Homemade store

Suggestions, comments, questions, and developments related to the Super Soaker Central site and forums.
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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:27 pm

Just take a look at the images I submitted to your site... it's fairly straightforward and I'm very surprised I was the first to make one. In fact, when I made that, I was racing to finish it quickly!

This picture and the next one show my CPH in various stages of it's life. Right now, it doesn't have a PC or pump (or even a trigger now that I think of it). If you see, the second picture has duct tape wrapped around the adaptor to get the barbed fitting on. That's to keep the bike tubes securely attached. Without that, they would just be pushed off. That's the only real problem I had when making that gun.

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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:48 pm

I'm still deciding if the interest is enough.
What is considered as enough? Without posting up more specific information on what you'd be building, approximate costs, building time, guarantees, etc, while interest may be there, you will not likely get any firm commitments from potential buyers. Homemade or not, an approximate price and time-to-build on a design would be highly recommended in order to generate truer responses. As well, buyers need to feel that their dollars will be spent on something with some form of guarantee such that fears of getting shipped a defective device is pretty much non-existent (with the possible exception of shipping damage, but I'd assume that you'd spent time trying to make the packaging durable).

The store idea is good, but IMO lacks enough detailed info for people to really decide whether the whole concept is good.

B)
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Crashdummy
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Post by Crashdummy » Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:58 pm

Originally posted by Doom@Jan 5 2005, 01:27 PM
Just take a look at the images I submitted to your site... it's fairly straightforward and I'm very surprised I was the first to make one. In fact, when I made that, I was racing to finish it quickly!

This picture and the next one show my CPH in various stages of it's life. Right now, it doesn't have a PC or pump (or even a trigger now that I think of it). If you see, the second picture has duct tape wrapped around the adaptor to get the barbed fitting on. That's to keep the bike tubes securely attached. Without that, they would just be pushed off. That's the only real problem I had when making that gun.
[snapback]21006[/snapback]

Cool, now I really want one. ^_^ Looks like a cps 2700 a little.

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:51 am

I'd like to see at least 10 interested persons. When the first vote in the poll reaches 10, I'll be thinking more seriously about this.

Shipping and packaging depends completely on how much they pay for shipping and packaging. I'll get that straight right now, I'll leave that to the buyer.

Prices may be unstable and I'll guarantee will fluctuate. I'll give you guys a rough estimate for APHs, but other guns I honestly have no idea as for the actual price. All I can tell you is that prices depend on my stock of PVC and parts. I will charge less for parts I have in stock.

Multiply 5.5 by how many PCs you would like to see and add 50 to that. That will be approximately how much I'll charge for an APH (not including shipping). Remember, that number is NOT exact.

As for guarantees, all guns will be tested. I'd never go so low as to ship out a non-functional gun. I am confused as to why someone would think I would do such a thing. Building time will depend on my available time. Remember, this isn't a factory. If I got an order however, I pretty much could guarantee it would be done in a month during spring and summer.

Again, this is only a poll looking for interest. All of these concerns would have been addressed even if they weren't brought up. I have been asked many times about starting this business and I wouldn't have expressed interest in this topic unless I had it worked out. This topic is now locked because apparently no one realized that. The poll should still be functional.

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:07 am

At the moment, I appear to be in the same boat as NiborDude. While I am perfectly capable of building my own homemades, I'd like to see Ben's workmanship and the latest ideas. Ben, I think you should add an option to the poll that reads, "Yes, but I will also build my own." I haven't voted yet because this is the only answer I would use.

This is a perfectly good idea and method for spreading the water gun hobby, as long as it does not change the tone of SSC (and I doubt it will). As isoaker_com wrote, people aren't going to take this poll as seriously as an actual store. I would probably join the forums if a friend told me you had great homemades for sale, but not just because you had an argument...I mean, a discussion...about opening a store. And, wetmonkey442, as Ben stated, this store would simply encourage the average person to join the soaker community, not divert actual DIYers from innovation and building projects of their own.

In addition, it is a terrible idea to sell water guns at that price. The point here is not to construct fancy masterpieces with all the bells and whistles, but to get a simple, powerful soaker--the core of homemades. You're trying to expand the water gun community (from what I gather), which will be happy as long as your guns outperform Super Soakers (not other homemades)--and they are only going to be put off by having to pay $60 for their first reasonable gun. I think somebody also mentioned custom paint jobs, etc., but that is overkill and exactly why you'd build a gun yourself.

I'm not sure I or other DIYers would exactly benefit from a store here (besides the LRT, etc.--very good idea), but this is a great project to support SSC and the rest of the soaker community. I'm only going to vote on my suggested option, because as Ben wanted, I'm not going to vote for, "Yes, I would buy homemades," because I'm not completely sure.

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:54 pm

Poll choice added.

Neat to see that there is some renewed interest in my homemade water gun store. The problem with starting this venture right now is that I don't have enough time.

As for the price, I don't think that a general purpose water gun would be quite $60. In fact, I intentionally avoided mentioning pricing in this thread because the price would vary depending on my stock and what was requested. A larger water gun with more parts might run into $80, while a smaller but still powerful one shouldn't total over $40 (excluding shipping and handling of course).

My intention is to start the LRT store however. LRT is more expensive than necessary and thicker tubes are inaccessible to most (unless they're willing to pay). LRT also is inaccessible to many not living in the United States. An LRT store would be a great idea.

