Prefab a 4 letter word?

[West]

I have this worked out already too.

There's no way I am assembling my own box, unless I am building it from scratch. (Just in case that is the way it "works out.") lol

More power to you if you can make good boxes at a low price. I have to tell you, for people to go for a prefab instead of a custom box you would have to have the total price be from $130-150 for a 3 cubic box. Around 80$ of that is going to be eaten up by shipping. That's not my needs/wants, that's what I believe the market could bare... You have to figure your going to be competing with the ultra-crappy boxes people can snatch up for 50-80$ shipped and you will need to offer some serious advantages to attract people who aren't super educated on the benefits of having a good box as opposed to a $50 special.

[CHEMMINS]

It would depend on the complexity of the enclosure. Some are much easier than others. I would look at the current price of prefabs, and do 10-20% more.

[hellz]

ill ask this straight out, so my apologies before hand.

what are you doing different that the enclosure companies arent doing?
whatever your answer is.. how is that going to get out to the customer, and will the customer care?
you will be dumping alot into publicity.

this also brings up another question.. if this just a garage idea, or an actual business plan?

If this is a garage plan, i can see it making some profits from word of mouth on forums, but i wouldnt rely on my rent/mortage checks to come from this. more like extra gas/beer $$
if this is a real business plan, i see it failing due to the amount of $$ that you will be putting in to publicity trying to seperate yourself from the junk makers out there.
i further see it failing due to this is a niche market. you will need to produce a product that will make anyone with a car want to buy your product.. at which point they will prolly check ebay or the kid down there street.

dont want to seem like a hater, but if you havent asked yourself these questions or similiar, you are that serious about this yet.

[Flastrongman]

There's no way I am assembling my own box, unless I am building it from scratch. (Just in case that is the way it "works out.") lol

More power to you if you can make good boxes at a low price. I have to tell you, for people to go for a prefab instead of a custom box you would have to have the total price be from $130-150 for a 3 cubic box. Around 80$ of that is going to be eaten up by shipping. That's not my needs/wants, that's what I believe the market could bare... You have to figure your going to be competing with the ultra-crappy boxes people can snatch up for 50-80$ shipped and you will need to offer some serious advantages to attract people who aren't super educated on the benefits of having a good box as opposed to a $50 special.

no assembly required by the end user lol. Shipping will not cost anywhere near $80 for me. And yes there will be very serious advantages over a crappy prefab. I would not even bother if it was not going to be 10x better. It will actually be competitive with many of the "custom" boxes found on your popular forums.

[Flastrongman]

It would depend on the complexity of the enclosure. Some are much easier than others. I would look at the current price of prefabs, and do 10-20% more.

even 20% more than average prefabs is not possible when you can buy some prefabs for $50. For one it will be all Birch construction

[pro-rabbit]

I think I can destroy that sterotype sir.

Honestly, that is and always will be the status of those enclosures with no variance. There is a good reason for that as well.


I also build enclosures for 100's of shops around the world(yes we have a few we build for over seas) but they are still designed around their marketed products and what vehicles they see the most of. So while they are still a type of "prefab" they are not at the same time. None of our shops have the same designs except for a few that use the same products with similar vehicle specs for their average client.

With that said, I would not base my business on that industry as the prices of "prefabs" from over seas will always out weigh what any of us can do. If someone is looking for a "prefab" they are not looking to spend money.

[Flastrongman]

ill ask this straight out, so my apologies before hand.

what are you doing different that the enclosure companies arent doing?
whatever your answer is.. how is that going to get out to the customer, and will the customer care?
you will be dumping alot into publicity.

this also brings up another question.. if this just a garage idea, or an actual business plan?

If this is a garage plan, i can see it making some profits from word of mouth on forums, but i wouldnt rely on my rent/mortage checks to come from this. more like extra gas/beer $$
if this is a real business plan, i see it failing due to the amount of $$ that you will be putting in to publicity trying to seperate yourself from the junk makers out there.
i further see it failing due to this is a niche market. you will need to produce a product that will make anyone with a car want to buy your product.. at which point they will prolly check ebay or the kid down there street.

dont want to seem like a hater, but if you havent asked yourself these questions or similiar, you are that serious about this yet.

all of this has been considered as I have ran a successful business before. The product will speak for itself when I release any real info on it.

[CHEMMINS]

even 20% more than average prefabs is not possible when you can buy some prefabs for $50. For one it will be all Birch construction

And why all birch? To me as the end consumer....All I see is you tried to save weight. I'd rather have mdf and be cheaper in the end.

[West]

no assembly required by the end user lol. Shipping will not cost anywhere near $80 for me. And yes there will be very serious advantages over a crappy prefab. I would not even bother if it was not going to be 10x better. It will actually be competitive with many of the "custom" boxes found on your popular forums.

Try for $125 shipped... Amazon and eBay are where I would try to sell at and on the forums.
Creating a market between crap and custom is going to be the challenge.

I don't see many "middle of the road" people they are either going to go crap or custom...
Post some videos of your boxes vs crap boxes hopefully you can get the point across.

That's my 2 cents, hope it helps.

[Flastrongman]

I am a hobbyist first in car audio so my passion will always push the envelope of what is supposed to be possible with a certain idea. Making a better product has always set me apart in the past. I've never had to advertise.

[Flastrongman]

And why all birch? To me as the end consumer....All I see is you tried to save weight. I'd rather have mdf and be cheaper in the end.

Not cheaper in the end when I can get birch for the same price as mdf. It cuts my shipping weight in half and makes a better box.

[SourDeez]

I would not buy one

[CHEMMINS]

Not cheaper in the end when I can get birch for the same price as mdf. It cuts my shipping weight in half and makes a better box.

But you just said you need to charge more because it is birch....yet you pay the same? To the consumer the wood won't matter. Also the acoustical properties between birch lam and mdf is negligible. I know for a fact you are not getting Baltic Birch for the same price as MDF.

[pro-rabbit]

Not cheaper in the end when I can get birch for the same price as mdf. It cuts my shipping weight in half and makes a better box.

You don't pay for the weight of an enclosure. You will pay bulk weight 90% of the time.

[infamous_e46]