Online Store

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PatentDraftsman
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Model of CNC Machine: Axiom AR6 CNC Router 24X36"
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Online Store

Post by PatentDraftsman »

Hi,

I have been trying to make profitable an online store so far without any success. My plan was to use Pinterest and Youtube to drive traffic to my website. I have pasted below links to these places except for Pinterest because for some reason this form will not allow me.

There is no intention to sell here as it doesn't make sense to me to sell router products to people that own routers. I am posting as I am always curious as to what people here are doing with their routers and what their plans are so I am disclosing mine now. I would be interested to hear yours. I am also hoping to receive some helpful suggests or comments as to how I could do better. I get the sense that a lot of members in this forum are like myself, near retirement or retired, that want to have a hobby that they enjoy and can make some money off of it.

I have posted some CNC router videos here which might be of interest about photo Vcarve.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC51cH1 ... kQ3ySIneGg

Here is the web address of my store where I am selling products made on my router, some of which are my design. It's been open since the beginning of February without a sale.
https://www.abricay.com

If you want the Pinterest address, email me and I will respond with it. I have been trying to figure out Pinterest for a couple of weeks now and still feel lost. If you think it is a site just for women as I did then you might want to take a look at it. There is everything there and it is growing by leaps and bounds.

Thanks in advance for any input.

David
david@Abricay.com
David
Abricay Workshop
Quincy, MA 02171

www.abricay.com

wilkigr
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Re: Online Store

Post by wilkigr »

I don't have much to say, except that I think that your website is well designed and quick to load. If you are having trouble selling, it may simply be that your market is flooded. With the popularity of low-priced CNC machines and 3D printers, it is a buyer's market. I'm still in the "giving to friends" stage of my CNC career, but I went through the same experience as yours with turned bowls. In my market, too many potential buyers are very happy with salad bowls that are 3 for $10 from Ikea for me to ever be able to sell hand made alternatives.

Good luck.

PatentDraftsman
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Re: Online Store

Post by PatentDraftsman »

Hi wilkigr,

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I hear you. I think starting a business today is extremely difficult compared to the past. I have another business that does make a profit that i have owned for over 34 years. I have often thought to myself that if I had to start the same business today, I likely would not be able to. Back then, you competed with local competition, today, you are competing with the world and often unfairly as rent, wages, etc. are less expensive in other countries. The 3 bowls/$10 you mention might have been 1 for $10 or not available in the past making your handmade product more attractive.

My original idea of the workshop was to focus on the educational/ personal experience of a customer. We would offer small classes, about 5 to 8 students, they would learn rudimentary about the software, design a piece for themselves which we carve on the cnc to be ready for the next class. The pandemic stopped this and I don't know when something like this with people actually interacting with each other will happen.

Best of luck to you also.
David
Abricay Workshop
Quincy, MA 02171

www.abricay.com

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TReischl
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Re: Online Store

Post by TReischl »

Want an honest opinion?

You do nice work.

$40 for an unfinished piece made from mdf is not going to fly with very many people.

The reason your pieces are priced like that? Obvious, you have to pay for your time. When anyone makes one thing at a time it is more costly than making multiples. When I say "multiples" I do not mean running multiple parts one at a time. Read on. . . .

If'n I wanted to go into business with a cnc router these days I would do the following:

1. Decide what market I wanted to be in. The cutesy, child's room stuff is never going to sell for a lot of dollars. That does not mean there is no market, just that I would have to figure out how to be profitable doing it. More on that later. One off, high end, high quality stuff has a market, but it is very limited and it is also very challenging figuring out how to reach those customers. Way, way back I did high end humidors. Could not for the life of me sell one via the internet. I lived in the Chicago area back then. I got to thinking, "where is the money around here anyhow?" Ahhhh, the Gold Coast, Barrington, Northbrook, et al. So I spent some time locating stores that sold specialty high end items. Cut some deals and actually made money. Pay attention, cigars were "the thing" in those days.

