Success at Ponoko

In just a few days the price of Prime goes up …

From - $27 per month + $0.87 per minute making + $3 per packaging;

To - $39 per month + $1.35 per minute making + $5 per packaging.

That’s 56.5% off the standard making rate - every time you make something!

Does the Value Prime launch offer make sense for you?
It makes perfect sense if you:

• Aspire to make more stuff than you do right now, but are stopped by cost or complexity, or
• Crave the very best shipping deal (including for free), or
• Want to make one single order at any time that totals about $50 - $70 or more, or
• Make something every 6 weeks or so, or
• Want to lock in the super low cost for bigger jobs every few months, or
• Wish to sell your creations at the best price or the very best profit margin, or
• Want to make a lot more stuff than you’re making now, or
• Want to get sponsored to show your stuff live.

But what if Prime is NOT perfect for you right this second?
Well … you might like to think about these 2 things:

1. the bigger sized job you want to do every few months, or
2. the more DIY you do as you pull your purse strings tighter.

Do you want to pay $2.00 per minute with Designmake Free, $1.35 with Designmake Prime (after the launch period) OR lock in $0.87 now?

And you might like to check out what Prime members have been saying about the service too.

Ok. So back in March this year we asked our original Prime subscribers to tell us 2 things - what needs to be added to Prime and what do you love about Prime.

In response to that we’ve added 5 new features to Prime.

And here’s what some of them said they love about Ponoko & Prime …

Doug, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
“How amazing is this service? Almost any 2-D design, on a ton of materials, delivered to your door. Love it. And Prime makes this into a profitable business model. That’s huge.”

Kat O’Shaughnessy, Brampton, ON, Canada
“Soooo quick - I was very impressed, and the customer service is absolutely top-notch!”

Mike, Clearwater, FL, USA
“Thanks! I think it’s great - but wow the price has gone up since I signed up so I feel really lucky I got in.”

Leslie, San Francisco, CA, USA
“Ponoko’s DesignMake Prime service is an fantastically affordable option for a small business like my own! Ponoko staff respond quickly and enthusiastically to my requests for new materials and estimates. The turnaround time has been amazing too! Quite simply, the Designmake Prime service offers you unparalleled turnaround time and quality of service at an affordable monthly rate.”

Jennifer, Oswego, IL, USA
“My savings have been substantial.  Even ordering one small item a month it pretty much evens out the cost.  I’m looking forward to being able to roll that savings into expanding my line, with bigger and better products!”

Dylan Johnson, Denver, CO, United States
“Desingmake Prime has dramatically reduced my costs which allow me to sell my creations cheaper which has allowed my buyers to buy more.  On some Art Nouveau lettering pendants I recently sold to a jewelry store close to me I did very well and the buyer was able to do very well also and that was on one of the first things I had made!”

Nadia, London, UK
“I ordered some prototype parts I had designed for jewellery-making, and John Lewis and the team were in constant contact with me, answering all my questions and suggesting some design modifications that would ensure that my prototypes came out perfect.  Thanks, John!  I also really appreciate that it only took about 6 days from when I sent in the design to when I was holding it in my hands - extremely quick service.”

Troy Robert, Roma, Italia
“Ponoko HQ is almost literally half the world away. Yet since I became a Prime member I’ve felt like the Ponoko team are friends of mine who live on the other side of town (who keep strange hours).  I always talk about these great guys who help me fast prototype and realise product.  My Italian friends are jealous.”

Charlie Nancarrow, Albert Park, Victoria, Australia
“Such an inspiring service. If only I had more time, I would spend it all creating designs to be cut by Ponoko. This service is only going to get better, with the great Ponoko Team, always impressing and out exceeding my lofty expectations in the areas of customer service and product improvment.”

Bec, Melbourne, Australia
“The massive savings I have made being a Prime member have allowed me  to  grow my range much quicker than anticipated.  One of the best feature is the priority making which allows for me to order on customer demands and of course I love the extra margin I make whilst still keeping my goodies well priced for my retail market. Thanks a mill! MWAH xoxoxox”

Chris, Wellington, New Zealand
“The Ponoko service was a dream come true - I love making things and Ponoko has helped me to realise so much that wouldn’t have made it off the drawing board without them. Sometimes, however, I’ve had to reign in some of my more ’speculative’ (read ‘crazy’) ideas due to budget constraints. Prime has changed that. The greatly reduced costs have meant that I’ve been able to act on ideas that I might otherwise not have - ideas which have brought me the most pleasure so far!”

Michael, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
“When I signed up I was clueless about making things. My first submission had some problems with it, but thanks to my Prime subscription I received all the help I needed to get it right. Their help meant I didn’t have to make as many test prototypes, saving me not only money but a lot of time too! THANKS Ponoko Prime!”

Ben, Excelsior, Minnesota, USA
“I feel it has kept me more invested in my designing.  I know that in order to get the most out of it I need to keep designing and making.  I don’t think I would have been able to get through my last project as quickly if I didn’t feel that time was of the essence.  Plus it made the cost of prototyping it way more reasonable.”

Colin, Brooklyn, NY, USA
“Ponoko’s personal service and interaction has been phenomenal…especially when sourcing custom materials.”

Jen, Los Angeles, CA, USA
“Designmake Prime is awesome. If you plan on making a lot of pieces you can’t beat the price. The nominal monthly fee is worth it for the reduced cutting and shipping costs. The skies the limit!”

Victoria, Spain
“Shipping cost has been really reduced. Thanks!”

So now you know. And you can read more about it or test it out.

We’ve done all of the hard work for you …

With our newly upgraded Designmake Prime service you can request any material you want! If we can source and make it, it’s yours!

This is a great way to do something different and stand out from the crowd.

And remember … if you only need a small P1 size of the material, you do NOT need to buy a huge sheet from the supplier - we’ll do that for you. So you only need to pay for the small bit. Easy!

Anyhow, as you probably know it can be a real pain finding the materials you want in the first place.

So we’ve saved you the agony and compiled a materials guide for you to choose from.

SEARCH THIS HANDY LIST TO MAKE YOUR MATERIALS REQUEST:

FABRICS

Cotton (and other fabrics) - see Fabric.

Felt - for more colors than we currently supply go choose from Aetna Felt.

Polyester Felt - see McMaster Carr.

Polypropylene Felt - see McMaster Carr.

Leather - check out Prime Tanning and Buckskin Leather.

TIMBERS

Balsa, Basswood, Cherry, Mahogany, Walnut - see Midwest.

Cork - see Jelinek.

Melamine MDF - see PrimePanels.

Veneers - see 18 finishes from American Cherry to Swiss Pear at HTS.

Bamboo veneer - see Plyboo.

Bamboo plywood - see Plyboo.

PLASTICS

Acrylics - see Rowmark.

Metallic plastic - see Rowmark.

Delrin acetal - see Amazon and Professional Plastics.

Designer plastics - see Archplastics, Lumicor and check out the laminates section at Kova.

Polyshrink plastic - see Lucky Squirrel.

Synthetic leather - see Longding.

ABS - see Professional Plastics.

Teflon - see Professional Plastics.

Mylar polyester - see Professional Plastics.

HDPE - see Professional Plastics.

RUBBER

Rubber - see Rubber & Foam.

Rubber magnets - see eMagnets.

Silicone rubber - check out MTI, RubberSheetRoll, Stockwell and McMaster Carr.

Neoprene - see RubberSheetRoll and Professional Plastics.

Gum Rubber - see RubberSheetRoll.

Latex - see Professional Plastics.

PAPER

Paper Stock - see Mr French.

Synthetic Paper - see  Polyart and YUPO USA.

Card Stock - see The Paper Mill Store.

So now you can go crazy! (or crazier than you already were anyhow ;))

And after you’ve requested a material and made something from it, we’ll then add it to the public catalog so you can order it online with no worries into the future.

