-1/8" thick, laminated wood work top. High strength leg fasteners eliminate the need for any under-table cross bracing (maximizing leg room beneath the table), minimize materials used, and simplify construction & assembly. Easy assembly or disassembly for portability or storage. Excellent as a reloading or portable shooting bench.

Shelf Unit: 3/4" solid wood construction. Adjustable shelves secure in place. Unit mounts securely to bench with spacers maximizing usable work surface or can easily be mounted to wall surfaces. Unit can be used horizontally or vertically - extra unit may be used for added shelf storage. Peg board back offers added utilitarian function. Easy assembly.

Primarily designed for indoor use, but can be finished by user to resist outdoor usage. Lifetime warranted against defects in materials and workmanship.

Applications include ammunition reloading, portable shooting/reloading bench, gunsmithing, archery, fly-tying, camping/picnic table, and others.

DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS:

WORKBENCH: 24" x 48" x 28" high; 50 lbs.
SHELF UNIT: 17" X 33" X 7" DEEP; 20 LBS.