A great article from a Legendary RPF member. Also, I like to rant a bit on this post as well and if you do not want to read it, its alright:
When I first designed my own circuits, it was only for myself and so, when people asked me such questions to make one for them and within a short deadline, my naive answer would be, ‘Just the cost of the materials’. But when I started to design it for everyone else, I have to factor in a lot of things and not only that, the fight to keep that dream, which is to have the Lighting System arrived on your table, ready to run. And that very fight, drains me financially and to be more direct, my personal life and my Job.
I am not always smiles, the unfocused Engineer and looked trouble-free. Its just a mask I wear and sometimes, when my closest friends can see through it, its very unpleasant. Yeah, on the subject, meeting people face to face is still daunting…
I could have gone with the grain and sell them as a kit but this is not way we wanted. We wanted a Lighting System which you can just switch it on the moment you put some batteries and just concentrate on painting your models. But on my side, its a lot of crazy soldering which no one wants to do (since its in small quantities and out of the box design) and buying components when my Salary allows it. So, sometimes, when I am faced with questions like, ‘Why is it so expensive?’ or even, ‘Can I buy it from you without this or that feature?’ or even, ‘Can you just sell it to me for XX dollars?’ is very hard for me to answer and that is why, I chose the current business model. It also filters out the difference between the local time-wasters and someone who actually appreciates the effort/design and actually buys them.
Not that I am trying to run away but its something so personal to me, I try not to answer.
Because if I did, my Dreams would have shattered the moment I took that one step two years ago.
https://mattmunson.blogspot.com/2013/01/materials-time-creativity.html