And btw, just let us know about other materials you’d like us to find by leaving your comments below…

It’s here! Our upgrade to the Prime service is available right now. Lock in fantastic making rates, free shipping, get priority making, sponsorship grants and use almost unlimited materials (and much MUCH more).

I am so ready for this
Get Value Prime at our special 7-day launch rate right now. And be one of the first 100 subscribers who get their first 30 days subscription for FREE.

Get it now!

Hey – back up a little!
Okay, let’s recap. What’s this Value Prime all about?

Well, you know the Ponoko story. We invented ‘make & sell online from scratch’. Since then, we got talked about in places like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, BBC News, Techcrunch, Boing Boing, MIT Technology Review, ICON Magazine, WIRED Magazine, Readymade Magazine, Core77, Designboom, Treehugger and so many more (puff puff!). And over 15,000 designers and makers like you have made hundreds of thousands worth of goods using Ponoko. But here’s the thing. They were using the old version.

Now Value Prime takes you to a new level!
Value Prime is an upgrade to our existing Prime subscription service that bundles together a heap of exclusive benefits.

The 5 new features are:

And here’s the full run down of all the other features that you’ll get with a Prime subscription:

• Unleash your unique creativity with designer materials – Make something that is really different and stands out from the crowd! With Prime you can use almost any material you request. So long as we can source it and make it, you can use it.

• Get in front of big name retailers – On-demand supply is THE way to go for retailers right now – they’re facing tough times so they want great products from great creators manufactured and delivered just in time. Prime can help you build a business AND get your designs really noticed by promoting them to over 200 US retail design stores.

• Jump the queue to speed things up – If you want things to go faster this is how you do it. As a Prime user, your orders will be sent to the top of our making queue and processed first.

• Get designer grade support – We’ll give you all the help you need with ideas of what to make, how best to make it and how best to market it. Talk or chat to us on Skype whenever you need help to work something out. The great thing is we talk your creative design language, not technical engineering language (but we have that too if you need it).

• Get it right, before you order it – You’ll get one-on-one support before you order to make sure your design is good to go. We’ll take away any worries about submitting something that won’t work by putting your design files through a 6-point check before you push go. It means you won’t spend a cent until it’s right.

• Earn buyer trust – Get the badge of credibility. Potential customers are more likely to buy from you with confidence when you display our ‘Certified Shop’ badge in your showroom. The ‘Certified Shop’ program is only available to Prime users.

• Generate business leads to create new things – Ponoko ID makes it possible for anyone to get their idea custom made by a pro designer. As a Prime user, you’ll get 1-week priority access to bid on these product requests before they’re released to everyone else.

• Save lots of money when you make things – Drop making costs from $2.00 to $0.87 per minute. (Remember this is a special launch offer – it goes up to $1.35 per minute after 7 days). This is perfect if you:
  • Aspire to make more stuff than you do right now, but are stopped by cost or complexity, or
  • Crave the very best shipping deal (including for free), or
  • Want to make one single order at any time that totals about $50 - $70 or more, or
  • Make something every 6 weeks or so, or
  • Want to lock in the super low cost for bigger jobs every few months, or
  • Wish to sell your creations at the best price or the very best profit margin, or
  • Want to make a lot more stuff than you’re making now, or
  • Want to get sponsored to show your stuff live.

What Prime can do for you … in your own words
Here’s what our community has said about Prime.

I’ll be able to:

• “… offer more affordable prices to my customers”
• “… try different materials at affordable costs“
• “… grow my hand-made goods business faster … by introducing some mechanization and greater precision into what I make“
• “… save a bit of money on prototypes [which] will make “getting it right” so much easier!“
• “… earn a living and be able to live anywhere I want“

And there are many more!

Prime comes with all the benefits you expect from Ponoko
Designmake Prime offers all the benefits you get with our original service, Designmake Free:

• One place to do it all – Make and market your product ideas to the world in the least time with the least cost and the most payback available – anywhere! Save 90% of the time and 50% of the cost of anywhere else to make and market your product ideas.

• Instant products – Get your idea manufactured with zero setup fees and no minimum orders. (One off and small orders welcome here!) Make things to fit your own very specific needs – even make gifts for your friends or sell to the world.

• Instant online store – Promote unlimited designs and products and collect money online with zero per item listing fees and zero sales success fees.

• Instant sales – Chris Jackson went from idea to first sale in just 16 days! And Alan Chao did it in just 24 days! We get you from idea to prototype to product to first customers to retailers to mass market – one end to the next.

“I will use Prime to make my ideas come to life. And to squeal with delight at the steady stream of Ponoko packages at my door. It’s totally like Christmas.”

How much will this cost me?
Here’s the pricing for Designmake Free and our new upgraded Designmake Prime.

You’ll see two options for Prime. That’s because, for the next 7 days only, we’re offering you a special deal. After 7 days, Prime pricing will switch to the standard rate. The special launch rate will never be offered again.

“Prime will make a huge difference to me. I’ll be prototyping the hundreds of ideas I already have that I’d put on hold due to cost.”

Get your first 30 days of Prime for FREE
Here’s one more reason to say yes to Prime today. The first 100 people who sign up will get a 30-day free trial. It’s a no-charge, no risk opportunity to test it out to make sure it’s right for you. For 30 days, you can request materials, get low rates, get in front of design stores – and if it’s not for you into the future – just hit the one-click cancel button in your account and you won’t be charged a thing in subscription fees.

This means you have absolutely NOTHING to lose by signing up to Prime right now right now!

“No one else is offering this type of service with so many options at a low price. I’ve looked.” 

Go for it! Have fun.

Hi everyone,

I know you’re counting on this to go live at exactly 3pm PT. 1 minute from now.

It’s embarrassing to say that, try as we might, it’s going to take a little longer.

And I’m noticing that this blog is having problems loading too!

Please hang in there with us. We’ll be live just as soon as.

Also, please look out for an email that will deliver you direct to the sign up page.

Just hang, we’re working hard out to get this to you now!!!

From all of us here at Ponoko

We’re just about 16 hours away from launch. So we’ve collected together a bunch of questions commonly asked about Prime. And planted the answers to them here.

If you have questions that are not covered below please ask them here.

So here you go:

What is this all about?
It’s about the world’s easiest way to make and sell your product ideas.

Making (and selling) your product ideas is tough, traditionally reserved for experts with deep pockets. But Ponoko has reinvented how products are designed, made and distributed by being the first and the world’s largest place for anyone to both make and sell their product ideas online.

Some people have achieved amazing things using Ponoko and the new Value Prime service gives you an even easier, faster, more economical and more environmentally friendly way to succeed.

Bottom line is … you can now let your creativity run wild, turning digital ideas into real things for you and others to enjoy, with just a few mouse clicks!

When does Prime launch?
Prime launches at 3:00pm Wednesday May 13th US Pacific time. See details here.

How do I buy Prime? Where exactly do we go to sign up for the new Prime, and at what time?
The signup link will be posted on this blog (in a new post) at this time. And an email including a link to this new blog post will be sent to everyone who subscribed to be a part of this ‘Latest Group’. To buy Prime just click on that signup link and follow your nose to fill out your details, etc.

How long is this special sign-up period before it goes to full price?
This super launch deal is available for 7 days from launch, and the first 100 people will get a 30-day free trial period too. After the first 100 subscribers the free 30 days is not available and after 7 days all Prime pricing goes up.

Will the $27 per month launch offer be ongoing?
The $27/month + $0.87/minute making + $3 packaging deal is yours ongoing if you get it during the 7 day launch period. If you cancel and/or subscribe for Prime after this period you will pay the $39/month + $1.35/minute making + $5 packaging rate.

What are the Prime costs for shipping within the US and NZ?
All orders for more than $100 (making + materials) will ship for free. See details here. 

