Manufacturing Marketplace

machinist2 · May 18, 2016

About a year ago, I had an idea to build an online marketplace for American manufacturers. Ideas are a dime a dozen so I set out to make it happen. My goal was to connect buyers and suppliers in the United States for free.

This forum has posts with complaints about other manufacturing marketplaces. Some of the posts I've read calls into question their sales tactics and to me, they seem pretty aggressive. Some seem to operate like a call center. I spoke with a shop owner and afterwards. I felt that a few manufacturing marketplaces main concern was just making money. Basically gouging shop owners.

A year later, present day, I've reached a point now where the marketplace is almost complete but still in beta and I'd like to have a few shop owners test out the site to get their opinion on it. I want to be sure I am on the right track. I think because of how other manufacturing marketplaces operate, that this can be successful.

PM me if you want to test drive this. I want your opinion on how the site works, any improvements or suggestions.

Gordon B. Clarke · May 18, 2016

I'll start of with what I regard as an obvious question.

What is your experience to make you feel qualified to have started what you're doing?

Background, age, place or places of work? You get the drift.

As to " I felt that a few manufacturing marketplaces main concern was just making money." Of course they're trying to make money. Do we believe you're just being a philanthropist ?

quadzilla87 · May 18, 2016

Is it free?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Joe Miranda · May 18, 2016

We just went through this with "Make Time" - what a disaster!!!!!! Go away!

machinist2 said:
About a year ago, I had an idea to build an online marketplace for American manufacturers. Ideas are a dime a dozen so I set out to make it happen. My goal was to connect buyers and suppliers in the United States for free.

This forum has posts with complaints about other manufacturing marketplaces. Some of the posts I've read calls into question their sales tactics and to me, they seem pretty aggressive. Some seem to operate like a call center. I spoke with a shop owner and afterwards. I felt that a few manufacturing marketplaces main concern was just making money. Basically gouging shop owners.

A year later, present day, I've reached a point now where the marketplace is almost complete but still in beta and I'd like to have a few shop owners test out the site to get their opinion on it. I want to be sure I am on the right track. I think because of how other manufacturing marketplaces operate, that this can be successful.

PM me if you want to test drive this. I want your opinion on how the site works, any improvements or suggestions.

machinist2 · May 18, 2016

Gordon B. Clarke said:
What is your experience to make you feel qualified to have started what you're doing?

The barrier to offering a manufacturing service is not high. I worked in a factory in my younger days.

Gordon B. Clarke said:
As to " I felt that a few manufacturing marketplaces I felt that a few manufacturing marketplaces main concern[/B] was just making money." Of course they're trying to make money. Do we believe you're just being a philanthropist ?

I said main concern. As a business it's okay to make money but when all you worry about is hitting sales numbers - then to me that is a problem.

quadzilla87 said:

Is it free?

Click to expand...

yes

Joe Miranda said:

We just went through this with "Make Time" - what a disaster!!!!!! Go away!

Click to expand...

and this right here is the stigma I'm up against
The mentality that manufacturing marketplaces are all horrible.

Gordon B. Clarke · May 18, 2016

machinist2 said:
The barrier to offering a manufacturing service is not high. I worked in a factory in my younger days.

You worked in a factory in your younger years? As CEO, toilet janitor or something in between?

I didn't ask trick questions. What experience do you believe you have that's let people think you'd know what you were doing?

Putting it very simply - why should people "use" you? Based on what experience?

I've made and posted videos on Youtube. That doesn't make me a movie director.

Jashley73 · May 18, 2016

Good lord, give the guy a chance to breathe for a minute... He's building a marketplace website, not claiming that he's qualified to walk in and take over your business...

Maybe his website is simply a "virtual" showroom for shops, and he uses a search-function for buyers to narrow in on a shop with capacity, that can also meet the buyers requirements...?

So to recap, he's...

