Hamilton Feltman wrote:

>         My question is what is the proper amount of MONEY for a device such as
> this?  Or any device?  Being new not to engineering but to the business
> side of things I'm really in need some comments or thoughts. Do you charge
> by hour or project?  Or importance?  Any "rough figures" would be
> appreciated.
>         -Hamilton

The short answer to "how much to charge?" is "what the market will
bear!". How do you determine how much that is? You research your
competition and charge accordingly. Find out about all competitors..
Price, features, ease of ordering, after sale support, etc. If your
product will be perceived by customers as being of greater value (new
features, combination of features, order line, nationalism, color, etc.)
then you can charge more. What you charge has NOTHING to do with
development cost! This cost only determines IF you do the project!

In fact, one does the research first and then determines if one will
make enough money from the product over it's life (typically 5-7 years
for electronic products, but different for different industries).
Development costs represent only about 1/3 of the cost of launching a
product. The other 2/3s include marketing, inventory, ramp-up, and
administration. Marketing can be very expensive if there isn't an easy
way to reach your potential customers. Is there a music enthusiast's
magazine thats not too expensive for you to advertize in? I'd start with
advertising in the same places where "Midi octapus" does (if its the
sales leader for this kind of product) and price accordingly.

Hope this helps.
Regards, Dana Frank Raymond