Will It Sell? How to Determine If Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a Patent) [Paperback]

James E. White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2000

Describes many inexpensive ways inventors can figure out, while protecting all patent rights, what their idea's real value is long before it's necessary to spend money on the patent. Dozens of Internet and other resources are provided with complete instructions for using them to your best advantage. This book is designed as the first book a new inventor should read to figure out what they need to do, where they can get help, and how to avoid the costly pitfalls that every inventor faces. The marketing information provided and the many referrals to other resources will also be valuable to experienced inventors seeking to expedite the costly process of entering an unknown market.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mr. White's book is not for light reading. It is the most technically competent book of its kind that I have come across--heavy with in-depth marketing advice. Very thorough. A valuable reference for inventors at any stage of experience. (Jack Lander, The Inventor's Bookstore, -- Jack Lander, The Inventor's Book store

Will It Sell? presents a sophisticated yet easy to follow approach to critical marketing methods and tactics every serious inventor will be able to apply to their day to day invention development activities right from the start. The 'Web' approach to resource listings is excellent and timely. The resource listings are top quality, well researched, hit the subject matter hard, and make for inventors' instant access to information that otherwise doubles the effective size of the book. Combined with the well-documented index, this book is a virtual 'pocket manual' that presents crisp, easy to find information on the myriad invention marketing and marketability issues inventors will encounter on their way to invention success. All in all, a fine job. -- patentcafe.com

From the Author

As a marketer attending local inventor club meetings I was constantly flabbergasted at the total lack of consideration inventors gave to the marketing issues of their invention ideas. So many inventors concentrate their energies on technically solving problems without any regard for whether there are any buyers that might want solutions to the problem or whether the invention's cost will be higher than the customer's perceived value for the solution. It is a myth that the public can be sold anything by a good marketer. Marketing studies and anecdotal evidence make it clear that only one or two out of 1000 invention ideas are ever successful in the marketplace. Of those 1000 ideas maybe 100 are pushed through the patent process and out of the 100 that get patented maybe 2 actually generate more revenue than the cost of the patent. This book was written to help rectify the problem with the hope of boosting the number of profitable patents from 2 per 100 to somewhere between 10 and 30 per 100. The book should also make it possible for many of the 900 inventors that get stopped because of a lack of funds to pay the patenting costs. There are simple ways to figure out how to inexpensively proceed without paying patenting costs up-front yet fully protecting all patenting rights. Of course, they do require some work. Millions of dollars are wasted every year on product ideas that nobody wants. Millions more are wasted on worthless patents. I don't want to see you waste your money because you don't understand the invention process. Consider the purchase cost of this book as a fully refundable investment. I am so confident that you will find this book worth it's purchasing costs that I guarantee to personally refund every penny you pay to get it plus your return first class postage if you don't believe it is worth its cost.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: James E White & Associates (January 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967649404
• ISBN-13: 978-0967649405
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For anyone considering bringing their invention to market, February 9, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Will It Sell? How to Determine If Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a Patent) (Paperback)

Will It Sell? was specifically written for anyone considering bringing their invention to market. A key consideration in marketing a new idea or product is to determine its profitability, especially before investing capital on a patent. James White's practical, "reader friendly" informational manual will provide the non-specialist general reader with inexpensive techniques and practical steps to take in assessing whether or not their invention will be commercially viable. Fundamental issues are clearly addressed such as what a patentable invention is, the step for "idea development" and "product development"; advertising claims, getting professional help, even doing your own patent search. Dozens of Internet resources are provided with instructions for how best to utilize them. If you have an idea or an invention that you want to make money with, begin by a carefully reading of James White's Will It Sell?.

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prepare Yourself for the Real World of Invention, November 23, 2001

By 

Robert Scheinkman ([e-mail] - St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Will It Sell? How to Determine If Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a Patent) (Paperback)

"Will It Sell?" is deap reading for the "idea person" who thought that there was a pot of gold waiting at the end of the "good idea rainbow." James E. White, author, tells you like it is--he doesn't mince words. He digs out every fact and every reason why your inventive idea can "fail," but he hopes that you will be the one-in-one-hundred-inventors whose invention won't fail.. He will be your mentor. When Jim explains a fact and each step to follow, you get the feeling that he is looking over your shoulder, correcting and helping you in your every move. "This is the book." If you think reading it is tough, then don't become an inventor. He'll tell you "how to get there," with every reference on each of the 300 pages. And he shows, like no other author, that if you fail on any one stage, don't even think about averaging-out the stages of invention to Pass. He tells the truth-- "No one said it would be easy." -- Who am I to tell you about "Will It Sell?" -- only the President of the Inventors Association of St. Louis, a large inventors' helping organization founded in 1984, that augmented in 1990 the United Inventors Association of the USA - which has over 3000 members. That's who! BUY THE BOOK - "WILL IT SELL"

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars There should be clear descriptions when people decide to sell brochure wear, October 21, 2005

By 

David O. Shantz "DavidShantz" (Marin, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Will It Sell? How to Determine If Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a Patent) (Paperback)

The advice seems to come from a real desire to share wisdom. However, the ideas can hardly seem impartial and objective with the degree of self-promotion the author indulges the reader in this short handbook. The author or editor of the book's description should try to clarify this position in the description. With the wealth of experience Mr. White has in this area, this book could have been written very professionally, as opposed to professionally promotional.