Sell products before production

Not sure how many products to produce - may I sell before?

[Dmitriyf]

Hi guys,
I'm about to produce some product. Preliminary scrining shows some interest in it, and there are similar on the market, a little bit simpler, then my. My should have more features. However - I have no clue how many may I sell. The production may take 1-2 weeks, depending on spending sum. 1 week slightly more expensive. So, the idea is to put advertisement on website for "preorder" - order now - shipment in 10-15 days - save 15%. May it work? I suspect nobody cares about 15% - they want product today. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks.

[ScottM]

Microsoft does this all the time, doesn't it?

I, also, take orders on stuff I haven't made and sometimes takes up to a month to produce.

[Dmitriyf]

ScottM,
this is a wonderfull news! I was afraid about customers not buying the idea.
Thanks.

[CernyM]

If its going to take an unusually long amount of time to ship something, you need to let the customer know before they order.

There are also some FTC rules on shipping times for mail/Internet orders, though I don't happen to recall them at the moment. They deal with required notifications, etc.

A good deal of what the customer orders from my company doesn't exist until after the customer orders. We make it very clear what the shipping times are likely to be, and the nature of the product makes it somewhat obvious. In hundreds of orders, we've never once had a complaint about our shipping time. It just comes down to being honest with people and making sure that there expectations are set properly.

[Essex_boy]

Customers dont seem to mind the delay IF you tell them BEFORE they order.

Is its a custom made product well sure they expect a delay.

[sun818]

I believe the time to ship requirement is 30 days after CC charge is made. If you only record the CC details, but do not process it, this rule would not apply.

[percentages]

Many products are sold based upon a waiting list.

My current wait list for some products is about 7 months, it doesn't stop people ordering.

If you want a new Bentley or Aston Martin you can expect to wait 2 to 4 years. Often a wait list is seen as a sign of quality......nothing to be wary of in this arena. ;)