What are the Prime costs for international shipping outside of the US and NZ, to places like Canada, Australia, UK, EU and Asia?
They are changing! Shipping costs are made up of 2 parts: the packaging charge and the delivery charge.

ALL Prime packaging reduces from $10 to $5 wherever the package is being shipped (or from $10 to $3 if you subscribe to Value Prime during the 7 day launch period).

Also, ALL Prime delivery rates will be charged on the weight of your item, rather than the volumetric weight - this will make the biggest difference for the large but light items. In addition, all Northern Hemisphere orders can now be shipped from our USA node, rather than our NZ node. This is designed to cut cost, speed up delivery time and lower the carbon footprint of all products from Ponoko.

Next on the list are making facilities in other countries other than the USA and NZ. The fastest way for you to see these open is to tell us who would make a great Ponoko franchise owner. Fill out the “Refer a Manufacturer” form here.

Is there a minimum contract term? Or setup fees?
No. And no. Nor is there an upgrade fee. It’s a month-to-month service that you can cancel at any time (with no cancellation fee). We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone to participate.

Does Prime apply to anything I want to make?
Prime is for anything you want to make, or make and sell using our Designmake service.

Does the Prime per minute making price apply to metals?
No. Metals will be cut at the Designmake Free plan price. The reason for this is that metals is a new manufacturing process for us and we need to test it all out before we get bold with our pricing for it - but it’s a brilliant price at the current Designmake Free plan level anyhow! Rest assured that all other materials fall within the Prime per minute making price. And you will pay the lower Prime plan packaging and delivery charges for shipping your metal creations too.

Will I need to re-upload my designs in my existing Designmake Free account to get the new Prime pricing applied to them?
No. If you have design files in your existing Ponoko Designmake (free) account, each of them will be automatically re-priced without you needing to do anything.

What if I have an existing Prime account?
There’s 2 ways you can approach this - it’s your choice:

1) Do nothing and (a) your monthly price and making rates will remain EXACTLY the same as you currently pay; and (b) you’ll get all of the new Value Prime features rolled into your existing account. In short, do nothing and you’ll get more features for what you currently pay.

… OR …

2) Cancel your current Prime account then sign up for a Value Prime account and (a) your monthly price and making rates will CHANGE to those stated here for Value Prime; and (b)  you’ll get all of the new Value Prime features. In short, make a change and you’ll get more features for the new pricing.

Any chance you’ll add titanium, polypropelene, glass, cork, and… and….
As a Prime subscriber you’ll be able to request any material you like and if we can source it and make it, you’re on! And remember, you do not need to buy a whole sheet from the supplier, we’ll handle the big lifting for you so you only need to pay for a P1, P2 or P3 size.

Do I have to sell via Ponoko to use Prime?
No. You can use Prime to make things only, or make and sell elsewhere. But if you want your things to be promoted to design stores for retail, yes you will have to sell via your Ponoko Showroom. Note that selling on Ponoko does not stop you from selling elsewhere too. And be aware that it cost you nothing to set up an e-commerce online store on Ponoko and you can list an unlimited number of items for free and pay zero sales success fees too!

Is there a annual discount for Prime?
No, not at this stage.

Does Prime exclude any country?
No. It is for everyone in the world.

Can I pay using PayPal?
No. Payment methods at this time are VISA or MasterCard. Other methods, like Paypal, are in the works.

Will I be sent a receipt upon my own monthly anniversary or every calendar month?
You will receive a payment receipt every month you remain subscribed, on the anniversary of the date you signed up. You can cancel at any time and you will not be billed again.

What does Prime mean for someone like me who is not interested in selling products but just wants a one-off project made?
Prime saves you money if your one off project totals about $50 - $70 or more. You also benefit if you want to request unique materials that are not included in our online catalog, if you want one-to-one advice before you commit and hit the make button, you want your order to jump the queue and go to the top of the list, if you want to get a free quote for your DXF design files, get free delivery or the wealth of other additional features listed here.

Can Prime services be used in conjunction with coupons you sometimes make available?
Coupons for Designmake Free users will not be able to be used by Designmake Prime subscribers.

How do I get my products into retail design stores using Prime?
If you wish to sell into retail using Prime, we’ll make and ship your items to you as normal, then you’ll get them retail ready, packaged and shipped direct to retailers. The only criteria is that you’re committed to making it happen!

Are stainless steel, aluminum and brass available to Prime users only, or everyone?
They are available to everyone. But if you want to request other materials (including other metals) you will want to be a Prime subscriber.

Does Designmake Prime include a ‘make preview’ like the one in Photomake?
No. But with the Prime pre-purchase one-on-one expert design consultation you’ll to get a 6-point design file report before you commit and make an order.

When are you adding other making processes, like CNC and 3D printing and WaterJet?
Stay tuned for some more things that are revolutionary. 

Do you have a list of online material sourcing sites, to make a Prime material request?
Yes, it will be published on this blog next week. It contains more than 25 suppliers for more than 25 new materials we can make your creation from.

Can you make using materials I supply, like vinyl records, ipods and things like that?
The best way to make these types of things happen is to make a Prime materials request. You tell us what you want and if we can source it and make from it, then we’ll do it! The key thing for us is that we can put the material into the public materials catalog after we’ve made the first thing using it - this way everyone gets to benefit from new materials.

Is there a way to find all of the ‘Certified Stores’ in one place?
At this stage no. But we’re very keen to see a planned upgrade to our Showroom go live, to make it much easier for you to search for cool stuff.

What currency are your prices stated in?
US$.

Wahoooo!

Now get ready because we’ll be providing the sign up link to Value Prime on THIS blog at this time.

The first 100 Value Prime subscribers will get their first 30 days subscription for free …

To make it an absolute no-brainer to subscribe, the first 100 will get all the Prime benefits for a 30-day trial period without paying a cent to subscribe.

This will give you a real chance to test it all out to make sure it’s just right for you before you need to decide to pay.

And if you decide that Prime is not for you, simply click the cancel button in your account before the 30 days is up, and you won’t be billed the monthly charge at any time, ever.

This means you can go crazy with Prime for 30 days without paying a cent in subscription fees!

One final note - if you cancel your launch offer subscription ($27/month + $0.87/minute + $3 packaging) at any time, you will be able to subscribe again at a later stage at the normal subscription rates ($39/month + $1.35/minute + $5 packaging).

Last time we did something similar to this, the first 100 were gobbled up in 53 minutes. So we’re guessing you’ll need to get in quick because this means there’s no subscription cost to get all the Prime features for 30 days. But PLEASE do not grab it if you do not intend to use it because that would be a bit of a waste now wouldn’t it! 

 

Find out how to be the first to sign up!

We’ve answered a bunch of your questions in the comments section of posts to this blog (they are worth a read if you have not had the chance).

But this is just a quick note inviting you to ask any outstanding questions before we launch Value Prime within the next 48 hours or so.

What needs clarifying? What are you not so sure about? What is just plain confusing? And what have we missed out?

We want to make sure we’ve got everything covered for you, so fire away.

You can post questions in the comments section below or email them to us or send to service-at-ponoko-dot-com.

Yeah, you heard it right!

As part of this exciting new upgrade to our Prime service, we’re adding free delivery. This means Prime subscribers (only) will now get their goodies delivered for free.

From Monday June 1st 2009, subscribers to Prime will pay $ZERO delivery for all orders that are:

• over $100 (ie, making + materials > $100); and
• shipped from our USA node to any USA mainland destination … OR … shipped from our NZ node to any NZ destination.

This means if you sign up for Value Prime next week, your total shipping cost on these types of orders will be just 3 bucks!! Period.

We’re also introducing new shipping rates to the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Asia. Free delivery is coming, but check out the new rates when they go live.