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m15399
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Post by m15399 » Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:22 pm

LRT store as in you buy a hell of a lot in bulk and sell for less? I'm not sure that's legal.

I would be willing to help, but I am unable to do that because of the parental units' security issues. Maybe there could be a little group of people to do this instead of just you. Then I could sell mine for $40 and people would have to pay $70 for a prestigious "Ben Homemade". ;)

Of course there's always a risk of safety... You could be sued by the guy in Montana who overpumps his APH and gets his eye taken out!

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:50 pm

EDIT: I voted for the fourth option.

@ m15399: Let's just ignore that there was any legal issue, okay :cool: ?

@ Ben: What is LRT used for besides suiting SSC fanatics, anyway ;) ?

Thanks for adding the fourth poll option--that was a fast response, just like for the PCgH. Maybe a few people, NiborDude and myself included, will finally cast our votes.

$40 actually does appear to be a good price. As I stated earlier, I doubt anybody just getting into soaking will be interested in an $80 monster (well, not a Monster--just a monster). I was thinking about a joint store effort even before m15399 said so, but then I realized that this would just be an extra complication, unless you truly approved. At any rate, we can work to spread the water gun community at the local level (though Charlottesville is somewhat small--but not really). As Duxburian stated in another thread, the old generation of soaker fans is slowly leaving high school, and the community has to be supported by itself.

@ nobody in particular:
It seems like all the greatest members perform searches for their own names in the forums, because they post immediately after you mention their names. For example, I'm sure x will post here soon. I could replace x with anybody's name. Strange.
Last edited by Silence on Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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DX
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Post by DX » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:58 pm

I try to keep all my homemades under the $35 mark cost-wise. If I were to make something crazy, I bet I could still keep it under $60 without much trouble. I don't bother with air compressors or any of that expensive stuff, since I need to keep these practical. My homemades are designed for battle use, rather than sheer power.

For homemade stores though, as Ben said, prices really depend on what the buyer wants his gun's specs to be. Each gun is a unique project.

When someone's name is mentioned, they usually post some kind of opinion because of it. Nobody really searches for their own name, I haven't used search at all in a good year since I pretty much know where things are.
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Spinner
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Post by Spinner » Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:19 pm

m15399 wrote:I'm not sure that's legal.
Why should it be illegal? :confused:
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Silence
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Post by Silence » Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:50 pm

@ Duxburian: I didn't really expect anybody to search for their own name (saying/writing that actually makes it sound egotistical, even though it's reasonable), but it just seemed like that. I guess if somebody asks for your help or mentions you, you just have to get involved.

At over 6 posts a day, I'm starting to get used to the site layout too (not that anything is wrong with the layout)--I tend to stick to the Mods, Homemades, Physics, and recently the Feedback forums. I usually only go in if it says somebody else made the latest post in that forum, though it's sad that I post so much that this is actually useful--I'm looking for action in the forums!

@ Spinner: I think m15399 was just joking, but I'm not sure. I mean, why would anybody sell at a loss? (Rhetorical question, Ben--you don't need to answer that ;) )

EDIT: 50th post--at 7.15 posts a day (I knew this would be my 50th way before I wrote this post, but I didn't feel like doing the math to find out how many posts I write each day) :eek: !
EDIT again: In addition, I just added the second page to this poll thread...but I guess that isn't as important.
Last edited by Silence on Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:33 am

Technically, I do use the search to find every new thread it. I don't even scroll down any longer, in fact, all I do is hit the "new posts" button at the top: Image
What is LRT used for besides suiting SSC fanatics, anyway
LRT has so many uses, I probably don't know half of them. It is mainly used for exercise and surgery. It also makes really good slingshots (they used it in the "Border slingshot" episode of MythBusters).

Seems there are so many new posts here, I can barely keep up. I suppose that's what happens when it gets warmer...

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:04 am

Strange, Ben...you were viewing this thread before I clicked "Submit Reply."

I guess there are enough reasons to manufacture LRT, but make sure you're not buying low-quality LRT in bulk. Only the best for the best!

MythBusters is a good show...and those two guys have a sense of humor, too :D .

EDIT: I guess I did beat you to the post after all...but now you have to refresh the page (I think).

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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Sun May 07, 2006 6:36 pm

Well, I'd like to do something like this for the UK.

I guess you could have a few "standard" models, which could be sold a bit cheaper than a custom build.

I suppose the best bet is to run an ebay shop, and have the standard models advertised in such a way that people will come across it.

Example:
To cover the common ebay search "CPS 2000", your product description could say "(name of gun) - more power than a CPS 2000" - it's a bit cheeky, but it would get more hits than anything else.

There is a law preventing the sale of CPHs, but selling it in component form is legal...

i.e. sell them the main part, the latex and Jubilee clips seperately - it's all legal - I think...

I assume that you intend to sell seperate components as well...

If I were doing this, I doubt I could ship cheaply to anywhere but the UK - but I'd probably do water balloon launchers as well.
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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Mon May 08, 2006 9:51 pm

I'm very confident that rubber CPS water guns can be sold. Hasbro has enough trouble proving that other companies had copied the CPS idea. They're also not going to pursue someone creating a few water guns for others to use. I used to worry about the same thing very much, but in reality, there is no actual threat from Hasbro. Of course, selling individual components would probably be a good work-around if Hasbro came in.

Also, I have been a little too busy to send the the LRT I intended to send to Spinner and joanna. I'll probably get around to mailing that LRT later this week, but sadly I can't make any promises because of my busy schedule.

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