2. If I decided I wanted to sell lower priced things I would figure out very quickly no one, absolutely no one with an ounce of common sense, is going to pay me to sit around watching a cnc machine cut mdf. I would need to be able to spread my time out over several machines. The math is simple:

I would like to make say $50 an hour free and clear for my time in the shop. That is just a number. If my one machine takes an hour to carve out an mdf plaque then I have to add that $50 to the cost of materials, machine costs, etc. Immediately that item has become too pricey to sell. But if I am running 5 machines all making the same thing then I only have to add $10 to the materials, machine, etc.

Not hard to figure out. But how to do it?

First off, learn to build your own machines. They are way cheaper than buying them. Give ya a hint here, since you are doing mostly 3D work your machines are rarely going to be flying along at 250 IPM. I am getting ready to build a smallish laser engraver/cutter. Why would I build it when they are so cheap on eBay these days? Because I want CONTROL. I do not want something that I cannot repair or replace myself. Also, I want a few features that none of those machines have. A big cost of machines these days is the electronics. For what I would be doing GRBL with an Arduino would work just fine. That set up is almost as cheap as dirt, well, maybe even cheaper given the cost of dirt these days.

Secondly, spend some time figuring out how to get your billboard in the desert noticed. Etsy? Hmmmm. Nothing like putting your product in the bargain basement with all the other bargain basement products so people can get good and distracted by all the "stuff". That said, if you have something unique Etsy will work, for a time, until someone else jumps on your bandwagon.

Always remember, the idea is for you to get paid whatever hourly rate you think you should be making for working in your shop feeding and repairing machines.

A luthier making high end guitars, violins, etc and a following can be successful with one machine and getting paid his hourly rate for running it. But those days are changing slowly too.

Ever hear of a 3D "printing farm"? 3D printers are even slower than cnc routers. How in the world does anyone make money with them? Simple, they buy about a hundred or so of them and spend their days changing spools of plastic, adjusting the machines and offering rapid turn around times. And it is all about marketing.

Edit: BTW, the most successful place to sell my humidors was a bar in Palatine called "Burning Embers". It was a cigar bar. Complete with a room where folks could store their cigars. Nothing like a guy with a lot of money in his pocket, several sheets to the wind, out to impress his pals by purchasing a $1500 humidor. . . .
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

PatentDraftsman
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Re: Online Store

Post by PatentDraftsman »

Hi TReischl,

Thanks for your comments. I came to your conclusion a while ago that if you are going to try and do what I am doing, multiple machines are where it's at. The problem is you need to find what to make with those multiple machines so you start with one and find your market. That's where I am at now. I agree with you on the prices but I had to start somewhere. I was hoping to start with these products and then morph the inventory based on customer feedback, give them what they want. So far, haven't got any feedback.

I believe there is a niche out there that I could fill, just need to find it. You've given me some things to think about.

Thanks again, David
David
Abricay Workshop
Quincy, MA 02171

www.abricay.com

PRO4824
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Re: Online Store

Post by PRO4824 »

When I retired and got in my woodshop full time, I was making small tables, turned bowls, candle holders and anything else I could sell on Etsy. I was selling less than $100 a month and was really discouraged.
I dug through Etsy looking for items that required most of my shop tools to make.
(Attempting to exclude as much competition as possible)
I found hand turned farmhouse dining table legs made from 2x6 pine glue-ups and only 4 shops selling them on etsy.
They were all between $180 and $198 a set and required a table saw, planer, miter saw, large lathe, and clamps to build.
I made a set and listed them for $199 and they sold in 9 hours!! I finally found the item that would pay for my future Cnc machine! And it did, it took about a year to save up the $7000 and by the time I had enough to buy it, the table leg market on etsy was flooded with shops selling factory made legs made from rubber wood (parawood) on automated industrial lathes for $149 and free shipping.
But now I've got my new cnc and looking for something for it to do....🤔
Isaiah 41-10

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Leo
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Re: Online Store

Post by Leo »

Hi David,

First of all I live just north of New Bedford. In the whole world - we are actually very close to each other. Would be nice to meet up. I used to work in Hingham and commuted every day. Quincy is not at all far away.