So if you were wondering whether Value Prime was right for you, you now have all these features PLUS free delivery!

How cool’s that?

Ok, we’re finally there with all the preparations!!

Value Prime will be available for you to join, from EXACTLY this time:

Wednesday May 13th
3:00pm US Pacific
4:00pm US Mountain
5:00pm US Central
6:00pm US Eastern
11:00pm GMT

Thursday May 14th
8:00am AU ET
10:00am NZT

So if you want to nab the exclusive launch deal before it expires, you’ll need to book your slot within the 7 day launch period from the time above.

After this time the pricing goes up significantly. Also the current 30-day free trial on our website will not be available any longer.

For full details on how to join, please check back on this blog EXACTLY at the time above. (You’ll receive an email notification at the time above too).

Are you ready?!

Well, we can’t quite decide who should win the 24-months free subscription to Value Prime. So you’re gonna have to decide for us.

We’ve narrowed the 128 mind blowing entries down to the top 5 - now it’s over to you to vote for the supreme winner.

Your choice of (in no particular order) …

Finalist #1: EDN
I am planning on prototyping (and hopefully producing!) a clothing line primarily using Ponoko. I have yet to see any clothing on here and think that the idea of using the cool materials available as a limitation only leads to unexpected creativity in this medium. I very recently put in my first order for a piece (CANNOT wait to get it), but b/c of the amount of material needed it’s very expensive! I would love to have a free year of this great service to get things off the ground. Being unemployed (as I’ve seen others mention above  ), makes things a little tougher to coordinate and this would be such a helpful piece of the puzzle. Thanks! 

Finalist #2: Kai Howells
I am using Ponoko and Prime to free myself from the tyranny of “The Man” Having had my hours at work cut back by 80%, with a corresponding drop in income, and with a beautiful new daughter who’s just been delivered by the stork, I’m getting up to speed on manufacturing items for sale with Ponoko. Having never had the ability to easily and relatively cheaply prototype such goods before, Ponoko and Prime are providing a perfect conduit from idea to finished product. With the ability to design using software I know back-to-front and inside-out (Illustrator on the Mac) versus using arcane, difficult and complex Windows-based CAD software has opened up a world of possibilities. Being able to upload a simple EPS to a website and then have a finished physical product in my hands a few days later is simply unreal. The accuracy of the laser cutting process is stunning, the level of detail you can achieve is incredible. All this adds up to allowing me (and many others) to start up cottage-industries of their own, making and distributing their vision. Winning a subscription to Prime would lower my overheads, which would be such a boost at a time when finances are starting to get really tight, and allow me to expand on my ideas, working up from one product to an entire product line. Combined with the Ponoko storefront to reach overseas markets, I am very excited at the possibilities of turning ideas into a revenue stream. I’m working to become another Ponoko success story, this would free me from my every-day job (workin’ for The Man), allow me to spend more time at home with my new daughter and allow me to express myself through a creative outlet.

Finalist #3: Nick
Hello Folks, I’m working on a lego-like plugin-platform constructor set - which is designed so simple (or complex) electronics can be incorporated into it. The main core/kernal is a battery holder (which is craftily designed to use the battery itself as the switch) inside a base into which other parts can be plugged. These other parts include flexible plastic tubing that costs about $1 a metre from gardening shops - you can run wires up it, water down it etc etc. The idea is to create a platform upon which other people can unleash their imaginations. A Prime Subscription would offer breathing-space in which to play/experiment.

Finalist #4: Whystler
I want to hold a contest for unestablished, financially needy designers. To demonstrate their design-savvy, contestants will submit pictures of past work in any medium, and 1-3 vector drawings of proposed Ponoko projects. This contest will be open to those who have not yet been able to justify affording an order from Ponoko (ie. food and rent are covered with little left over). The prize would be the transfer of a 24 month Prime account, and access to a pool of money (aim: $500-$1000) donated by established designers as a Ponoko credit to get them started. Ponoko staff and established Ponoko designers would be recruited for the judging committee.

Finalist #5: Mused
I’d create …

…gadgets
both subtle and blunt
things to hold
make a caveman grunt

gizmos with gears
sort of clockworky
interlocking pieces
exact yet quirky

abnormal shapes
hopefully funky
touches of retro
slightly steampunky

lamps and shades with flexy bits
puzzles and games to test your wits

acrylic that ebbs and wood that flows
rubber band weapons to vanquish your foes

baubles that jump
and knickknacks that spin
toys that tease toddlers
and make them grin

paper that in big loops will fly
circumferences of two times the radius pi

various geekeries
bumpy and lean
everything driven
by a conscience of green  

You’ve got less than 48 hours to cast your vote - just click on your favorite one below and hit the ‘Vote’ button:

Voting closes at 12:00am midnight on Wednesday May 6th US Pacific time (that’s the same day at 8:00am GMT and 7:00pm Thursday May 7th NZT) - so go for your life!

Recently we released information about our upgrade to Designmake Prime - the new features/benefits and special pricing.

Now, just before we launch this new Prime service, we’re giving you the chance to win a 24-month FREE subscription to it.

All you need to do is tell us how you plan to use Prime, and we’ll pick the best one.

Hurry - entries close in 48 hours!

Entries close Saturday May 2nd 11pm ET / 8pm PT. (That’s Sunday May 3rd 4am GMT, 1pm ET Aussi and 3pm NZT ).

Enter now - Just describe how you plan to use Prime in the comments box below …

We’re very near to launching our new Value Prime subscription service from San Francisco and New Zealand. Just a few last details to square away and we’re good to go!

It’s a sweet deal …

You can lower your costs to make stuff – saving serious $$ on making and shipping. You can request almost any material you want, to make products without compromising your creativity one iota. You can get sponsorship grants to make your stuff and and gain wholesale exposure with a huge opportunity to get your designs in front of over 200 design stores throughout the USA.

Plus there are a heap of other benefits from priority making, to one-to-one expert consultation on design files before you buy, to material samples delivered to your door for cheap cheap, and some cool new ways to mix with us and other designers and makers.

Why are we doing this?
Value Prime is an upgrade to our existing subscription service because EVERYONE should be able to get the best possible deal to try stuff out (and get noticed by the big names if that’s what you’re into).

We want more people to experience the success that many others have - like Alan Chao who turned his idea into a global product in just 8 weeks, Nervous System who went from students to 6-figures a year,  Chris Jackson’s hot selling photo frame, along with Jon Cantin who knocked 71% off his making costs by using Prime and some good ideas.

Besides, it’s another important evolution in our drive to reinvent how goods are designed, made and distributed in this world of ours - in the greenest way possible.

So, what’s the price you pay?
Just to remind you, here’s what you pay for our current Designmake Free service:

$0 per month + $2.00 per minute making + $10 packaging + from $0.50 for materials

And here’s what you pay for our current Designmake Prime service, if you were just anyone:

$39 per month + $1.35 per minute making + $5 packaging + from $0.50 for materials

But you’re not just anyone. So here’s your special deal
As promised, because you are a member of our ‘Latest Group’, we’ve cut you a special deal during the launch period of this new service (which starts in the next couple of weeks). Sign up to Value Prime and you pay:

$27 per month + $0.87 per minute making + $3 packaging + from $0.50 for materials

So you’re asking yourself, would Value Prime be a better deal for me?
If you do your sums, our Value Prime launch offer makes perfect sense if you:

• Aspire to make more stuff than you do right now, but are stopped by cost or complexity.
• Crave the very best shipping deal.
• Make something every six weeks or so.
• Want to make one single order at any time that totals about $50 - $70 or more.
• Wish to sell your creations at the best price or best profit.
• Want to take advantage of any of the unique Prime services on offer - like get one-to-one design advice before you hit the make button, or bump the queue to get priority making, or get materials samples delivered to your door at a crazy low price.

