Direct Response TV (As Seen on TV)
PROS:
- Little to no investment of time or money after developing a prototype.
- Very high sales volume.
- Self-accomplishment seeing your invention on TV and in stores.
- Very quick to market.
- Create national brand recognition very quickly.
- High profits for the time and money invested.
CONS:
- Very low percentage of inventions make it to TV.
- Sales life span is relatively short (in most cases 3 - 5 years).
- Give up some control.
Beware of Direct Response TV (DRTV or As Seen on TV) companies. There are very legitimate companies out there but there are also some that, shall we say, are not so legitimate too. Do your due diligence to make sure you deal with one who is reputable.
Each DRTV company is specialized in its own area of the market. They each also have their own requirements and guidelines they follow for accepting inventions for their DRTV campaigns. Do your research and make sure the DRTV Company is reputable, treats their invention submitters well and that your invention fits their business model. Keep in mind while doing your research that most of these companies get hundreds of inventions submitted to them every week so they will usually only take 1 to 2 percent of all ideas submitted to them. So if your research finds inventors “bashing” a company because they did not take their invention that was the “best thing since sliced bread”, it does not necessarily mean there is a problem with that company.
Many of the reputable DRTV companies invest their own capital into ideas they believe will be successful so if you do have an invention that they believe is a winner, it will not cost you anything to get your invention on TV once they accept the invention. Some companies require a patent or at least patent pending and some require a working prototype before they will accept the invention so you may have up-front costs for a prototype and/or a provisional patent. Even for the companies that do not require a prototype and/or a patent, it may still be a good idea to provide as much as possible before submitting the invention to them because the less they have to invest, the more likely they are to accept the invention and run with it.
Most DRTV companies will pay the inventor from 2 to 6 percent of the wholesale price but with the extremely high sales volume in a short time, the inventor will still make a substantial profit if the campaign is successful.
Start to Finish Inventions Corp can help you every step of the way to develop your idea or invention including prototyping, securing your patent, manufacturing, and marketing. We can do any parts or all of it—it is YOUR idea so YOU are in control!