What do y’all think of companies like Bed, Bath and Beyond that request open submissions for new product ideas?
Bed, Bath and Beyond states that submitted ideas will be theirs, and not give the submitter anything, so I don’t like it. However I believe that innovation should be much more open that it is now. Companies and people delay releasing ideas to protect their future income, however this slows the pace of humanity. I think governments should form a system, where anyone can share their ideas freely, and when someone uses that idea to create some useful thing, the inventor gets some share of money. So you don’t have to deal with boring and costly patents, etc. Some people may not like this, but these are what I believe. Maybe it is a bit utopic
Oh, I thought they gave royalties and a $2,500 fee to the winner. Anyway I think some others are doing it. What y’all think about the ones that solicit new ideas from anybody and give a royalty and upfront fee if you submissions are chosen?
This has been discussed at length on these boards, and I believe the consensus is usually
“Hey! Design a product for us and maybe we’ll make it, maybe we won’t. Even so, it’s all ours anyway! Thanks for the free work everyone!” That’s bad for professionals.
$2,500? That’s it? I suspect inventing submissions are most likely sucker schemes to get freebie ideas.
$2,500? That’s it?
For an IDEA?!?
The only reference I’ve found to this is dated 2009, and involved a third-party (Edison Nation) “screening” submissions, and offering a $2,500 “advance” if your concept is selected for further development.
[Edit] It appears they’ve been doing this for some time. They did have an “invention search” running for “American Women” but it ended yesterday. It is being conducted in the same manner as the earlier one, and Edison Nation is again the juror.
But if they would actually pay $2,500 for an idea… acknowledge receipt of the idea, and then issue you a “not interested, will not develop your concept” document if they decided not to use it, then I might be inclined to spend a few hours at the board doodling. But we all know that isn’t going to happen. [say you KNOW this isn’t going to happen]
But here’s the RED FLAG Clincher… from BB&B’s website:
“There is no limit to the number of inventions you can submit. (Edison Nation will charge a minimal fee for each invention you submit to cover its product screening process.)”
The “minimal fee” for submitting is $25. For “Insiders” it is $20.
Spend some time at Edison Nation nosing around and you will pretty quickly realize what they are actually selling.