I read MJ's book and started my business :)

[Steele Concept]

JAJT - I almost forgot, the cubes are the only foreign import as detailed in the Info section. I import them and they are manufactured in lots of 5,000. If you wanna talk cube suppliers, shoot me a PM, we can talk.

 

[Steele Concept]

Amazing.
This is a product I would buy and there are definitely a lot of people that I know would buy this, not to mention the possibility of distribution to every head shop around the country and around the world.
Keep going!! this is something that hasn't been done and there is a definitely NEED for it.

Thank you Sowster. Your encouraging comments are much appreciated. The first thing I did was to glance at the left of the screen to see your age.

Chances are, you are college bound, experienced with the counter culture and have experienced first hand the emotional turmoil of a broken piece.

In short, you get it.

My product was manufactured in the aftermath of a RooR and PURE that both died gruesome deaths. I had to ask myself... Is yet another all glass designer pipe really the answer our community needs? How many people do you know in your personal life that have lost money right before their eyes as their premium pipe cracked at the bistable joint from a tip?

My friends and I have lost a lot of money from this and it sucks.

 

[Steele Concept]

Im am talking about this pic.

Steele Concept | Steele Concept

However, all the rest can use an upgrade. Take a look at other glass and clear product shots.

BTW! I think its a cool product and will sell.

Thank you for your kind words and your feedback biophase. You'll notice if you click on that picture a much cleaner one pops up. I think the first pic is an issue with resizing, if I can't figure it out I'll ask a web nerd friend.

Better media will be coming soon.

I have received a multitude of tempting offers from national/international distributors but I have a particular one in mind that I'm speaking with that I think would be the best fit. They are known for carrying the most innovative and newest products. We will see...

Like in the finance industry, I believe in diversification to protect my brand from uncontrollable environmental factors.

I will have my next lot of units ready to move by next week :urock2:

 

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[Steele Concept]

I took some of your guys suggestions and completely revamped the website the last few days.

It's now squeaky clean and I should have an HD product highlight video coming soon.

Let me know what you think

 

[PatrickP]

Error 404 - Page not found!

The page you trying to reach does not exist, or has been moved. Please use the menus or the search box to find what you are looking for.

 

[Steele Concept]

Try again PatrickP, I may have been working on her when you checked. As the latest tweet says:

"New website complete. Customers can pay via Credit Card or Dwolla. We always offer fast, free and discreet shipping. Units in stock

I just signed up for twitter and it's a great tool for business updates. I always thought it was silly for personal use IE one is eating, what movie someone is watching, blablabla who cares lol.

My favorite part is how the integrated OSX client makes a bird sound, hehe.

I know as an undergraduate I had found a crucial SPSS OSX update through the businesses twitter of all things!

Let me know what you guys think.

 

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[biophase]

I couldn't stand looking at those white speckles on your photos so I picmonkey'd this image for you.

Take some time and clean that thing before you take photos. Also, toss them into a photo editting program and make them pop!

After


Before

 

[Steele Concept]

Thanks for the suggestions guys...

I don't know how familiar some of you are with this industry. Generally products like this have 0 information, they are just displayed at headshops.

On the tech specs page click on the cube for the gallery. Click on the flight manual picture to read how the device works. If the consumer isn't familiar with water pipes, it's not like they would purchase this piece anyway.

I believe the speckles are dust particles. I didnt think it was a big deal but i can have some different photos taken if it is. I will have a professional video up soon that shows exactly how the device works. That should eliminate any ambiguity.

Thanks

 

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[biophase]

check out Magic-Flight.com - Official Home of the Launch Box Vaporizer

That is a pretty kick a$$ site.

 

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[miked_d]

I like your idea. How are sales?

I am going to try to give some constructive criticism.

I would have really liked to see this shot on the main page. Also, that picture should be renamed for SEO purposes.

I just went back to the site and got the 404. Fix that. Maybe you need to have the 404 redirect to the front page.

Is the age verification necessary? Is the Google spider able to get past it?

The menu is strange. When I hover on tech-specs, there is a drop down for the gallery. Why the drop-down?

The glycerin cubes - are you SURE there is glycerin in them? Have you checked?

If it is indestructibly is there a lifetime warranty?

I can't really tell from the pics but how is the weld quality on the stem and the base? Is it nice and even like this or poor like this?

 

[Steele Concept]

Miked:

Sales have been fantastic.

I'll put up the full shot pic on the first page. I like that better too. I'll rename the images as well.

The google spider can get past the age check... As for it being necessary, well I can take it off but it's a little peace of mind.

I can change the menu and the cubes do indeed contain glycerin, why would I lie?

