I have a business opportunity but not sure what to think about it.

[tq60]

Recording a phone call with out permission is illegal in some states. I think it maybe a felony in some states. This is tricky to do legally and is usually not looked upon favorably by the recorded.

Recording a call for personal use may be not legal in some places, so what, the reason is to review the discussion and then use a follow up email to confirm what was discussed.

The recording if not legal is not used for other function.

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[Eddyde]

You could also inform the guy you want to record the conversation, he shouldn't mind if he's legit.

 

[tq60]

@tq60
Your example of bags of 25 BNC connectors is a non sequitur compared to Alloy's products.
BNC connectors are commodity items cranked out in mass quantity. Alloy's products are very low rate production or made to order.

I maybe did not state clearly.

The point was that these different vendors wanted our business and, as such, needed to provide samples at their cost for us to evaluate.

What the item was is not relevant. It was critical that we could get a reliable product, and the only way to determine this was to cut them open to examine them.

The OP modifies an off the shelf part to allow for a different use.

If there was real money to be made, the manufacturer of said part could easily produce it for very little additional cost, so the market is maybe not large enough to steal the product then copy, risking further the reputation of the vendor.

The OP is the supplier of materials he sells on his own platform as well as to some company who wishes to sell his product.

If the OP was asking the vendor to carry his product, it would be an acceptable request from the vendor to have a sample to evaluate as well as additional documentation as they need to cover their liability risk.

Given that the vendor is coming to the OP, it is not that much different.

The vendor sells a similar product, but lack of quality has cost the vendor in reputation, and they are seeking a better product.

Ford F-250 6 liter diesel ring any bells?

The OP needs to determine if the vendor is a reputable company and establish a business agreement or contract to protect both parties, maybe.



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[Parlo]

The product is already in the public domain and therefore unable to be patented.

 

[yota]

talking to someone on the phone can tell you a lot about them. if the offer seems legit, getting references from them and speaking to those people is next. then, a meeting in person with Joe and his employer is next on the agenda. basic business practice.

 

[ARC-170]

I agree with everyone else. This is fishy somehow, especially all the business about needing a sample for a few weeks. Make them buy one. Or, make them come and look at it at your place. Call them and suss it out; maybe they really are just looking for a new supplier.

If you do decide to go forward, I suggest entering into an agreement to sell them the product cheaper than on your website, but enough to make it worth your while. They can then mark it up to your cost. Agree to supply a certain amount over a certain time. Maybe ship more than a few at a time to make shipping cheaper.

Another idea is to make them a less advanced version that still works, but maybe doesn't have all the improvements yours does/has different spec parts or material, or one that looks different in some way that doesn't affect the function. That way if they copy it, they copy a different one.

 

[alloy]

The phone call went better than expected. He asked for drop shipping and his budget is pretty close to what I need per part. He is somewhat of a car guy and we chatted cars for awhile but he's far from my level. He asked what kind of machining I did in the aerospace industry. That took me back a little because I don't know how he found out about that and I hesitated answering because there isn't anything on my web site about it. I can't tell him about a lot of work I did, but I did do some helicopter work for awhile and told him about that.

He did ask for a free housing and maybe I shouldn't have but I sent him a 4L60E. I learned a long time ago that if I loaned someone $20 and never got it back it saved me from loaning them more next time. Cheap way to find about their character and what they are made of. I really don't want to lose the housing, but it won't kill me if I did.

I asked how many they usually sell per month and he said between 2 and 4. So that times 2 I guess. He said they are going to ramp up their advertising on these hoping for more sales.

So now I wait and see what they say. I'm not good at waiting, but no choice I guess.

I appreciate everyone's input on this. Gave me a lot to think about before i talked to him.

 

[matthewsx]

Drop shipping is good, you'll have the customers info. What about support though, I guess it's not really enough volume for you to worry about having to do it but you should be clear about it. You don't want his "tech support" guy messing up your reputation.

John

 

[alloy]

Well with drop shipping the installation instructions will be included and i always put a couple of business cards with my parts. One card to keep, one to pass to one of their friends.

I tell them in the instructions to contact me with any questions. So hopefully they do that. Im going on 17 years of making these and I can't expect or want him answering any questions at all about my parts. After all I invented these.