And there are absolutely no catches
We only want you to be a Prime customer if the service is absolutely right for you. That’s why:

• There is:
  • No sign up fee.
  • No fee to upgrade from Designmake Free.
  • No long term contract.
  • No cancellation fee.
• It’s a month-to-month service (we email a receipt each time you are billed).
• You can downgrade or cancel at any time.
• If you downgrade or cancel, you won’t be billed the monthly fee again from that moment forward (you’ll only pay for the current month).

And of course, you continue to get unlimited free instant online quotes and face no setup fees or minimum orders to make stuff.

There you have it!
A cool upgrade to the world’s first manufacturing-as-a-service (MaaS) offering! A service where EVERYONE (not just a select few) has the ability to get the best deal to design, make and market their product ideas – whether it’s just for themselves or to be picked up by global design retailers.

On your mark, get set …
Value Prime goes on sale in the next couple of weeks – so keep a look out to snap up your $27 per month + $0.87 per minute making + $3 packaging account before it reverts to the current Prime pricing.

If you have any questions about Prime or the signup process just leave a comment below or send us email to: service-at-ponoko-dot-com. We’re keen to hear what you think!

With over 220 unique designs, Jon Cantin is the most prolific user of the Ponoko system - he knows it inside out.

So when he offered to show us how he shaved 71% off his making costs on a recent project, we were excited to hear more.

Here’s what Jon came up with …

Design File Optimization: Spend a little time to save a lot of money!

Ponoko is a wonderful system to make and sell products throughout the world without having to be concerned about the nuances of manufacturing and logistics, where the only cost of entry is providing a design file. Although I will focus on EPS file optimization using Adobe Illustrator, the same ideas can be applied to other files types and programs (like SVG and the free Inkscape and Raven design tools). 

What is EPS? 

EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript which was developed by Adobe in the 1980s as a single universal format for printers to accept copy from any computer.

Saving money 101

With Ponoko, you have direct influence over how much things will cost to be made. Short of joining Designmake Prime (which I will discuss later in this post), optimizing your EPS files is the best way to save you a substantial amount of money. You can then either pocket it or pass it onto your customers.

Here’s the story of how I saved 87% off the making cost of one of my latest products - Medieval Castle Walls B.

Step 1: Align your pieces

Before you start any file optimization, figure-out roughly the smallest material sheet size all of your pieces will fit on (P1, P2 or P3). In my case the choice was obvious - it’s a P3. This helps to give you a visual representation of how many sheets will be required, hence how much your final piece will cost.

For example - this guy’s going to cost a fortune without optimization!

(Click to enlarge)

Step 2: Fill up the sheet!

Even if you have only got a small design with pieces filling up a corner of a P2 sized sheet, you want to pack the pieces as tightly together as possible. Scattering your pieces around the sheet uses up more laser time (costing you money) and eliminates the possibility of having two or more products (same or different) on each sheet. Leaving white space on an EPS file should be avoided as much as possible.

Good example - there’s no room left on this sheet:

(Click to enlarge)

Step 3: Review your design

Review your file under high magnification from one end of the sheet to the other, then at a few random spots in between. It’s all too easy to accidentally place one ‘path’ onto the ‘path’ of another part, causing a laser cut where none was intended. Incidentally, I do this review again before submitting an order with the EPS file that’s hosted in ‘My Designs’ within my Ponoko account, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

For example - can you spot the problem?

(Click to enlarge)

Step 4: Remove doubled-up lines

Alright, you got things packed tighter than a sardine in a can … great! Now for the fun part - removing all of those doubled-up lines! It’s best to do this after you have fitted all of your pieces onto the sheets and you don’t see any further position modifications taking place. Although there is an automated method for doing this in Illustrator using Effect > Pathfinder > Outline, I usually find additional ‘path’ mistakes by the work involved with manually deleting paths.

For example - this cleaned up nicely:

(Click to enlarge)

Step 5: Preview Format - use ‘None’

If you consider ‘time is money’, being able to upload your files in quick succession is a must. For Adobe Illustrator, there is an option to save an image preview. Choosing NOT to save a preview dropped my file sizes down dramatically. For the P3 file you see in the screen shots above, going from a preview format of (8 bit) TIFF to ‘None’ brought the file down from 5.28mb to 457kb! The result? MUCH faster file upload times.

Step 6: Join Prime (and make it)

Just by joining Prime you can save a ton of cash, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer. I was lucky enough to get one of the founding Prime member accounts when this service was first launched.

But this new Value Prime offer is an instant 56.5% saving off the making costs - which is a game changer too.

So here’s my final result - the transformation of 2D plywood into a 3D object can be rather dramatic:

Seriously … how much can you REALLY save by optimizing your design files?

Using my Medieval Castle as the example, I saved 20% in making costs alone. Achieved just by spending a few hours on the design file. This may not sound like very much but it can make the difference between doing a project and not, and between setting a realistic retail price, and not.

In addition to this saving, my file optimization also cut the cost of materials by reducing the number of P3 sheets from 10 to 7. And this had the flow on effect of reducing the shipping costs too.

So by the time everything is said and done, I managed to save at least a third off my total production costs by optimizing my design. 

And is Designmake Prime worth it?

Absolutely!

My Medieval Castle retails for just $499.95. But without Prime, this price is north of $1,000 to make the same profit margin.

And then there’s all of the fringe benefits like priority making times, unlimited materials selection and pre-purchase design consultations to give me peace of mind before I spend any cash.

The Summary - you are in control of your costs

Optimizing your design files and hooking up to Prime is the best way you can control the costs to get your stuff made.

In fact I saved a whooping 71% off my making costs for this Medieval Castle.

And if you think you can find a better saving anywhere else (first, please let me know!), just remember all of the time and hassle you also save by using Ponoko’s online automated system and their super support crew. It’s priceless.

Jon

We’re almost there with another groundbreaking service!

Out with the old …
Being a creator can be unbelievably frustrating – it’s just so much easier to have an idea than it is to make it real, let alone get other people to love it too.

And it’s frustrating because the manufacturing industry is not exactly cuddly and inclusive. Unless you have a pile of time, cash and contacts, getting something made (and to market) is off the list completely.

… In with the new
But Ponoko has changed all this – and provided a single online place for you to make and market your product ideas.

Ponoko has made it possible to get going with no upfront costs and no minimum orders. You can test an idea, put it out there and see what happens. (18-year-old Alan Chao did just that. He spent $39.33 to get going and within a few days he had his product in his hands. Within 24 days he had his first customers and within 8 weeks he wooed global design company, Veer.)

Within minutes of being on the Ponoko website you can make and sell a unique creation, from scratch! You can choose your materials and know exactly what you’re getting. You can merrily prototype ideas til the cows come home.

Ponoko gives you exactly what you design so your products are consistent – the accuracy is unmatchable. And, if you like, everything can be finished off by hand. Not only that, but once you’ve made something once you can quickly reproduce as many as you want with a few mouse clicks – and that’s when the profit margins really kick in. Design once, sell many times.

And, for high-end designers, the idea of keeping 100% of the proceeds of a sale rather than receiving only 50% from a retailer or just 5% from a traditional manufacturer is kinda attractive. So too is getting products to market quickly and inexpensively. Look at what Nervous System and Chris Jackson have achieved! Test ideas and succeed/fail fast, then move to the next idea – great fun!

… But that’s not all folks!
As we’ve been developing the world’s new way to design, make and market your product ideas, we introduced our Designmake Prime service (an addition to our original Designmake Free service). Prime provides a lower cost option, opens up more creative options, and blasts you into the retail world. But we’re very ready to take it to the next level.

 
Ta da - Value Prime!!!
So we’re introducing an update to our current Prime service – to give you more for less.

