Do we have a space for pre-order/signup threads?

[sniper97]

I'd buy a Galeforce board, depending on price and time frame.

You'll find a lot of interest depends on price, and if you have 30 people interested, maybe 8 will follow through.

Everybody has been right about pre order history on here, though... usually doesn't end well. Punisher, Noxx55, the guy with the H8R, Scarecrow, even Mad Customs... I'm sure there's stuff around on the 'Net about them.

let's not forget Apoc with the R7s

[Nish]

let's not forget Apoc with the R7s

And Falcons

[Jordan]

let's not forget Apoc with the R7s

There's probably some more I'm forgetting but that's a big one for sure.

And Falcons

Was there a pre-order on those? They're the only airsmith product on MCB that I was ever really interested in and he never did a production run.

[Nish]

Was there a pre-order on those? They're the only airsmith product on MCB that I was ever really interested in and he never did a production run.

Yup. I was interested in it and trying to put together the funds when I saw it starting to fall apart and get forgotten as he ramped up the R7's. That's actually what saved me from getting into the R7 pre-order.

[DocsMachine]

The sad fact is, there have actually been very few successful preorders. There have certainly been some, usually for fairly small items, but it's been my experience that it's been much more likely for a preorder to flop than succeed. The more complex the item- Crowdbuster, Mad Rifle, R7, etc. - the less likely it'll succeed.

I've had a few failed ones, myself. The ones that used to work for me, were simple, like T-shirts. We'd still have the occasional delays and such even there, but for the most part, they worked.

Really, these days I think there's enough of a stink attached to preorders in general, that you won't get any real response, even from people interested in the product.

Best route for something like your boards, is to make a batch out-of-pocket, with funds you can stand to lose. That is, even if you don't sell a single one, you're not out a rent payment or an electric bill or something. Yes, there's a risk you'll get stuck with some unsold- that's the risk every small entrepreneur makes. (And even big ones- New Coke, Crystal Pepsi, Olestra chips, Solyndra, etc. etc. )

What you CAN do, I think, is post a thread gauging interest. Hey, I'm thinking about having X made, how many of you would actually buy one? Just keep in mind that twenty responses does NOT mean twenty sales- if you're lucky, you'll actually sell half as many as you get responses. The usual ratio is generally even less than that.

You'd have to ask a mod, but you might even have a "sign up sheet", that is, post here only if you will genuinely buy one of these items. Basically the same idea, but worded a little differently to hopefully sort out a little more of the chaff. (Still no commitment to money.)

And, on the reality of the thing, as noted earlier, I'd say a general-use Morlock or MiniMorlock would likely have a lot more interest than a Gale Force. The boards do essentially the same thing, but the Morlock is smaller, and has the option to run dual solenoids, for those that want to make their own E-Cocker (or E-Stroker or E-Ressurection or E-CCM or E-Phantom, etc.)

I would also be very curious to know the response to either option. As I haven't seen any real demand for aftermarket boards, pretty much of any kind, let alone custom build-your-own-gun boards.

Doc.

[Flounder]

I have managed to do a few pre-orders for a simple product (off site) but even that I funded the first round myself to build capital to ensure I could do the second round. I kept the deposits in a separate account so if something went wring they could be refunded. Never had to issue a single refund. Sadly this is not the norm.

[ghilliesuit]

What kind of price are you thinking? I'm interested but its hard to say if I would buy one without knowing the price.

Maybe you could sell DIY kits or something if you wanted to cut out the manufacturing labor - chargd more for a reassembled board. Either way - good luck.

[dartamon]

I don't know yet - and it will depend on whether it's handmade or sourced.

[ghilliesuit]

dartamon Understood. Well - put me down for a maybe. I have a few RM's that may benefit from some of your wares.

[BenoitOWN]

All my pre-orders have been good.
it only small items or from manufacturer for initial order.
or I did funds myself a few hundred to do patches from interest.

I do end up having a few unsold that take time but for patches I just sold them to the manufacturer that gave me the ok to do the run.

And I kept money in account until I was at the final stage.

[dartamon]

From the sounds of it, if anything, making the Morlock II is the better winner.

[Rainmaker]

The biggest thing I agree with so far is keeping the funds separate until it's all over. If things go bad (sometimes just unavoidable), refunds can be made.

[DocsMachine]

The biggest thing I agree with so far is keeping the funds separate until it's all over. If things go bad (sometimes just unavoidable), refunds can be made.

-Yep. This was the main issue with most early airsmiths, myself included. We often- like never- had the spare funds to keep a big wad of money separate. I seem to recall Punisher mentioning he'd had to use preorder funds to pay rent and the like. That was the main reason we were doing preorders in the first place- we couldn't afford to pay for the parts and work out of pocket.

And unfortunately, that almost always meant that if extra parts or something were needed, the money was already spent.

No, generally speaking, the only right way to run a preorder is if you can afford to do the entire run yourself, and are only taking deposits to ensure that people who say they're going to buy, actually do so.

If that doesn't work, try a Kickstarter or GoFundMe.

Doc.

[Cunha]

Mini morlocks were desireable. Does the now available sci-fi board meet the needs of the gale force board though/

[Jordan]

From the sounds of it, if anything, making the Morlock II is the better winner.

If it doesn't require a lot of soldering - if all I have to do is populate a wiring harness and program it through either trigger pulls or a USB - I'd buy several.