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JacobN

New member
Joined
Jan 28, 2006
Messages
2
Hey hey, I'm just starting to get into the DIY stuff (notice this is my fist post :grin: ) and was wondering what people who have been doing this for a while think about selling what you've made on eBay and other ways. I'm mainly starting to get into this to learn about how all this stuff works (and save a few bucks on not having to pay insane repair bills at repair shops). But I also noticed that some of this stuff was selling on eBay for quite a bit. Being human I couldn't help thinking about the money to be made off doing something like this. Someone let me know what you think of this because there's a new MacBook Pro calling my name that I need to find a way of getting. :cool: Thanks, Jake
 
this ain't no get rich quick kinda thing. first of all, if you're thinking of selling gyraf cloned stuff, etc... then get that thought outta yer head. that's hard work someone did to give us all a circuit to play with, learn from and use. it would seem disrespectful to then sell that stuff. you know, unless its like a special project for someone you know, etc. but doing that kinda stuff on ebay seems like a real diss and hurts the community here in a way.

so, the other way to go would be selling your own designs... which seems like a long way off as you are just getting into it. prepare yourself to fail a lot, and to spend more money than you'll recoup for quite some time. and maybe years down the road there might be people willing to spend money for your work, but there is no guarantee.

this is kinda an interesting time on the forum, as the intellectual property, so to speak, of some members has become the topic of some debate. we are fortunate to have such generous people here from whom we can all learn. think of the time they spend tinkering, and then think of the tons of time they spend documenting their trials and tribulations in acrobat files and postings on this very forum. i can't figure out why they do it, unless they really do love it. and for that we are all grateful. and if you become one of them, then forget ebay, as there is a concentrated community of educated and savvy consumers right here who know the value of this hard work, and who would be willing to support those exploits through the black market etc. as a means to bigger and better things (NYD, start your own badass audio company somehow!)

whatever you decide to do, good luck. this stuff can be confusing as hell but really gratifying too.
 
[quote author="JacobN"]Hey hey, I'm just starting to get into the DIY stuff (notice this is my fist post :grin: ) and was wondering what people who have been doing this for a while think about selling what you've made on eBay and other ways. I'm mainly starting to get into this to learn about how all this stuff works (and save a few bucks on not having to pay insane repair bills at repair shops). But I also noticed that some of this stuff was selling on eBay for quite a bit. Being human I couldn't help thinking about the money to be made off doing something like this. Someone let me know what you think of this because there's a new MacBook Pro calling my name that I need to find a way of getting. :cool: Thanks, Jake[/quote]

Come on! Have a think about it. You just cant go building some of the projects here and selling them on ebay! You HAVE to work up your OWN designs, then you can start to think about it.
 
If you try and make profit off shared designs and projects on this board, prepare to be banished from DIY land.

You need to re-read the disclaimer at the start of Jakob's (Gyraf's) website...
 
Alright, thanks for the input. I recently just got done taking a class that dealt mainly with electronics for audio. So far it has been one of my favorite classes and is something I can definitely see myself getting into. I plan on endeavering into the land of building an SSL compressor (which is a big jump up from building a tiny oscillator and some random cables :grin: ) just to try to get my hands alittle more wet. Looks like I have a great community here to help me! Cheers to DIY :thumb:
 
I have to admit there seems to be a little bit of hypocracy here in reguard to "selling" a project you've personally assembled.

Before I receive what may be a well deserved attack please understand that if someone has generously posted a design of their own for your personal private educational use without fail respect their wishes or else they'll simply shut up and the soul of the forum will be extinguished.

Here's the rub... many people have scoffed at the joke that some big goof ball company comes out of no-where and essentially repatents an ancient design, the schematics of which have been public domain for a thousand years... So the forum 'steals' the design and gets legally threatened for even talking about it.

I personally don't see the harm in throwing a DIY 'vintage' project on ebay. First of all the chances of it bringing a fraction of what a real artifact is slim to none. Secondly, all sorts of companies do this already without the outcry of this community.

