Does anyone know if "#2 Don’t forget the certifications" apply to very small / simple hardware ideas for ex: harware products / designs that use open source kits like the arduino kit?
I am working on a product based on an arduino kit, and want to make sure I have the certifications part (if needed) covered.
I am guessing that these certifications are more for big complex hardware products like electric cars etc? or No?
Safety: if you sell an appliance that operates on mains (hazardous) voltage, there are standards in place (UL, etc.) you should be following in order to prove your design doesn't allow that high voltage to easily come in contact with a person. So for your Arduino thing, as long as the power adapter that you source is already certified, you are probably good to go.
Liability: Closely related to above; what if your device is involved in a fire? There are flammability requirements for devices for different environments, and certification will help you prove you did everything you were supposed to in order to prevent your device from starting or propagating a fire. Again, not as big of an issue once the voltage is stepped down to <= 5 VDC.
Legality: mainly, FCC (in the USA) comes to mind. It's actually illegal to sell radio devices using certain frequencies unless they are tested and approved by the FCC. You can buy an FCC-certified radio modem or module to get by this one quite a bit easier. Medical devices are an entirely different can of worms (FDA, etc.).
So, it really depends on the use case for your product. What are you planning to build?
Basically, there are three kinds of procedures you need to worry about: verification (the least intrusive, requires that the manufacturer do tests but does not require approval); declaration of conformity (requires a certified test lab certify the product); and certification (the "FCC Code" -- requires an application to the FCC or a TCB, including technical specs and official test results). The only way to be sure is to have engineers on staff or on contract with experience in licensing issues.
By the way, if you're selling a kit product, you may be exempt from much of the approval process, which may influence your decision.
I'd consider waiting until you know there's demand past Kickstarter, at least. I see some worry about CE and the individual countries like Japan and ANZ, when global domination is a long ways off. You're probably going to have to iterate again anyway in order to get retail-ready margins.
A clue that it matters little is that when they need to put your unique product in a government-designated category, it's going to be something like "Computer Peripheral" or "Measuring Device". There is a lot of grey area. Hell, CE lets you self-certify.
Another debatable early-stage expense is liability insurance. Technically most distributors require it, including Amazon. But it can be nearly impossible to get for hardware with no track record, never mind what it costs. The best option is sometimes to let your LLC do its job and go bankrupt if someone wants a lot of money.
I agree on Pebble - the volume they were sending through, and a little inexperience with customs, raised flags that were hard to put down. But by all means, when you've raised $10mil, get your certs. I'm telling the Kickstarters who barely raised enough to execute their hardware, and then think that blowing $20K in order to cross all the t's for international markets, is not putting the cert before the horse.
For a quick primer on FCC requirements (which only covers US EMC), check out Sparkfun's "The FCC and Open Source"[1]. For more depth on other regulatory requirements, e.g. safety, "Global Certifications for Makers and Hardware Startups"[2] is pretty decent.
If you have any kind of radio transmitting part, i.e. an intentional radiator, then you should use a pre-certified module or otherwise pay about 5-10K to get it certified.