Value Prime = Designmake Prime PLUS:

• Make stuff for even less – If you’re just getting started or tracking along nicely, you can wave goodbye to the current $1.35 per minute Designmake Prime making rate. And if you’re ready to go to the next level, then bulk pricing is for you.

• Ship stuff for even less – We’re launching a brand spanking new shipping calculator! Because we’re re-opening our San Francisco making node, you’ll get stuff delivered faster and cheaper.

• Materials catalog delivered – Although a picture can tell a thousand words, you can’t beat holding the real thing in your hands to know what you’re really going to get.

• Mix with fab people – Get together with like-minded people, bring your ideas, your projects, your questions, and fabricate your stuff live.

• Get a make grant – We’ll sponsor you when you want to present your creations at events. Whether it be your regular local meet up or an international show, we’ll help you get there.

Say what?

These new features are only available to users of Designmake Prime. Let’s look at them all in a little more detail:

ONLINE STUDIO

You can submit more design files to us – email quotes for dxf designs
We want to work the way you work, not the other way around. When we started, we could only work with eps files. Right now, we provide instant online quotes for eps, svg, jpg, gif and png files. Prime users will have yet another choice – email your dxf design files to us and we’ll send you back a quote as quick as we can.

Are dxf files important to you? Get Prime!

ONLINE FACTORY

Request your own materials – timbers, plastics, fabrics, metals, what else?
Forget about our materials catalog. And forget about paying full price for a minimum order size from materials suppliers. So long as you can think it and we can cut and source it, you can make your products out of any material you want.

At the moment you can choose from 255 variations of 15 different materials and we’ll be making 5 new materials available online too.

But it gets better. Prime users will be able to make your ideas from ANY material you request that we can cut and source. This means you can throw out our existing online catalog and go wild.

So if you want cotton, balsawood, cherry, walnut, foam, delrine, polypropylene, or anything else that comes to mind – just let us know and together we’ll make it happen.

Want to go your own way with materials? Get Prime!

Materials catalog - delivered all the way to your door
You can’t beat holding the real thing in your hands to know what you’re really going to get. So we’ll send our entire online catalog to you!

What samples in your hot little hands? Get Prime!

Your orders are prioritized ahead of all others – priority queue for making
Our turnaround times vary from job to job, depending on how busy we get at any point in time. But as a Prime user, your orders won’t get stuck in traffic. They’ll be sent to the top of the list and processed first.

Delivery times matter? Get Prime!

ONLINE SHOP

Earn buyer trust – ‘Certified Shop’ badge
People are more likely to buy online when they can buy with confidence. One of the ways you can earn trust with potential customers is to be certified by us and display a ‘Certified Shop’ badge in your showroom. (We’ll verify that you are who you say you are by mailing you a special code that you’ll need to email back to us.) The ‘Certified Shop’ program is only available to Prime users.

Want buyers to know you’re on the level? Get Prime!

Generate business by making other people’s ideas real – bid on customer design/make jobs
Ponoko ID makes it possible for anyone to get their idea custom made by a pro designer. There has been more than $100,000 worth of product requests. As a Prime user, you’ll get priority access to these product requests before they’re released to everyone else. It’s a great way to earn some extra money, help someone else out, and get new ideas on the sorts of things people want to buy.

Want to make things for other people? Get Prime!

Get noticed by the big guns – promotion to over 200 US retail design stores
If you want your products to be seen by some of the leading retailers throughout the US without knocking on each of their doors yourself, you’ll need wholesale exposure. As a Prime user, we’ll work with you to identify the right products and the right pricing – then tell retailers (like Urban Outfitters, Target plus Velocity Art and Design) about you.

Want main street retail exposure? Get Prime!

Get a make grant – sponsorship to present your creations at events
Whether it be your regular local meet up or an international show, we’ll help you get there with either free making, materials or shipping – or a combo! We’ll also give you cards to help spread the word about Ponoko.

Want support for your next event? Get Prime!

SUPPORT

Get design/make/sell support – talk to us on Skype IM or phone us
Have you ever wanted to just pick up the phone and call us to work something out? Well now you can. As a Prime user, you’ll get us live for one hour a day to all the one-on-one design support you need to get the absolute best from our service.

Rather talk to a real person? Get Prime!

Get it right before you push go – one-to-one expert consultation on design files
The more complex your design, the greater the chance that not everything will turn out exactly according to plan the first time around. To help you perfect your design sooner, Prime users will be able to submit their design file(s) to our expert community panel for a free appraisal. You’ll get a 6-point report on how your design file(s) stack up before you push go on the making process.

Want to get it right before you pay? Get Prime!

Learn more about successful making – live design/make expert webinars
Our blog is full of inspiration and tips – but the more you know the more you want to know, right? Prime users will get exclusive invitations to live online webinars that will get you up close and personal with the ins and outs of our latest materials and manufacturing processes. It’s all about you getting the best results possible without it costing the earth.

Want to get the most out of our materials and manufacturing processes? Get Prime!

Learn more about successful marketing – live marketing expert webinars
Are you selling as many products as you’d like? A great idea needs a great sell. Prime users will get exclusive invitations to live online webinars showing you how to best market yourself. You’ll learn everything from the nuts and bolts of setting up your Showroom the right way (so search engines can find you easily), who to contact to link to your Showroom (and what to say), how to set up and run a blog, optimal pricing strategies, through to how to create the all-important prospect list and love them to bits.
 
Want to be an ace marketer? Get Prime!

Mix with fab people – Get together and make
Meet with like-minded people, bring your ideas, your projects, your questions, and fabricate your stuff live. A great way to get a project moving along and meet the people who make it happen.

COSTS

Make stuff for even less – wave bye-bye to $1.35 per minute
When you make things with our Designmake Free service you pay $2.00 per minute for the laser cutter to do its thing. And if you make things with our standard Designmake Prime service you pay $1.35 per minute. So if it takes 20 minutes for the laser to cut out your design, it will cost you either $40.00 or $27.00 (plus materials and shipping).

But Prime Value users will get everything they make at a special locked-in price of $0.87 per minute. And, as with Designmake Free, there are no setup fees and no minimum orders!

And if you’re ready to go to the next level, then bulk pricing is for you. Tell us, we’ll make it happen.

Is cost important to you? Get Prime!

Save even more on shipping – wave hello to a new shipping calculator!
In addition to 50% off the packaging cost you get as a standard Prime user, you’ll get a whole new set of shipping rates and delivery timeframes depending upon whether you want to ship from our United States node or New Zealand node.

Is cost is important to you? Get Prime!

 
So there you have it – Value Prime!
We’ll be launching this new service real soon. And because you’ve joined this exclusive “Ponoko Latest” group, you’ll get access to a special launch offer that will make it a no brainer for you to join up. This offer will not be available to anyone else.

You are in prime position to score a really sweet deal!

In the meantime, feel free to let the questions flow. You can leave questions or comments below or email service [at] ponoko [dot] com

We’ve covered the 6 top lessons from the experiences of Alan Chao (from idea to global product in just 8 weeks!) plus Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg (from student life to 6-figures last year, selling in over 40 stores).

Now let’s take a look at how a professional designer Chris Jackson was able to solve the 9 reasons why product ideas are typically doomed.

Interview with Chris of Northwards Design - how he went from idea to first customers in just 16 days!!

Chris Jackson runs a design studio called Northwards Design and teaches at the Massey University School of Design. After seeing a special feature in the influential design magazine ICON about a famous London designer using Ponoko, he decided to test us out. His aesthetic and commercial results have been nothing less than stellar!

After designing something within 24 hours, receiving his first product within a few days and posting it for sale, he got his first customers in just 16 DAYS! He was then launched in 2 Asian retail stores - in Japan and in Hong Kong.

And within the next few weeks he’ll be able to announce a serious deal with one of the largest design retailers in the world!