Also some people sell pcbs and some people sell kits. If I purchased a pcb or a kit and someone made a profit and slowly pulled themselves away from a day job so they could do more of what they love then... well cool. Don't be a blind anti-capitalist. I think it would amazing if in the future I got a 300 page catalogue that had every pcb, component, decals, rack cases, etc. for every vintage design ever made.

Please note it is somehow okay to build custom peices for your friends, profit unquestioned. So if your friend owns a giant studio and needs 48 channels strips and is willing to pay you a thousand dollars a channel assembly fee it's essentially the same as building a tube mic for a buddy for parts cost.

Please don't ban me from the forum for my opinion.

Also I need each of you to submit 100,000 units of each pcb design by Friday for evaluation by my asian masters. Thnx.
 
there is a huge difference between selling a one-off project that you built that has become redundant in your studio and actually constructing and selling DIY projects with the goal of making a profit. Particular if they are mis-representing the DIY project. This is what was initially proposed was it not?

This is a public forum that relies on contribution. I don't see a problem if big contributers earn a little on the side... For example the PCB's gustav has fabricated and supplied have benefitted almost everyone on this board... I don't think he makes any money out of this, but look how many boards he has gone to the trouble of making, and mailing.

I doubt there are many people here that build DIY projects for friends for anything more than the cost of parts and a case of beer... Like anything, this all goes under "abuse" of free infomation. Do you think people who contribute like Gustav (sorry gustav, i really don't mean to drag you into this :guinness: ) are abusing this free infomation if they make a few dollars for there efforts? What about some guy that builds them with the intent to market them as his own in order to make profit?
 
I think the real problem is the get-rich-quick culture that seems to be increasingly prevalent all over where people try and cash in on the goodwill of others. It is never in moderation, it is never just to make a living, and by extension the reasons for selling and sales descriptions are never transparent and truthful, just boastful and vastly overinflated, and the whole phenomenon leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. On the other hand, the fact that vintage circuit designs and PCBs are easy to obtain here does at least mean that the more adventurous among us can actually build some of this stuff and circumnavigate the need to dip into those murky shark infested waters, and I for one am hugely grateful to have found this place. Thanks, guys.
 
If you want to do something that might net you a small profit, AND help foster the DIY community, think about getting PCBs and parts kits together for some projects. I'm sure plenty of lurkers here are tempted to start some projects (esp GSSL), but don't have the time or know how to source the components. If you buy in bulk, you get cost savings, which you don't necessarily have to pass on to customers, and can justifiably charge a small fee for the time required to bundle all the parts together.

But this ain't no 'get rich quick' approach....just ask sceneria about the piles of cash that he's raking in off the Bloo La2a :green:

Actually, if someone wants to make a little money off of DIY, they can assemble and parts source the 1081 project for me. I've got all the bits that the group orders have been working on, but don;t have any of the other parts, or the time to finish it. I'd pay someone $100-200 +parts cost just for a bag of components to stuff the boards/switches with.

Cheers,

Kris
 
audio DIY is left brain.

legal matters, cops, attorneys, hospitals, doctors, firemen, "W", court rooms, judges, that's all right brain.

the last thing i want mixed with my audio DIY is right brain stuff

It amazes me how some people can mix the two.
It has to be a hearing thing.
If someone's ears don't turn them on, they switch to legal right brain mode.

what does that mean?
:oops:

build and chill. that's all ya gotta do. spend the remaining part of your life as happy as possible.
this means avoid right brain as much as possible.

oh, shoot. I'm a missin "W" !
see ya!
:razz:
 
I've let a few DIY projects go on eBay -

Perhaps start with guitar pedals if you're just learning signal theory. It works out well, because guitar pedals can be very simple one or two gain stage projects.

The bidders there will most likely cover your materials cost and perhaps some of your time... Well, not your research & development time, but that's to be expected at first.

Buyers are interested in:

1) What it does
2) Sound clips anyone?
3) How it looks & how useable is it for studio/stage
4) Input/output impedance
5) Topography of the amplification & modulation stages
6) What components did you use? Chips? Which Chips? Which optocoupler?

I've scratch designed a couple of guitar boxes and sold them on eBay. I have another one in the works right now....
 

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