I am trying to sell these keychain breathalyzers

[Deleted28123]

I am trying to sell these keychain breathalyzers to kids around my college to prevent overdrinking
I am purchasing them at 5-7 per piece, and I am seeing them with the college insignia on them at $10-12 per peice. what I am wondering if they would sell. Could you see yourself buying a keychain breathalyzer for $10-12 and is this at all scalable? I am going to try and sell these locally at first 4-6 profit per piece. I do not expect to become a millionaire I just want to profit off something. what you guys think?

 

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[Wal-Mart Vendor]

Good idea! Maybe save some lives.

 

[Deleted28123]

Good idea! Maybe save some lives.

I am just hoping they will sell

 

[Vigilante]

Is your interest in keeping people alive, or making a profit?

 

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[Vigilante]

Get the bars to subsidize them and put the bar logo on them.

 

[Winning]

This is genius. Not sure if anyone has done this but you can create a site that sells breathalyzers with each university logo. You may have to get some sort of licensing agreement, etc but start researching. This can be gold for the college scene.

 

[Ma Co]

Get the bars to subsidize them and put the bar logo on them.

Great idea.

I'd think students/poeple would buy these for the fun part of it but not for saving lives.

"Let's see who drank the most," and such.

 

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[Deleted28123]

Is your interest in keeping people alive, or making a profit?

I want to keep people alive, I had some close calls with alcohol intoxication on campus and I want stop it

 

[Deleted28123]

This is genius. Not sure if anyone has done this but you can create a site that sells breathalyzers with each university logo. You may have to get some sort of licensing agreement, etc but start researching. This can be gold for the college scene.

I was thinking about doing that because, If i can ship breathalyzers all around the U.S with different college insignias then It is scalable, and not limited to ann arbor michigan. I live in ann arbor, University of Michigan is big school 30k students, and I want to sell to more than than just them. I want to scale this, I believe People would carry these around to bars, have fun while staying safe and understanding there drinking

 

[Winning]

@Jeff Krasnow Yeah I really wanna see you do this. I'm transferring from my community college this Fall to a university in California (still waiting on admission decisions) *UC Berkeley is a top choice.. crossing fingers* I would definitely purchase one - its an awesome college scene accessory if you will haha. It will just catch on from friends- like "where'd you get that?" and then it's a snowball effect.

 

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[Autarkeia]

Can I just add that I feel there is some risk to get sued here? If this device registers below .08 but the user is actually over, what might happen? Just something to think about. Maybe add a sticker over the mouthpiece that this device is for novelty only or something.

Yes I would buy it depending on the specs. College guys will want to see how high they can blow. It's not safe but it's true. I know that some of these key-chain breathalyzers stop at .08. If this goes over .08, it will sell locally. I can almost guarantee that.

 

[Mcslothin]

Can I just add that I feel there is some risk to get sued here? If this device registers below .08 but the user is actually over, what might happen? Just something to think about. Maybe add a sticker over the mouthpiece that this device is for novelty only or something.

Yes I would buy it depending on the limitations. College guys will want to see how high they can blow. It's not safe but it's true. I know that some of these key-chain breathalyzers stop at .08. If this goes over .08, it will sell locally. I can almost grantee that.

That's a great point. Not being too familiar with this law I would definitely look into it. A small notice sticker might be worth it in the long run.

 

[Stu_Hefner]

588 sold on groupon in Australia already at $19. You may want to increase your price.

That being said, every single item I see from ali express and alibaba get put on Groupon so fast. How do these people always get in so quick?

 

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[ChickenHawk]

This is a really neat idea. Honestly, I doubt I'd buy one for myself, but only because I'm not a big drinker. I was wishing your survey included the answer, "I'd consider buying one as a gift for someone else." For example, this would make a funny, yet practical (and potentially life-saving) gift for someone's 21st birthday, or for someone going away to college.

I do agree that some people might buy it for the fun of it, or even to boast about how drunk they are. But even if those cases, it could help raise awareness, because those people around them would know just exactly how drunk that person is.

About the price, I thought $12 was good, maybe even a little low side.

 

[ChickenHawk]

Is your interest in keeping people alive, or making a profit?

A genuine question... In a case like this, does it have to be an "or"? Is it possible that the goal could be both to keep people alive AND to make a profit? Or, is this generally a balancing act, where these two factors are competing? Like maybe you'd approach it one way if you were looking to make money, and a different way if you were looking to save lives?

 

[Vigilante]

No... I think it can and should be both. My question was posed because early on... All he mentioned was money. He later clarified though... His answer is both. That works.

If you weren't concerned about being profitable you would fail... Because it would be unsustainable. And... If you weren't concerned about saving lives it also would fail because you couldn't sell it.

1. Every business needs a reason
2. The business can't solely be about money but
3. Profit should be a primary objective

 

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[ExecutionisKing]

Those are definitely cool. A company on Shark Tank got a $1m deal from all 5 sharks to sell a phone compatible version of this to go with their app.
Not sure if this would be competition, since it's also in the "portable" market...
Here's their site:
https://www.breathometer.com

 

[Deleted28123]

Can I just add that I feel there is some risk to get sued here? If this device registers below .08 but the user is actually over, what might happen? Just something to think about. Maybe add a sticker over the mouthpiece that this device is for novelty only or something.

Yes I would buy it depending on the specs. College guys will want to see how high they can blow. It's not safe but it's true. I know that some of these key-chain breathalyzers stop at .08. If this goes over .08, it will sell locally. I can almost guarantee that.

it goes over .08 I went to the bars last night and a guy blew a .13

 

[Deleted28123]

A genuine question... In a case like this, does it have to be an "or"? Is it possible that the goal could be both to keep people alive AND to make a profit? Or, is this generally a balancing act, where these two factors are competing? Like maybe you'd approach it one way if you were looking to make money, and a different way if you were looking to save lives?

