Right Tool For The Job

[AdanA]

I know everyone's probably seen and followed this thread with interest: https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?fromgroups#!topic/makerbot/Ma3P1LJOcgg I know some of this group's folk have given good suggestions.

It strikes a chord for me... once I start to quote a job, there's such a mental commitment and desire to do it that, even when it starts to be clear it's not a great fit for me + my tools + my space, it can be very hard to step away and no-quote, or at least quote the job's actual value in full knowledge it will be rejected.

What triggers do others put in place to help them turn away and seek other jobs that are better fits? Am I even phrasing the question right? Maybe if I phrased it right it would be easier for me!

Very interesting.

Adan

[Joseph Chiu]

As Sean Tu on the Makerbot group pointed out recently, the job should be priced for the value of the flexibility offered by 3D printing, rather than to try to compete against production technology.

If you want to give yourself ulcers, you should hang around elance and see the low-ball RFP's and bids that show up there.  Sometimes, you might be hungry enough to take the low-ball stuff, but it's not a sustainable place to be!

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[Adan Akerman]

Wow, I wasn't aware of Elance. I think I was happier back before you brought it to my attention! 

With my woodworking/Shopbot work I helped one very nice customer develop a product and actually make what I considered to be quite a few of them: ~100 or so. But it was more than they wanted to pay, and even so was less than I should have been charging, and I couldn't crank them out at the rate they wanted them. I encouraged them to seek larger quantity manufacturing, helped them as much as I could, provided every file imaginable and even my material/tooling/process notes and instructions, even talked to some of their prospective manufacturers for them. But in the end they didn't find a good way to transition. The special benefits of small scale person-to-person manufacturing/prototyping are many, not just flexibility. It is a full-on commitment to go to that other level. 

But it's hard to remember when you're preparing a quote that you know will be challenging for them to receive. 

I guess it's also challenging but critically important to be able to educate the customer about these additional benefits, without it coming across as a threat or defensive justification attempt.

Okay, gotta go finish this quote I'm working on now. This has been a helpful thread for the task!