Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by tomrohlf | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

tomrohlf

I created a card game that I sell on Amazon. I have it manufactured in China and sell it though Fulfillment by Amazon.

Quite a change from my day job working in software but I enjoy the diversity.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PJKCXJC

View on HN

Mind talking some about how you do it?

I've been trying to understand the full remote supply chain, going directly from the offshore supply chain directly to FBA.

Its difficult to completely automate the supply chain as incoming FBA shipments expire 30 days after they are created. If you're shipping heavy freight from China this is cost prohibitive. I currently "touch" my inventory one time in-between the source and FBA. I'm working on streamlining that part though.

Be sure that your mfgr isn't running off extra for AliBaba, free markets or other channels. Contract mfgrs are notorious about ripping off IP and product.

How is it possible to be sure of that, though? If they're a contract mfg then by definition they've already signed a contract that says they can't do that, so if they do it, they've broken the contract.

Check these guys at www.forestshipping.com - they can ship direct to FBA from your factory and do labeling services if needed.

I'm happy to answer some questions... can you be a bit more specific?

Well, what kind of companies do you work with—a printer, and a distributor? Any others? How did you find the ones you work with—and how did you know that they were the right ones? What have you done for marketing—gone to trade shows, paid for advertising, giving samples to the right people, or what? How well is it doing? Have you sales been steady, increasing, or was there a big burst at the start, and a trickle since? Um... that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

I work only with a printer... Amazon is my distributor. I found them on Alibaba.

I'm starting to ramp up my marketing but to date I've done some adwords and advertising on Amazon.

Sales are steady, I don't reach $1000 every month but the holiday season more than makes up for it when you average it out.

Thanks for the info :-)

Roughly how much did you have to invest in the first couple of sets? Most manufacturers have a minimum order, and I imagine that would be the case for you considering you were getting something custom made.

Thanks!

I don't know exactly but it was no more than 3k and a decent amount of my time.

Good job! Which card manufacturer are you using?

Would you mind sharing the name of the manufacturer in China? Cheers!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com