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Inventing for the first time, after years of experience with importing

Share your FTE moment...

MitchA

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Hello guys,

My name is Mitch I’m 23 years old and I’m from Holland/The Netherlands (Europe). After years of experience importing existing products from China and reselling on Ebay to customers all over Europe I’m now ready to invent my own product. I decided to start a progress thread to let others learn from my journey and to get feedback on my actions.

I’ve spotted a need/problem point:

1.The most common crime is theft/pickpocketing.
2.There is an increase in RFID skimming crimes.
Modern cards, such as creditcards, debitcards and access cards contain a chip and antenna for wireless communication. These RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) or NFC (Near Field Communication) cards can be read, activated and cloned from a metre away, without you noticing.
3.People more and more are paying with a card instead of cash.
4.Cards are fragile and bend and break easily.

I have a solution in mind that will solve these problems.

An aluminum card holder which will block criminals from scanning your bank/credit cards and passport information. It will be a lot smaller than a regular wallet with easy access to your cards. By reducing the size of the wallet, you would reduce the risk of pickpockets targeting you. It also prevents your cards from bending and breaking.

However there is already somebody out there selling something like the product I have in mind. So I decided to read the complaints about the product so that I can improve it and invent a better product.

This is the product that they're selling:
upload_2019-2-27_16-25-20.png

upload_2019-2-27_16-25-47.png

The complaints:
-The card holder holds only 6 cards (is too small).
-The card holder is too expensive relative to quality.
-The leather which is used cracks and peals within in short amount of time.
-The card holder is made with leather (a lot of people want a leather alternative because of animal cruelty etc.)

I would like to make this product better by making a card holder which can hold more cards, is made with a leather alternative which is more durable and is not an animal product. Also the the price would be a little lower.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Mitch
 
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Eskil

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I love product development / invention threads so I'll be following. I think there are even more features you could add to differentiate yourself even further from the competition - by offering designer prints, patterns, color schemes, etc. and also then venture into other accessories later down the road once this first product is established. Think fanny packs, belts, luggage accessories, and more. And you could have matching sets, design wise.

But that's later of course. First you will want to get a prototype made. Have you started on that yet?
 

B. Cole

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Fellow inventor, following also. X2 on what @Eskil said. Also, how do you feel about your market? You need to get prototypes in the hands of customers to validate and get feedback.

Eskil will attest to the difficulties of product development and living in the world of “what ifs”. Get ready for the hardest thing you’ve ever undertaken, and since I know it will consume you, I might as well help kickstart your list of problems to figure out.

- The comfort dynamics of a stiff wallet.

- Over time body weight will likely distort the aluminum wallet.

- Wear and tear on pockets and furniture.

- Size (you already mentioned this)

At the start, don’t be too hung up on what you think the finished product should be made of or look like. Focus on solving the problems, then value engineer the heck out of your solution to strip everything off you don’t need. Do this a couple hundred more times and if you can still stomach looking at it, you might make it. :playful: Features aren’t your friend, a solution to the core problem is.

X2 on the card breaking issue - I go through them like crazy, they always crack and the finish wears off the strip until they quit working.
 

iizu

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Good luck!

I think this looks pretty cool. And can hold up to 12 cards:

Titanium - Burnt

They offer it in Aluminum, Titanium and Carbon fiber..

Make a steel version? :)
 
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jpn

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Hi @MitchA

I've had one of these for years, the most annoying thing (besides not holding enough cards) is that the ones from Secrid hold 6 cards, but I have several credit cards that have embossed number (which means the cards are thicker), so even less cards fit in.

The main reason I used it was because it was much smaller than a normal wallet and I only use cards anyway (plus I got it as a gift from the founder of Secrid).

A few comments though:
1. there is no "increase" in skimming crime, its imaginary.
2. A card cannot be cloned even if it was read by someone.
3. If you have 2 nfc cards next to each other you often can no longer read either of them because of interfering signals. And usually people have more than 1 card in a wallet.

(I've worked for many years in the payment industry with physical cards. The security of these solutions is excellent. And much better than most people think.)
 

Walter Hay

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Forgetting those who worry about animal cruelty, I have a suggestion to enable you to use leather, reducing bulk and the discomfort of a metal card holder.

The inside could be coated with aluminum, or any other metal that will prevent scanning. Think flexible paint.

Walter
 

timmy

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Hello guys,

My name is Mitch I’m 23 years old and I’m from Holland/The Netherlands (Europe). After years of experience importing existing products from China and reselling on Ebay to customers all over Europe I’m now ready to invent my own product. I decided to start a progress thread to let others learn from my journey and to get feedback on my actions.

I’ve spotted a need/problem point:

1.The most common crime is theft/pickpocketing.
2.There is an increase in RFID skimming crimes.
Modern cards, such as creditcards, debitcards and access cards contain a chip and antenna for wireless communication. These RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) or NFC (Near Field Communication) cards can be read, activated and cloned from a metre away, without you noticing.
3.People more and more are paying with a card instead of cash.
4.Cards are fragile and bend and break easily.

I have a solution in mind that will solve these problems.

An aluminum card holder which will block criminals from scanning your bank/credit cards and passport information. It will be a lot smaller than a regular wallet with easy access to your cards. By reducing the size of the wallet, you would reduce the risk of pickpockets targeting you. It also prevents your cards from bending and breaking.

However there is already somebody out there selling something like the product I have in mind. So I decided to read the complaints about the product so that I can improve it and invent a better product.

This is the product that they're selling:
View attachment 23799

View attachment 23800

The complaints:
-The card holder holds only 6 cards (is too small).
-The card holder is too expensive relative to quality.
-The leather which is used cracks and peals within in short amount of time.
-The card holder is made with leather (a lot of people want a leather alternative because of animal cruelty etc.)

I would like to make this product better by making a card holder which can hold more cards, is made with a leather alternative which is more durable and is not an animal product. Also the the price would be a little lower.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Mitch
Simplify the finished product as much as possible refining it back to what its core functionality. Any of the other features are "fluff " and will only add to the costs. Walter is on the right track IMO.
 
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