We jumped on the phone together and had a chat about his experience …

Chris talks about his interest in Ponoko’s progressive nature, the challenges of running a small design studio, the benefits of Ponoko and how best to use our service.

He also reveals some keys to his success:

1) Set your constraints (and stick to ‘em)
Chris gave himself 24 hours to design his product, confident in the fact that the physical prototyping process would get the concept just right. He did not want to spend endless hours on something that he was just testing for the first time. This enabled him to get an early result without fuss. And it flourished from there.

2) Be clear about what you want
Before he kicked off, Chris was clear about what he wanted to achieve. Since he had been traveling for 12 months his plan was to get back on the radar - and get some publicity. He was also very clear that he wanted to create something simple and low cost. This approach focused his mind.

3) Keep it simple to start with
By setting his constraints and goals upfront this forced Chris to keep it simple. This kept the cost down, made it easy to package, and produced a result that’s an ‘impulse purchase’. Easy huh! After this success he moved on to produce a second and more complex item.

4) Design for the process
To get a great result at anything, it’s really important to understand the positives and negatives of the resources you have available. Laser cutting is not great for building walls for houses, but it is great for producing simple items that are self assembled, package easily and ship for little money. Because Chris understood this context, he designed within it and ultimately succeeded with his very first project.

5) Be original and surprizing
Chris knows that to get attention you need to be different than everything else. He does not want to take another idea and iterate on it a little - he wants to strike out with something fresh. While most ‘new’ ideas are influenced by others before them, something must be substantially unique for people to sit up and take notice. Chris’ design does just this.

6) Persevere!
Above all things, if you enjoy what you’re doing and believe in it, do not quit after a few attempts or a few weeks, and do not listen to “moron” bloggers who are negative for the sake of negativity. Don’t rush yourself (but don’t waste time), look around at what else is out there and focus on creating the most value you can with the wealth of resources you have.

Thanks Chris!

Next up?

Corey Daniels and Zach Thomas talk about how they have gone from zero to a multitude of diverse and unique products.

One of our power users will show you how they optimize their design files to save tons of cash!

And we’re going to let the cat out of the bag about what’s coming next!

Can you guess???

In August last year we surveyed over 10,000 makers and designers … and they told us the 8 reasons that stopped them from making things. Since then they’ve added 1 more.

Back then there were a few other quality suppliers who had solved 2 of these problems, while Ponoko had solved 4.

By November we had solved 7 of them.

And we continue to be on the march to be the first to solve them all.

So here’s a summary of those 8+1 reasons, where we are up to now and where we are going to next:

Reason #1 - Where the hell do I start?!
Before Ponoko, there was no one place you could go to design, make and market your product ideas. Life was VERY tough if you wanted to bring something into the world.

But Ponoko gave you a place to get all these things done, in one single place online.

Problem solved.

Reason #2 - Make the design process super simple

Before Ponoko, you typically had to be an expert designer to get something made. Unless you could drive design software, you could not easily get a start.

But Ponoko can be used by people with zero design skill (Ponoko ID), people who cannot use design software (Photomake) and people who can (Designmake).

Problem solved.

Reason #3 - Talking different languages - fixed setup fees, minimum orders & shipping costs
Before Ponoko, you had to pay fixed setup costs and pay for minimum order sizes to get something made. This made prototyping a very expensive process.

But Ponoko asks you for neither. And you get to talk with us in your language (not manufacturer-speak).

Then our Prime service reduced the shipping fee by as much as 48% to some US locations.

Problem (mostly) solved. The problem that remains is shipping costs to a wider audience …

Reason #4 - Limited materials selection

Before Ponoko, you had access to the materials you searched for yourself and you bought by the full sheet, although you only needed 15% of it. Lots of time and money to get started.

But Ponoko gave you very easy access to materials in a variety of sizes, starting from just $0.50. And then the Prime service enabled you to request your own unique materials (WITHOUT needing to pay the supplier for a full sheet), so you could do whatever you wanted!

Problem solved. You also wanted to get material sample swatches in your hot little hands.

Reason #5 - Small orders VS small cost
Before Ponoko, you could not make a small order for a small cost - you had to pay an unreasonably large cost for a one-off, or make a large bulk order to get a low per item cost.

But Ponoko gave you the ability to get one-offs at a reasonable price. And then the Prime service gave you a bulk pricing deal for one-offs. So you got the world’s easiest service at the friendliest retail price, hands down.

Problem solved.

Reason #6 - Will anyone actually buy my creation?

Before Ponoko, you had to spend a lot of time and cash before you could get your product to market to assess the initial demand for it - then many hoops to jump through to scale up.

But Ponoko gave you a single place to test your ideas before you spent money on them (promote your design files), test market your products at very low cost (Alan Chao’s coasters cost him just $39.33 to get going) and to get into major design retailers (like Velocity Art & Design and Veer). From zero to upscale with a single provider.

Problem solved.

Reason #7 - Give me another 40 hours of spare time!

Before Ponoko, it took you about 40 hours going back and forth and around in circles with materials and manufacturing suppliers to get your product made – and many months to get the promotional wheels moving.

Remember what Jesse from Nervous System said about this?!

“Ultimately I dont think most people appreciate how difficult it is to normally find a manfacturer and how difficult they often are to work with.”

“It’s very difficult to find people who are willing to work with unusual materials that they’ve never worked with before, especially in the traditional manufacturing world where most of the manufacturers don’t want to do something that’s very different from what they have already done … Even though the technology can make anything, they don’t want to touch it.”

“It’s hard to explain what’s good about Ponoko becuase you’d think it’d be normal … It’s like, you ask them if they can do something and then if they can do it, they’ll do it - and they do it fast and well! ”

“Some of the convenient things about Ponoko are there’s no minimums on anything, there’s no fee to prototype something, so you can really try out whatever you want and just get one of it … and try out lots of different things”

But Ponoko has chopped the traditional process down to about 1 hour – and the best we’ve seen is from concept to first product sale in just 16 days and to major retailer in just 8 weeks. Huh!?!?!

Problem solved.

Reason #8 - Show me some (more) love

Before Ponoko, you were all alone on your quest to get stuff made (and to market). Who was available for you to lean on for support from one end of the challenge to the next?

But the Ponoko people and our vibrant community have given you a place to get all the support and advice you need, in a down to earth fashion – accessible for everyone.

Problem solved. You also wanted to be put in direct contact with others, to build an even closer community.

Reason #9 - Grow with me
Before Ponoko, you had to switch suppliers as you grew more successful. No one offered a single service to make one at a time through to millions. And no one offered a single service to help you sell one at a time through to millions. The switching costs were expensive and very time consuming. Too hard, sit on couch, watch tv.

But Ponoko has grown with the success of everyday people, from idea to prototype to product to first customers to enhanced product to retailers to retail customers!

Problem (mostly) solved. The problem that remains is a bulk pricing service. 

So where does this leave us?

Well, we’ve almost solved all of the problems you have told us about.

And with our recent developments, we think we’re over the finish line - everything a creator needs to go from concept to market test to market scale, all in one place at the click of a mouse!!

BUT … if you feel we might have missed something, PLEASE TELL US NOW before we launch our new service … go ahead, don’t be shy, have your say here …

So here’s 2 more things to make it easier to make and sell your product ideas online these days:

1) 6 top lessons from last week’s case studies.

2) 7-step ‘how-to’ blueprint.

First up …

6 top lessons from Alan Chao & Nervous System

If you’ve had the chance to listen to our case study interviews with Alan Chao (”from idea to global product in just 8 weeks”) and Nervous System (”from student life to 6-figures a year”) you’ll pick up some important points.

Here’s 6 of them that stood out to us:

1) Create something simple
At the end of the day Alan’s coaster idea is an extremely simple one. The best ideas often are huh. And it requires zero assembly and is ideally suited for the laser cutting process. In fact you’d be hard pressed to get a better outcome any other way!

