Testing the waters

Posted on 2011-05-29 by Boardcrafting
Screenshot of eBay auction

Tonight, I created an eBay auction for version 3 of my Catan frame.
Here’s the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/260792757782

I’d like to create a lot more of these frames, but a determining factor will be how much people are willing to pay for them. I put a lot of time into this version, so I hope the price gets bid up pretty high and justifies me building more. If you know anyone who might be interested in bidding, please forward this along. I know there’s a lot of Catan heads in the universe.

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9 Responses to Testing the waters

  1. Max says:
    2011-05-30 at 11:57

    Hey! I’m about to place a bid for $42, but I hate bidding on an auction with an unknown reserve. What are you hoping to sell it for?

    (I’m the guy who was making Lorax cutouts on the laser cutter next to yours)

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  2. sjbrownWordpress says:
    2011-05-30 at 19:33

    Hi Max.

    Well I’m using the auction as research. I have a price in mind that I’d like to get, but I also want to see what people want to pay. If I see a lot of bids in the 50-80 dollar range, I’ll interpret that as “try again, but make a solution like this, but with less labour, faster, cheaper materials, etc”

    Email me privately if you really want to know the reserve price. 😉

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  3. Joshua Benjamin says:
    2011-05-31 at 15:21

    Be sure that you sign your name on that sliver of wood on the back of the board

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  4. Ben says:
    2011-06-01 at 06:18

    Looks like an amazing product!

    I know you’re testing the waters via eBay for pricing and interest.

    Have you thought at all about perhaps doing a Kickstart project (kickstarter.com)? This would be a great way to raise some cash up front, get some orders in and start getting the word out.

    -Ben

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  5. Tom says:
    2011-06-03 at 21:29

    Would you be willing to make your design available? I really like the general layout of your board, but have a couple things I’d like to do/try that are a little bit differently. I’ve got access to a laser cutter, but it would be awesome to not have to start from scratch. Starting from this would mean at it’s worst it would still look good, unless I screw it up 😀

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    • sjbrownWordpress says:
      2011-06-03 at 21:44

      Well the short answer is, I don’t know yet. First I want to try a few things. The data I get out of the eBay auction will set my course. But my immediate emotional reaction is that I doubt I’ll share the design anytime soon. I would need to be convinced there was a benefit for me. I’m curious to see what other improvements people could make on the design, but I’m willing to put that curiosity aside until I’m more sure what my next steps are.

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  6. gfb says:
    2011-06-06 at 07:09

    A non leather-backed version would be great for those of us who would prefer not to use animal products 🙂

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