Invention Evaluation

Evaluation “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent.” - Thomas Edison
One of the most overlooked tasks in the invention process is product evaluation. A product evaluation should be conducted during the earliest stages of invention development. Why during the early stages? Because, you will soon reach a point where everything you do regarding your invention will cost money, sometimes lots of money.
The product evaluation is a very important, yet commonly skipped process. Neglecting to research the viability of a product is one reason only about 3% of patents ever make more money for the inventor than was invested. Inventors spend thousand of dollars getting their product patented only to discover that for whatever reason the product was not viable. They did not evaluate before patenting — a costly mistake.
There are many elements to consider in a product evaluation. Some of the more obvious points are the window of opportunity for a product, manufacturing costs versus perceived retail price, availability of necessary materials, size of the market, existing products, the fit with existing equipment, and ease of use.
A great deal of money can be saved discovering the facts before funds are spent on a presentation prototype and then more money filing a patent application.
You need to be able to objectively decide if your new invention will be able to do all of the following:

• Can fulfill a consumer’s needs or desires.
• Can be manufactured and sold at the right price, sold at no more than five times what it costs to make.
• Can be delivered to market, a way to distribute your product is in place and the market opportunity is established.
• Can pass safety, legal, environmental and performance expectations or standards.

If your new invention cannot pass all of the above criteria and your intention is to make money, you need to improve the areas that are weak before you continue to the next step. It is extremely important to evaluate your new invention early in the development stage. You can start with your own opinion and that of close friends, but it is unlikely that you or your friends have an objective opinion or the research ability to understand and determine if your new invention can meet the above criteria.
If you are trying to raise venture capital, sell or license your ideas, you will be ready with the hard facts that can impress a potential investor or buyer. Can you answer all of the questions by yourself that a professional report answers? Do you want to be left speechless at a business meeting? Do you want to appear naive?
The Invention Evaluation Test offered by InventorEducation.com will provide you all the tools you will need to complete an unbiased invention evaluation. There are 155 questions in the evaluation. At the conclusion of the test you will be given guidance as what to do next based on the results of your answers.

20-Point Invention Evaluation Checklist
Honestly evaluating your product against general, industry, market and product criteria will help determine whether it has a good chance of success. Use this checklist to lead to that evaluation.
You need to take into account complex variables, including the most unpredictable variable of them all: human behavior. This variable turned bell bottoms, Mood Rings and Hula Hoops into huge successes.
Review the Checklist below to get a better understanding of what a complete and professional new product evaluation will contain. Use the checklist as a guide to prepare for the complete evaluation.
General Criteria
__ Legal __ Environmental  __ Safety  __ Quality  __ Social acceptance __ Any negative impact
Industry Criteria
__ Competition __ Existing/similar products  __ One product or a line of products
__ Competitive pricing
Market Criteria
__ Trend  __ Need  __ Seasonal?  __ Long-term value  __ Who will buy it  __ Instructions
Product Criteria
__ Costs to get it to market  __Service/maintenance  __Warranty  __Packaging
This is a basic checklist to prepare you for the complete evaluation test. DO NOT ANWER THE ABOVE QUESTIONS NOW.

Tips on Testing Your Invention Ideas

Become a Buyer: You can begin testing your idea by trying to imagine that you are the person interested in buying the product. The important feature here is to be as objective as possible.
Ask yourself: ‘How will this product benefit me or my company?’ Write down as many answers as possible. The benefits of your product are vital to success.
Discuss the invention with others: Getting feedback is always important. It can highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the product. The obvious problem with talking to others is trust. You need to maintain confidentiality to prevent others from talking the idea for them selves.
Therefore, you can disclose the product idea in one of 2 ways. You can refer to the product in indirect terms by only discussing what problems the product solves and some of the benefits it has. Make sure you do not discuss the details of how it does it. Or, you can be very specific about the details of the product. If this is the option you choose, prior to disclosing your invention to others, make sure you ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA ensures confidentiality. It binds the signatory to keep any talks with you about the invention confidential. It means that they cannot disclose commercial or technical information about your invention to any other individual, company or third party.
Market Research: If your invention is a consumer product that is going to available for sale in retail stores, you should go and visit the type of stores that you anticipate will carry your product. Look for any and all similar products. Perhaps even buy them if the costs are not too high. If you buy the products, show them to friends and neighbors and ask them their opinions of these products. Let them tell you the positives and negatives. Pay special attention to the negatives because this is where your product improvement can be.
Compare your product to these competitors. Compare retail prices, materials, packaging, legal protection and anything that has a relationship to your product. Look for ways to improve the product and build it into yours.
If your invention is more specialized or designed for the commercial trade or industry you should consider hiring a professional market research company. They have the knowledge and expertise to complete a market research report that will help you move forward. If you do hire a company, make sure you have them sign an NDA.
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