What other simple ideas are out there that you have overlooked? Clock faces, frames for mirrors, art and photos, chopping boards, cutlery, even personalized toothpicks! They are not complex product design challenges that require superhuman strength, but they are everyday goods waiting for your unique spin. Just like the coasters.

Jessica and Jesse have found this too. While they have some very complex items, the ones that sell the best are nice and simple.

2) Show it to people as quick as
If there’s one (bad) thing that lots of creators do, it’s tweaking their designs over and over and over again until they are “perfect”. The result is often a creation that remains hidden in the dark that no one gets to see. Which was often not the original intention.

One thing that Alan decided very early on was that he wanted to share his idea as soon as he could to find out 2 things with as little effort as possible - (1) did anyone actually like it and (2) could it be improved.

As Alan said, he tweaked his design 4-5 times AFTER he put it out into the public. And some of these tweaks came AFTER people had purchased his coasters and stuff had broken. Huh? But he put this right with refunds and continued on - and was ultimately very successful. Oh I see!

There’s no better way to prove your idea than to share it with others. And in Alan’s case he not only enhanced it, but he got picked up by a major brand too. All with an “imperfect” product.

3) Spread the word
If you ask anyone at the large and established product selling sites (like ebay, etsy, cafepress, etc), particularly the top sellers, they will tell you that the only way they got there was by promoting themselves. They did not sit back and expect the selling site to do it for them - it’s just not how it works.

Alan told some people and we blogged about him - and it all went from there.

So if you want us to blog about you then email us (blog at ponoko.com) a great story to publish! Some ideas about what to write are … about your product, who it is designed for, how you came up with the idea, the design challenges you faced, how you solved them, about your choice of materials, if you require some design collaboration, about your Ponoko experience, where you are (planning on) promoting it, and your hopes for the future.

4) Trade shows work, if …
You try to stand out with your display. Jessica and Jesse have been very successful with their shows. And how they do it is by setting up a display that is kinda kooky, to attract attention. And then they display concept pieces of their design. This means they display items that they really really love from a design perspective, but they do not sell that well. But what these items do is draw in the people, get the audience intrigued with the back story - and then people move on to buy the more simplistic pieces.

The other way this works is with media. Media are looking for a story angle. Something new and unusual. Nervous System have given them just that at their trade shows and have gained some major attention. So they have other people telling their story for them.

5) Steady innovation is the key
Alan just hit it off right away which is a pretty unique thing, but Jessica and Jesse have had to work on it. And that’s their point … the key is to continue creating new things and putting them out there. Continue innovating, continue prototyping and continue being brave by displaying your creations to get feedback. Some will miss and others will hit! The key is to just keep doing stuff. And always learn from your last. There’s no real magic to this. As we all know, it’s persistence.

6) Make friends with an open minded manufacturer who works with YOU
Jessica and Jesse touched on this point the most - that traditional manufacturers are not a great fit for innovative designers. In fact here’s exactly what Jesse had to say …

“Ultimately I dont think most people appreciate how difficult it is to normally find a manfacturer and how difficult they often are to work with.”

“It’s very difficult to find people who are willing to work with unusual materials that they’ve never worked with before, especially in the traditional manufacturing world where most of the manufacturers don’t want to do something that’s very different from what they have already done … Even though the technology can make anything, they don’t want to touch it.”

“Ultimately I think one of the keys to being successful really is just to keep on making stuff until you make something that clicks, that works and that people are interested in … and Ponoko allows you to do that much more easily than you would with other services.”

7-step ‘how-to’ blueprint guide

Now taking what you have learned from Alan, Jessica and Jesse above - go ahead and check out this 7-step ‘how-to’ blueprint to designing, making and marketing a successful product.

It includes a list of the top 34 resources you can use to get started right away! From free design tools, to quick and easy digital fabrication services, to large materials suppliers, to the best sales channels.

What’s next?!

In the next few days we’ll send you the interviews with Chris Jackson plus Corey Daniels and Zach Thomas.

They will tell you about how they got their items into retailers around the world.

There are a few other things we’re working on too. Things that will help you succeed at turning your ideas into real things – and get them noticed by all the right people (if that’s what you’re into).

So stay tuned!

(And feel free to leave comments about how you’re getting on with creating your next thingy).

Thanks for signing in.

On this blog you will find some things that will get you started making and marketing your product ideas with just a few mouse clicks and just a few bucks.

Directly below you’ll see how Alan created a global product in just 8 weeks and how Nervous System pulled in 6-figures last year.

And in further blog posts …

• See how Jon Cantin shaved 71% off his making costs.
• Check out the super free shipping deal.

• And you can get our new Value Prime service at a great rate here? 

Also …

• Check out the 6 key lessons from Alan and Nervous System
• And the ‘how-to blueprint‘.
• Read about the 9 reasons why your product ideas are doomed.
• And about how Chris Jackson beat the doom - and went from idea to first customers in just 16 days!
• Find out about our new Value Prime service. 
• Your special pricing deal for it.
• See who was voted the winner of a free 24-month subscription to Value Prime.

There are a few other things we’re working on too. Things that will help you succeed at turning your ideas into real things – and get them noticed by all the right people (if that’s what you’re into). So stay tuned.

But first up, check out these incredible stories:

Interview with Alan Chao - how he turned an idea into a global product in just 8 weeks!

Here’s Alan’s 2008 timeline:

• July 10 - he made his first coasters for $39.33, within 4 hours of coming up with the idea.
• July 25 - he tweaked his design and made a second set, ready for sale.
• August 3 - he made his first sale (24 days after his idea).
• September 4 - Veer made contact with him (just 8 weeks after his idea!).

Listen to the phone interview we did with Alan:

Here Alan talks about his idea, where it came from, and how he developed it, including his design process and the different materials he tried out. He gives his reasons for moving so quickly and for putting his stuff up for sale (it was not to earn money).  He talks about where he promoted his coasters, how the news spread so quickly, and about his experience with Veer, Plus he gives his thoughts about Ponoko and how other designers can best use the service, and what’s in store for him in the future.

You can see Alan’s coasters in a number of places including Ponoko and Veer.

We’re seriously inspired by Alan’s awesome success – and he has a few nuggets of sound advice. So go take a listen!

Also check this out …

Interview with Jess and Jesse of Nervous System - how they went from student life to 6-figures a year!

Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg would not have launched their new product at Tokyo Design Week last year if they had not discovered Ponoko. But these two former MIT students have turned science into highly sought after designer products with their mega-successful design company, Nervous System.

Listen to the interview we did with Jesse (and Jessica in the background a few times! :), just last week:

In this they talk about all the wholesale orders they are getting, balancing that with more design work, the importance of trade shows, their trips around the world, what design stores want, how they have been successful considering they are not so active at marketing (!), how to stand out from the crowd, the real story behind customization, the problems with finding a decent manufacturing partner in the real world, the best places to sell online, how Ponoko came to the rescue in Tokyo, what they look for in a manufacturing partner, and of course a bit about themselves and their backgrounds.

Nervous System has made about a quarter of their 6-figure loot with stuff ‘made in Ponoko’. This includes all of the felt necklaces which you can see in places like Ponoko, Nervous, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and in-store at Cooper-Hewitt in New York City, the Mori Arts Center Museum Shop in Tokyo and places like the Trina Turk boutiques.

Now this is an incredible story, so click play above and hear what they have to say. We think you’ll find it amazing how simple the process can really be!

What’s next?

Stay tuned for the other case study interviews and the blueprint on how to make and sell your product ideas online.

We’ve also got a few extra treats in store, so feel free to check back here.

In the meantime you can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email by clicking the links at the top RHS of this page.

And, now that you’re armed with some great pointers on how to get started, let us know what you’re going to start working on – we’d love to know (you can leave comments below)!!!