As for the welds they are the cleanest in the business from a CNC machinist with 25+ years experience.

No warranty and none needed. Products of this nature cant have them for obvious return reasons.

As for the flight thing... Ever heard of Curren$y or Wiz Khalifa? JETS. Not high school bullshit. Culture.

MFLB has killed it for a while, solid product. Look out for Pax by Ploom...

The video will be coming soon

 

[Mr.Dietsch]

I would add a lifetime refund and then just make it difficult for a refund in the fine print or something if you want to be mean about things. You would be surprised on the up sell of giving a lifetime guarantee. That is if the bong is as indestructible as you say it is.

 

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[miked_d]

the cubes do indeed contain glycerin, why would I lie?

I don't think you would lie but your suppliers may.

 

[Steele Concept]

The cubes are food safe drink chillers like the ones you can buy in Brookstone. I specifically asked my supplier what the nontoxic gel was and she confirmed glycerin.

Safety was priority #1. Safety and smoothness both in usage and in aesthetics.

One should always double check on everything though. Particularly if you are manufacturing something that will be on or in someone's body!

 

[miked_d]

I will make other comments tomorrow while at at the 9-5.

Was NM the distributor you were trying for?

 

[miked_d]

There is a free magazine in the LA area called 420 or something similar. It has ads from a lot a lot of co-ops and other stuff. If you are interested in it, I can find out more info or send you one. There is an expo in October for the 420 "scene" advertised in there.

 

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[miked_d]

I will make other comments tomorrow while at at the 9-5.

Or a week later...

Make the full product shot smaller so that it is seen above the fold.

 

[Steele Concept]

Thanks for the offer mike, I already have advertising avenues in mind. We will see what the response is to the High Times ad and then I have some industry specific stuff I may do as well.

 

[Steele Concept]

Hey Steele, congrats on your success. Fellow BJJ/MMA guy here, so figured I have to throw you some love.

Much love, arm bars, triangle chokes and omoplatas your way my man

 

[Steele Concept]

Finally, my High Times December ad will be on shelves this coming week. I also will have an ad in Hotbreath which is an industry specific mag that 1000's of retailers get. So High Times for the consumer advertising and Hotbreath for the retailer stuff. There's another one called B.I.G. Industry that I may check out in the near future.

It's tough starting out with advertising as you have to be conservative with cash and see what the best advertising routes are. When word of mouth gets out and cash flow increases, so do options. We will see...

 

[Steele Concept]

Thanks JAJT. I read though a lot of it.

I can really see what the inventor meant that it's all about design, build, test and test test test.

Building a perfect unit takes time.

 

[Steele Concept]

Thanks Michelle.

I spoke with a NORML affiliated attorney before I began, I also spoke with several online retailers. I only ship to the USA and I do not ship to PA or Iowa as a result. If you click on the Dealers section of the website you can see where my brick and mortar retailers are located. We are expanding and getting in more stores every week.

Once I have sufficient funds I plan on attending various trade shows which are great networking events and I hear they are very fun . I have some new high quality material coming in the next few days. As I tell all my retailers, my quality will remain the same or go up and my costs will go down as economy of scale increases.

 

[Steele Concept]

Good suggestion JAJT. My unit is very hard to tip because the center of gravity is so low, with the bulk of the weight being in the base. In terms of handheld bowls there are many flat glass or metal units already out there. Basically like MMA in the last 15 years or so there has been more innovation in this industry than ever before .

 

[Steele Concept]

MJ - It's funny because lately I have been doing sales calls to CO. Head shop owners there are pretty happy for the most part . My next model will have the percolator plate and possibly a different finish. High Times is going to put me in their gear section for February, which is great news. That's what's new, all sold out but new model should be available next week, it's pretty exciting stuff!

My product is for tobacco use only and the marketing will remain the same

 

[Steele Concept]

Congrats in the success so far. I hope you get your production issues figured out. Good luck!

Thanks man, it's going well. Had to do some problem solving but what entrepreneur doesn't? I should get a ton more exposure this month so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Steele Concept]

-Do any people actually smoke tobacco out of bongs?

I've seen it done and its' not pretty lol. Hookahs on the other hand are a completely different thing. If you have never tried a hookah with a nice Shisha (tobacco with flavorings and molasses) I'd recommend you try it. It's a very flavorful experience but if you don't smoke tobacco regularly it will definitely give you a head rush. Sometimes a headache if you partake too much.

Conversion is going as expected. Some shops shooting off emails grabbing units and some end users ordering. Currently I'm working on getting some YouTube video reviews up. As stated earlier, people that have units love em but I need word of mouth going on so people know it's a legit product.

Like anything when a product is new you gotta get the word out