I started producing a simulated beadlock trim ring. They bolt on DC1 rims. Where I am having issues, is the places that will display them, dont want to buy them (I make, pay for and get nothing unless they sell, but the shop gets paied for having them in there shop) Also they prefer 30% for selling them, by my figures they will make more than me, and I provide all the labor and risk.
I am looking at listing them on ebay, but still getting set up.

that is the history, now for the questions...
I can produce 1 for $40.12, Id like to sell them for $50.00 but with the markup for the retailer profit the price goes to near $65.00ea. is that unreasonable? of course S/H extra. Also if you had DC1 rims would you buy a set and how much would you pay?

in order to keep the forum un-cluttered you can e-mail me at [email protected] also the pictures are on the same web site, A web sight following the build of my 2005 Jeep Wrangler TJ
Thanks

Is there not already someone making the same product? Or making a similar product? If so, take your pricing cues from what they're selling for.

If you're alone in the field, pricing is trickier. Obviously there are two important prices; what the market will bear, and what you need to get for each one. For the latter I'd suggest that you figure material price on a quantity of twenty or so, and then mark it up by at least 50%. Value your time at no less than $50.00 per hour. Do the arithmetic from there to establish your minimum profitable price. If you can get anything over that, it's gravy. If you can't get that much, figure out what it's worth to be able to say that you got your own business started.

Personally I wouldn't be interested in them. They seem to be more aimed at the mawl crawl set.

These are the the sort of product I would not be interested in but here are some random thoughts on selling, and pricing.

I assume you are cutting these out yourself, with a computer controlled plasma cutter. If not I think you will have a hard time competing with other sources. Also you have a lot of scrap in making these. So you want to find some other products you can make with this scrap. Maybe precut winch mounts that just need to be welded up, shock mounts, spring plates, shackles, roll cage gussets, decorative bits to weld to bumpers. Also being a small operation doing one off deals is posible, and can give you ideas for future products.

On marketing I think that ebay is your best bet, it gives lots of exposure and since these have a very small customer base you need to a few few people over a large area. If you can get some on commission then fine but that may not reach many people who are interested in them. Remember you are trying to sell a product that is only advertised to work on one type and size of wheel, if you can expand this it would really help. Also on your webpage, the first thing on the many page should be your products, with links to more details on each. I like to see detailed clear instructions for a product before I buy, this shows that the maker knows how the product works and has thought them out. It also allows folks to judge if they can install the product themselves.

thanks for the input, I am looking at making them for 15-16-17" wheels, yes they are on a laser cutter, but its not mine. as for the 50 hr, I like that but now they are as expensive as the rims are. O-well maby not so viable.
Thanks again

There's no reason to bust your hump if you're only going to make nickels and dimes, unless it's a necessary step to something better. Occasionally someone will ask me how much to make something like the instrument panel on my Jeep. When I quote a price based on a reasonable hourly rate, they're shocked because they don't realize how much time somehting like that takes. For a fun project I'll work a little cheaper, but not for free.