We got this message to foward to the GOSH community.
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Forwarded message:
Greetings from Seeed! It’s been a long time since we last met.
Hope you and your loved ones are doing well.
I am writing to connect you with my colleagues Jialun and Melody from Seeed Fusion Team. Seeed Fusion is now launching a new service – GroupBuy, which will enable product designers to turn their designs into products in an easy way, without worrying about the costs of production, commission fee or logistics etc.
We’ve noticed that many GOSH members deign open hardware for scientific research, and education, etc. And some might not be able to scale and be delivered to the users due to different obstacles. Since you are our main contacts regarding GOSH, we’d like to seek your thoughts and see whether the GroupBuy platform can help in a certain way. My colleague Jialun (cc’ed) will provide more info.
Hi dusjagr, thanks for posting. I’m Jialun from Seeed Fusion Team. I hope all is well. The process of Seeed Groupbuy service is as follows, you could read it if you are interested.
You need to fill in the project and personal information on our application page, and submit it for review (at this stage, you need to submit relevant production documents in the Manufacturing File to facilitate our evaluation of production costs). This is the application page: https://www.seeedstudio.com/crowdfunding/crowdfunding/create
After we evaluate the manufacturing cost price based on the relevant production and material documents, we will inform you (we still contact you by email at present, but the system will be automated in the future). Then you set the selling quantity and selling price according to the manufacturing cost price we provided, and submit it for the second review after confirmation. The page for the second review is the same as the application page: https://www.seeedstudio.com/crowdfunding/crowdfunding/create
When you submit for the second review and we have passed the review, the groupbuy will officially begin.
In the effective time, the groupbuy will be deemed as successful after reaching the target number. At this time, the groupbuy can continue. If enough people join the groupbuy, the manufacturing cost will be lower and the designer will get more benefits.
If the number of groupbuy fails to meet the standard within the specified time, the groupbuy fails, and the money paid by all users participating in the groupbuy will be refunded in the same way.
After the time of groupbuy is reached, the successful project will initiate production and test and verify the first version, and ship it after no problem.
Jialun,
Thank you for your information. I’m currently working at a university where we have student teams that create custom PCBs. Will your program allow for a purchase of small quantity of 4-5 boards per team? I know this is a tiny order, but I thought it was good to ask as I remember meeting Seeed during our China meetup :).
Thank you for your reply. I apologize for the late response. You can place an order directly on our official website: https://www.seeedstudio.com/fusion_pcb.html. New customers will get a $10 no-threshold coupon. For students, we will also give coupons as appropriate. But you’ll need to sign up for your Seeed account with your school email, and tie the coupon to your Seeed account. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Michael Zheng
Product Operations Manager
Seeed Technology Co., Ltd
My name is Michael from Seeed Studio. Hope you are doing well.
I’m reaching out to you because Seeed Fusion just launch a Groupbuy platform, which will enable product designers to turn their designs into products in an easy way, without worrying about the costs of production, commission fee or logistics etc. We’ve noticed that many GOSH members deign open hardware for scientific research, and education, etc. And some might not be able to scale and be delivered to the users due to different obstacles. So we’d like to seek your thoughts and see whether the GroupBuy platform can help in a certain way.
Here is the process about Fusion Groupbuy service, you could chect it out if you are interested. Follow the steps, you could start your groupbuy program quickly.
First, fill in the project and personal information on the application page, and submit it for review. At this stage, you will need to submit the relevant production documents in the Manufacturing Files section so we can evaluate the production costs.
This is the application page: https://www.seeedstudio.com/groupbuy/program/create
After evaluation, we will provide you with feedback and the manufacturing costs for different quantities that will be deducted from the earnings if the Groupbuy is successful. Then navigate to your Groupbuy administration page to review the status of your submission and set the selling quantity and selling price according to the manufacturing cost price provided. The selling price must be able to cover production costs. Then submit it for the second review.
This is the page for entering the selling price and quantity: https://www.seeedstudio.com/groupbuy/program/create
After passing the second review, the Groupbuy will officially begin.
The Groupbuy will be deemed as successful if it reaches the target number within the effective time. After reaching the target, customers can still join the Groupbuy. The greater the number of participants, the lower the manufacturing cost per piece will be.
If the Groupbuy target is not met within the specified time, the Groupbuy fails, and the money paid by all users participating in the Groupbuy will be refunded via their payment account.
After the Groupbuy time limit is reached, production will be initiated if successful and we will carry out first product verification. Once production is completed, we will ship them out to all buyers, and 15 days after shipment, earnings will be transferred to you via PayPal or wire transfer.
I was looking at Seeed’s PCBA and Marketplace services, it seems like these would be more suitable for small quantities. Where would you draw the line between these services and Groupbuy in terms of quantity?
As an aside, I have a question about PCBA/Marketplace. Does board assembly also include through-hole components or only surface mount? In particular I mean the header pins. I didn’t see many of these listed in the OPL.
Thanks for your review and sorry for the late response.
At present, there is no limit on the number of Groupbuy, but we will give a reference based on the characteristics and market demand of the product. A suitable upper limit on the number of Groupbuy is easier to succeed.
Moreover, the board assembly include through-hole components and surface mount actually. If you do not find enough through-hole components in our OPL, you can directly add the MPN( Manufacturer Part Number ) and purchase link of the components that you need. We will utilize all our manufacturing and supply chain expertise to bring you a complete all-in-one service, including Parts Procurement.
If you want to know more details about Groupbuy service and Seeed Marketplace, feel free to contact me via jialun.zheng#seeed.cc. Have a nice day and looking forward to your reply.