I've been doing a hobby business for several years and I do make some money. My friend in Dartmouth Ma. does as well.

There is a LOT to be said about selling hobby stuff. WAY more than I can type out in a few sentences.

You have a nice collection. WHO - are you trying to sell to. WHY - would they buy it from you. HOW - can they find you. WHAT - is your target market. Simple questions - not so easy to answer.

Have you considered consignment shops, ETSY, Facebook marketplace - to name a few?

My email is voisil@comcast.net Maybe we can get together sometime.
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

PatentDraftsman
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:17 am
Model of CNC Machine: Axiom AR6 CNC Router 24X36"
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Re: Online Store

Post by PatentDraftsman »

Hi Pro,

Reading through your post, I started to think, this guy has the answer! Your thought process was the same as mine in some ways, find something that I have an edge in or can make something unique that can't be purchased elsewhere. I guess you did have the answer if only for a short time and I am glad you were able to pay for your machine. The reason for my post is that I thought a lot of the people here were struggling like we are deciding where best to direct our efforts. my goal is to keep my shop open long term through my retirement and since it is not located in my home, I need to generate some revenue. My other business is paying the rent but is not a cash cow by any means.

Thanks for your response and I wish you luck in your search. I will keep you in mind if I get any revelations.

David
David
Abricay Workshop
Quincy, MA 02171

www.abricay.com

mentalward
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Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:34 pm
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Re: Online Store

Post by mentalward »

Do you use Aspire? I'm not willing to spend $2k for something I don't need very often, but I haven't been able to find someone who designs custom 3d models.

keastab
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Re: Online Store

Post by keastab »

I also needed a "plan", but mine was sheer luck. I like classic cars and Aspire(first Vcarve pro) was able to help me make some of the parts I wanted for my cars and it just so happened they were good enough that others wanted the parts also. Do I make a living off of the CNC? nope, not quite yet but I do make a large chunk of money ,just a little less than < 25k last year for my hobby parts though (pays for all my research and development, building my new CNC(S) to supplement the work load and materials.BUT I also use laser,Casting and vacuum forming in some of my processes also (3d printing isn't a major player yet in my shop but probably will be a smaller Resin High resolution printer fir master modeling and then casting later.)

chemstock
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Re: Online Store

Post by chemstock »

I went to your website and had a look. Good enough site but I think your are trying to compete in a commoditized market. I have a kitchen cabinet business that had a high end CNC (HOMAG). The thought was we would use it to build custom high end cabinets. In the end, we sold the CNC since the market we were building into was too exposed to the commodity suppliers. I will get another CNC once we find a niche that works for us. At best it is a very low margin business.
Personally, I use a CNC and build for a number of churches and charities. I prefer to only use hardwood (MDF and synthetics make toxic dust and shavings need to be landfilled, hardwood shavings get spread on the pathways around the acreage). As well, the material contributes about 25% of the final value, your time and effort are the rest. Using cheap materials undercuts your value since that is what the customer will first see. While I initially donated all my time and material, over about a two year time, I find I am getting more calls and offers to pay for time and material. Maybe this is due to the quality of the final product - a case made of quarter sawn white oak with solid brass hardware has more heirloom appeal than one made of MDF. I have queries for cutting boards with carvings and resin which sell for around 400$ and though the market is not large, it is in contrast to to the 5or10$ cutting board available online.
Best of luck, hopefully you don't ruin a good hobby by trying to make money off of it.

PatentDraftsman
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:17 am
Model of CNC Machine: Axiom AR6 CNC Router 24X36"
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Re: Online Store

Post by PatentDraftsman »

Hi chemstock ,

Just wanted to says thanks for your genuine post. I liked your last comment "you don't ruin a good hobby by trying to make money off of it" as that is kind of what I was trying to do, have some fun while making some money.

Thanks to all for your posts, you have given me some things to think about and wish you all the best.

David
David
Abricay Workshop
Quincy, MA 02171

www.abricay.com

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