I am trying to save lives, because I believe if I approach it that way than I will reach a broader audience than just profiting

 

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[Deleted28123]

Those are definitely cool. A company on Shark Tank got a $1m deal from all 5 sharks to sell a phone compatible version of this to go with their app.
Not sure if this would be competition, since it's also in the "portable" market...
Here's their site:
https://www.breathometer.com

not my competition because I am selling this in a much lower price range

 

[Deleted28123]

No... I think it can and should be both. My question was posed because early on... All he mentioned was money. He later clarified though... His answer is both. That works.

If you weren't concerned about being profitable you would fail... Because it would be unsustainable. And... If you weren't concerned about saving lives it also would fail because you couldn't sell it.

1. Every business needs a reason
2. The business can't solely be about money but
3. Profit should be a primary objective

Obviously the motivation is profit, but I am tying in something meaningful, I would like to save lives, and I believe this would be a perfect bring-me-along to bars for college students

 

[AntEmpire]

I think it's a great idea, particularly putting college logos on them or even bar names, as Vigilante suggested. My only suggestion is to get started now. Never know who's reading this thread.

 

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[Deleted28123]

I think it's a great idea, particularly putting college logos on them or even bar names, as Vigilante suggested. My only suggestion is to get started now. Never know who's reading this thread.

what are the steps, my issue is I only have enough money to order a few right now. should I order 5, slap on college insignia and try and sell them on the street? or should I start to build a website where I ship them

 

[Jwind]

I think it is a great idea!

 

[Deleted28123]

what are the steps, my issue is I only have enough money to order a few right now. should I order 5, slap on college insignia and try and sell them on the street? or should I start to build a website where I ship them

I am having a hard time determining a business model, who to order bulk from alibiba? I heard they can scam. As well as whether its easier to start shipping locally or should i immediately scale this to all schools

 

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[Butschal]

How are you going to handle the possibility that $5 electronic devices from China might fail?
Like somebody said earlier, what if somebody blew into this thing, thought they were fine to drive, then got a DUI, or God forbid, died? Do you have an LLC for legal protection, or are you not worried about this?
This was a product that I considered selling several months ago, and the things DO sell on Amazon and Ebay, you just need to make sure that you are comfortable selling a product that can irreversibly change somebody's life if it fails.
I think the University logos are a great idea, but you'll need to get the universities to agree to having their logos on breathalyzers, and I'm not sure that's something many would be interested in (I could be wrong, maybe some will love it), since many schools like Michigan don't want to be associated with the drinking culture.
Also, this is a light, cheap, easy to ship product that you can get off Alibaba. Just selling it online with Ebay or Amazon won't make you much, as those markets are saturated (I know that wasn't the market you mentioned in your post, I just wanted to point it out).

Enough being negative, here are some ideas for this product that may help. Hitting the college student market with key chain breathalyzers is great and all, but if you want to create a brand with these (and not get people killed) you may need a nicer product. Alibaba has some more expensive, more premium looking models, but that's not really what I'm talking about. I think that if you were to find a decent American/Taiwanese/Korean/Other first world country supplier that had a good product you were confident in putting your name behind, you'd have to charge more, but it'd also be easier to have schools agree to put their logos on it and to get people to buy it. I think that the college breathalyzer market is a ripe one, as I have never seen an advertisement for a breathalyzer on campus or nearby, but I know for a fact people would buy one.

Here's a company I've seen that you could take a look at, it's called Vipertek. It only exists on Amazon and Ebay (as far as I can tell). All they do is sell tasers, but they have TENS OF THOUSANDS of review for their products. The products are relatively cheap, look decent, and work. If I had to guess I'd say they have some deal with a factory or something to brand their products for them, since I can't imagine they wouldn't have a website if they were the manufacturer. It seems like a great example of importing a high(enough)-quality product and reselling it with all sorts of flashy colors to make tons of money. All you have to do is find a good manufacturer/product (they have really good reviews, which is surprising since they are selling stun guns for $9 a piece) and build a brand, Vipertek literally has people raving about them, you won't get that with a keychain.

Anyhow, I hope that helps somehow. I'm not exactly an expert, but what I'm saying makes sense to me, so maybe somebody can tell me if I'm horribly mistaken.

PS - You'd need to do some marketing for this, at least compared to the marketing Vipetek does (none) since getting a DUI may not be as large an impetus (though it should be!) as getting stabbed by a hobo with a rusty screwdriver.

 

[Charnell]

Be careful with the logo thing. If you can put an unofficial mascot and get it in school colors you would be better off. I know, at my school, if you put the official logo/mascot on anything they get a cut, so all the homecoming shirts are clipart knockoffs of the mascot and whatnot.

 

[Butschal]

Be careful with the logo thing. If you can put an unofficial mascot and get it in school colors you would be better off. I know, at my school, if you put the official logo/mascot on anything they get a cut, so all the homecoming shirts are clipart knockoffs of the mascot and whatnot.

I think that's really true, but imagine how far you could knock it out of the park IF you used the official logo on an actual, good product? If everything looked great and was sleek and shiny? You'd be THE breathalyzer supplier to dudebros and sorority sisters alike!

 

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[GuestUser113]

Your first step is to contact University of Michigan. http://www.mgoblue.com/school-bio/trademark-licensing.html

smh.

 

[Ses]

I already have one, but would buy one if i hadn´t