1-Recognized a need
2a-Worked to build a solution
2b-Built some kind of service aimed to address the need
3-Asking for feedback before he launches the thing

On a site filled with small business owners, it seems we could at least offer the guy a nice, cordial "Good Luck"...

And in that spirit, machinist2 best of luck in the project.

dstryr · May 18, 2016

Joe Miranda said:
We just went through this with "Make Time" - what a disaster!!!!!! Go away!

What was your experience?
I'm on there and have taken 1 job out of the 6 they have sent me to look at but I only added my 5 axis equipment

Gordon B. Clarke · May 19, 2016

Jashley73 said:
Good lord, give the guy a chance to breathe for a minute... He's building a marketplace website, not claiming that he's qualified to walk in and take over your business...

Maybe his website is simply a "virtual" showroom for shops, and he uses a search-function for buyers to narrow in on a shop with capacity, that can also meet the buyers requirements...?

So to recap, he's...

1-Recognized a need
2a-Worked to build a solution
2b-Built some kind of service aimed to address the need
3-Asking for feedback before he launches the thing

On a site filled with small business owners, it seems we could at least offer the guy a nice, cordial "Good Luck"...

And in that spirit, machinist2 best of luck in the project.

Good Lord, I've not written I hope the guy would fail. What he wants to do could be great, it could also be a waste of people's time.

To me what he's trying to do would require quite a bit of experience within various industries so I consider it very relevant to ask "where's he coming from".

He's a completely new member, you know nothing about him but if you want to give out personal information without knowing what he could do with it then do so by all means. I wouldn't without knowing more. Thus my questions. I'm sick fed up receiving phone calls from people trying to sell me things simply because I have a CVR number.

Comatose · May 19, 2016

Machining that pays isn't fungible, and machining that doesn't pay doesn't have enough fat to support a middleman.

So, Good Luck!

wrustle · May 19, 2016

Jashley73 said:
Good lord, give the guy a chance to breathe for a minute... He's building a marketplace website, not claiming that he's qualified to walk in and take over your business...

Maybe his website is simply a "virtual" showroom for shops, and he uses a search-function for buyers to narrow in on a shop with capacity, that can also meet the buyers requirements...?

So to recap, he's...

1-Recognized a need
2a-Worked to build a solution
2b-Built some kind of service aimed to address the need
3-Asking for feedback before he launches the thing

On a site filled with small business owners, it seems we could at least offer the guy a nice, cordial "Good Luck"...

And in that spirit, machinist2 best of luck in the project.

Agree 100%!

People on here want to know how to get more work, how to make more contacts, how to grow their business from a start up to a self sustaining operation.

He's offering one more possible avenue for that to happen............and he stated "Free".

Are we so paranoid we have to worry about giving out our business information to a stranger? Isn't that what we want to do everyday in the hopes of gaining another contact, another source of business?

I have used MGF.COM back in the day and was very successful in doing so. I made many contacts over that period of time, and still do work for a select group of them.

I have also used "Make Time" and have done 1 job for them. Haven't heard a peep from them in quite some time now, but it cost me nothing so nothing lost.........except POTENTIAL.

POTENTIAL is why you don't just give up on something before even trying it unless you know for a fact it is a total and utter waste of your resources.

How can you make that decision based on what he is offering for those of you looking to expand your business.

EVERY contact you make has the POTENTIAL to be a business changing relationship. Why would you want to simply lock your front door before the guy even gets out of his car in the parking lot.

Let him in, listen, and see what comes of it. If he's good at what he does, you will know it within the first minute of conversation.

60 seconds to make a decision on potentially new business is time I don't mind investing in.

Best Regards,
Russ

pgmrmike · May 19, 2016

machinist2 said:
About a year ago, I had an idea to build an online marketplace for American manufacturers. Ideas are a dime a dozen so I set out to make it happen. My goal was to connect buyers and suppliers in the United States for free.

