Selling home-made pedals

[rx jr.]

hey, does anyone here have experiences selling custom-made pedals? I'm thinking about building pedals and selling them... they'll be kinda like Z.Vex pedals... in plain metal enclosure that's painted and sealed with clearcoat.

 

how much income can I expect?

 

thanks

[Wilbo26]

I think it really depends on how many you can make, how cheap you can get the parts, and how good it sounds.

 

You could probably build some fuzzface clones and make a few bucks shilling them on Ebay, but to make real money making effects you would need to buy large amounts of parts in bulk in order to get your overhead down, and then be able to come up with designs that people want.

[SKYNETRP]

 

Originally posted by rx jr. hey, does anyone here have experiences selling custom-made pedals? I'm thinking about building pedals and selling them... they'll be kinda like Z.Vex pedals... in plain metal enclosure that's painted and sealed with clearcoat. how much income can I expect? thanks

 

 

I am thinking about exactly the same thing. I have been checking into it and the profit margin is not very high. You have to make a box that looks good, yet doesn't cost much to make first. A box can cost from $5 to $25 depending on the graphics and wether it is powder coated paint, etc.

 

Then you have to be able to get the basic kits to work with, and then modify them to make them your own, yet still have that vintage sound...........I think it is a very hard thing to do. Not to mention the fact that you have to have electronics knowledge, and be really good with a soldering iron.

 

If you can do all that, AND get a good price for your work, then you can make a good living at it. But I guarantee you that it will get old if you don't have "vision" and are able to make some new effects or really great mods for the old ones.

[playdabluze]

Good luck!

 

I had the same thing in mind when I built this...

Put it up for sale on Ebay, HC classifieds, TGP...nothing. Even tried to sell it at a loss. Nada.

Needless to say, this was my first...and last...attempt at building/selling pedals.

[RoboPimp]

I'll give you $20 for it

 

 

Originally posted by playdabluze Good luck! I had the same thing in mind when I built this... Put it up for sale on Ebay, HC classifieds, TGP...nothing. Even tried to sell it at a loss. Nada. Needless to say, this was my first...and last...attempt at building/selling pedals.

[dot-dot-dot]

That's how I started; I made a batch of loop boxes, then some ABs, then some fuzzes and so on. It'd be harder to start up now; there are far more people in the market and it is close to saturation. YOu either need to be better, cheaper, or different(er).

[IndyGuitarist]

BEFORE you decide to live the 'glam' lifestyle of an effects builder, read this thread:

 

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=37829.msg266327#msg266327

 

bw

[hoerni]

I'm hoping to start building some pedals for sale at some point. I have no plans on making a fortune, I'm just hoping to get some of my wacky design ideas out there in the hands of musicians who can do something with them. It's hard to find the time to do it though.

 

I think dot-dot-dot is right about the market nearing saturation. But then I think about the prevalence of Guitar Center and all these kids with guitar starter packs. Some small percentage of them might get into pedals. And some percentage of them might get into boutique pedals.... So I guess I hold out hope for the market growing.

[Sir H C]

*OR* you have to find someone famous to use your pedal. If you had that guy in Mars Volta with your pedal on his board, you might generate sales.

[spentron]

Perhaps this would be a good thread to ask for tips. I've seen some things really take off. The Big Cheese clone, sold out 30 in 2 days, the Beavis fuzz dude just posts a couple big pics of an enclosure with a few components stuck in it and people start asking "how much", meanwhile when I finally got an order after some months I nearly fell out of my chair in surprise. Now I'm offering tons of innovation and all around the answer to an effects forum's prayers and here we go again.... I do think my stuff would do better in a store with the touch and feel and try but if I do that the MSRP will go right past what I'd ever pay for a pedal. So now what? May consider "touring" a box but not sure how that's done.

 

Almost left out: as a business it's not the most profitable but as for a very small business that actually MAKES something its one of the very few that can work at all.

[dot-dot-dot]

I should make it clear that the pedals I make don't pay my mortgage and bills - not even close. I make less profit a year from building pedals than I get in a single month's paycheque from the day job. Of course, the nice thing about that is that I can take a break if I start to get jaded about it, and I can persue projects that might only sell one or two pedals.

 

The guys who actually take pedalbuilding on as their primary income are far braver than me. I think I worked out at one point that 3 MonkeyFuzzle3s a day would nearly cover the mortgage until income tax took a bite out.

 

It does, however, pay for pedals and the occasional guitar.

 

One thing I'd say is very important is to keep books for everything you get paid and everything you spend. You do NOT want to get caught out by the taxman!

[duderanimous]

between a wife, 3 kids, a real daytime job, I have a hard time trying to fit in guitar playing & pedal making. This is why I make only one thing (I do make this one thing VERY well, though )

 

Profits? What profits??? It all goes back into buying more parts to make more pedals, and tools to make pedals. It does help (via trades and the occasional purchase) help support my GAS, but that's about it. I do it because I like to, because other people really enjoy them, it's therapuetic, and it's a good excuse to drink beer

[MonkeyKnifeFighter]

Originally posted by duderanimous .....it's therapuetic, and it's a good excuse to drink beer

 

Kuh-Lasssic!

 

~MkF!

"Duffmannnnn!"

[st. fermin]

While there's no real way to say 'you can expect between this-much and this-much income' from selling pedals, what I can say is, its a blast. Yeah it takes a lot of work, yeah you gotta buy parts, yeah its cheaper in bulk yadda yadda. The thing to remember is, put some soul into it, make each one killer and get a plan together for where you want to go with things. Have fun! If it turns into a business for you, then keep a responsible head on the business end - but always remember that you are doing it because its fun and you enjoy doing it. A lot of the time, when we are done for the day, Nick and I have sore faces from laughing so hard and nearly falling off of chairs. If those pedals could talk.

 

Do it.

[Brian Marshall]

Well, here is what i did.

 

I actually was asked to build pedals by brad at tonefactor... It was something I had wanted to do, but I made good money at my job, and really wasnt sure i had the time for it.

 

The first six months i was lucky to sell ten pedals a month. Then with some of my free time i started working on the liquid sunshine, and once that was released it because a second almost full time job. Suddenly I was selling 25 pedals a month... It wasnt enough to live off of, but certainly enough to keep me busy. After just under two years i quit my job, primarrilly because i was no longer welcome there. In realitiy i probably should have stayed there another six months, but luckilly my wife was supportive, and was making good money at the time... This gave me time to really pour in to the business, and get more organized.

 

Over all i am still only making half of what i made at my old job... primarilly becuase the company is young and needs a lot of reinvestment as it grows.

 

My guess, is that the average builder needs about three years for the company to become self sustaining and provide a living.... maybe less if you live in one of the really cheap areas of the country.