
Going It Alone: How to Make Your Stuff In China - jasonlbaptiste
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/10/going-it-alone-how-to-make-your-stuff-in-china/
======
stcredzero
I find the Neverlate product itself interesting. The same functionality is
available as an application on just about every smartphone and most normal
cellphones at this point. I wonder what this says about the clock radio form
factor?

Maybe a bedside information appliance is a form factor with staying power,
useful precisely because it is stationed permanently and won't be misplaced or
forgotten? (Whereas I can imagine not waking up to my iPhone alarm because I
left it on silent mode in my jeans pocket across the room.)

~~~
weaksauce
I think the alarm on the iPhone is audible regardless of the silent mode.

~~~
bshep
It goes off when in silent mode, but not if you turn the ringer volume down (
this has happened to me a couple of times accidentally )

~~~
chaosmachine
Android's alarm clock app has a separate volume setting for alarms. It's
really well designed.

~~~
weaksauce
That is really how it should be. I don't want the alarm volume to be tied to
the ringer volume.

------
hristov
Nixi tubes certainly bring memories. I remember my dad had made a nixie tube
clock that used the oscillations of the AC power coming from the wall to count
time. When I was a kid i discovered it somewhere in a closed, plugged it in,
and promptly electrecuted myself.

But while nixie tubes are cool I don't know if you want to make a product with
them. After all, they are no longer manufactured. Aren't you scared that your
supply in eastern europe might run dry some day?

~~~
dagw
On the other hand the fact that the supply might run dry some day could add
value to the product. People buying nixie tube clocks (and paying a premium
over LED based clocks) are probably doing exactly because they are odd and
obscure and won't be around forever. Lots of companies base their entire sales
strategy around the fact that their product is only available in a limited
number and after that it'll never be available again.

From reading the article he's not basing his entire company around nixie
tubes, rather it's just one of the several niche products he's selling. So
it's not like he'll have to close up shop just because he runs out of nixie
tubes.

~~~
goatforce5
What's stopping someone (probably in China) from making more nixie tubes?

------
rubyrescue
interesting that a SBA loan doesn't also require you to manufacture your
products in the states - would be interesting to find out if he had to work
around regulations or if they don't care what you do with the money once you
have it.

------
jrockway
Any article about how to have stuff made in the US?

~~~
apower
Hire a project manager in US to go to China to make the stuff.

------
soc
Very interesting... I have a friend in china that produces steel beams for the
comm. construction industry. I really have no idea about how to sell though so
probably nothing I can do with it. Also, I think you need a import license
from the govt. atleast for steel.

~~~
anamax
> Also, I think you need a import license from the govt. atleast for steel.

Why do you think that?