This forum has posts with complaints about other manufacturing marketplaces. Some of the posts I've read calls into question their sales tactics and to me, they seem pretty aggressive. Some seem to operate like a call center. I spoke with a shop owner and afterwards. I felt that a few manufacturing marketplaces main concern was just making money. Basically gouging shop owners.

A year later, present day, I've reached a point now where the marketplace is almost complete but still in beta and I'd like to have a few shop owners test out the site to get their opinion on it. I want to be sure I am on the right track. I think because of how other manufacturing marketplaces operate, that this can be successful.

PM me if you want to test drive this. I want your opinion on how the site works, any improvements or suggestions.

I have no experience with any of the other manufacturing sites so I am a bit niave. Will you work with small one man operations or just bigger shops? I looked at maketime but I dont believe i fit the profile. I have a good reputation locally but I am too small to venture out of my area through typical means. I do know there is an extreme shortage of work here ( all oil related here )and I am pretty desperate for mill work. ( 4 axis VMC )

machinist2 · May 19, 2016

Jashley73 said:
And in that spirit, machinist2 best of luck in the project.

Thanks a lot

Comatose said:
So, Good Luck!

Thank you

wrustle said:
Are we so paranoid we have to worry about giving out our business information to a stranger?

I think that most shop owners expect to be called to sign up for something when they give out their info to a manufacturing marketplace and that's why they are hesitant. Yes - this is the kind of stuff I'm trying to avoid.

pgmrmike said:
Will you work with small one man operations or just bigger shops?

Good question. Both types of shops - big and small.

Mcgyver · May 19, 2016

machinist2 said:
I said main concern. As a business it's okay to make money but when all you worry about is hitting sales numbers - then to me that is a problem.
.

This is always self correcting. do you have any business experience?

Any tool that makes a market more efficient or easy to access is going to stomp margins out of the process so I don't think you're going to get a great reception from the Vendor side. I wouldn't make much of an effort to help a system that inevitably cut already skinny margins.

otoh if you created a market to greater enhance competition and pricing visibility in inserts and other consumables or even materials and it worked, machine shops would be all smiles.

Gordon B. Clarke · May 19, 2016

wrustle said:
Agree 100%!

People on here want to know how to get more work, how to make more contacts, how to grow their business from a start up to a self sustaining operation.

He's offering one more possible avenue for that to happen............and he stated "Free".

Best Regards,
Russ

I have no problem with what you decide. I'd like more information. Anyone with enough time to do what the OP wants to do must have enough time to write some kind of CV.

Gordon

Trboatworks · May 19, 2016

CV is BASIC to anyone offering services....

Mcgyver · May 19, 2016

you guys, imo, are being too tough re his background. Its fair to ask, but I also think land of opportunity means you can be great for the first time.

btw, just for posterity and to avoid job seekers stepping in cow flaps, a CV is more of term relative to academia....probably what is wanted here is a bio. If he had a great bio he should say so, but otoh if he did he'd be criticized for doing so rather than let the merits of the idea carry things. Not having a great bio though, should not preclude doing great things

What’s the Difference Between a Resume, CV and Bio? - Careers and Worklife

Gordon B. Clarke · May 19, 2016

Mcgyver said:
you guys, imo, are being too tough re his background. Its fair to ask, but I also think land of opportunity means you can be great for the first time.

So far "The barrier to offering a manufacturing service is not high. I worked in a factory in my younger days."

If that's enough for most of you it won't keep me up nights.

Mcgyver · May 19, 2016

no, I said its fair to ask. but not having a great bio (if that's the case), doesn't mean what he is doing now can't be great.

otoh I agree with his one liner he went from 'hey give him a chance' to a fairly negatively reflection on things.

Peter from Holland · May 19, 2016

Gordon
Its a marketplace he wants to set up
What kind of experience would you like him to have
To me he would absolutly need no experience in manufactoring
He is not gonna do any of that

Peter

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