Pilot run almost concluded

We're a few days away from the 2-month mark from the DreamLover 2000 launch! Time for self assessment.

There have been a few very positive reviews (on our reviews page), few public reviews (most notably Q's), and lots of interaction with our clients.

During this pilot run we've diagnosed and fixed a few issues with our fulfillment process, the way the parts are mounted, and more. The biggest lesson learned (after a week spent helping people on skype) was that associating the devices and upgrading the firmware is difficult for some (or at least too much of a hassle if you've just received the product) so we started doing these in-house after the first week.

All units after that shipped pre-initialized, with the device running, battery mounted, and ready for use. That eats up 2-3 days of battery life but at least you can play with the device as soon as you get it without studying the manual.

The software was fixed up to run under 64 bit versions of Windows. The help file was updated a few times. An association wizard was created to associate devices but it's no longer needed as we're doing it on our side. Still it's handy if you ever need to reassociate or pair up another remote control.

Our first clients have now been using the device for almost two months. We haven't received as much feedback and reviews as we would have liked, but it's understandable that people are busy and value their privacy. We had no returns, so this is a big success for a brand new product. We worked hard to make the DreamLover 2000 do what it says it does.

Our only question mark is whether we included too many features and made this product too troublesome for us to support and stock. For each product that goes out our warehouses are working 40 minutes, including assembly time and software updates and assignments. That is in addition to the work done at the factories such as overmolding the arousal inducers and soldering the cabling.

The work that goes behind sourcing all the parts from the waistbands to the custom cases to electronic components to PCB assembly is just staggering and it's an on-going burden that cannot be outsourced (too many possibilities for error, and you need to really understand the product to know what types of variations and manufacturing quirks matter). Plus now we have all the accounting and legal burdens which are seriously taking time away from development.

During R&D, most feedback was provided by fellow technologists who wished to explore all possibilities given by this product, so based on those comments we anticipated 99% of our clients being very tech savvy, and potentially playing with reconfigured leash presets under the shower from day one. But that hasn't been the case at all - turns out the people who are actually purchasing the product didn't *really* need all those features to make up their mind. Some aren't technically savvy at all.

And those who wanted all the bells and whistles turn out to also want them as cheap as they would be if we had a market of a million people like any normal electronic manufacturer, which we are unfortunately very far from having or ever hoping of having.

So we continue to listen to what our pilot run members have to say - recently they actually did start to play with the leash mode and other advanced features, though whether these really add enough value commercially is unclear especially given the need to support these features. Mostly we wanted to create a device we'd ourselves use. And we had fun doing it - but the time to really figure out the market is now before we go ahead and make more units. The hard question is whether the product should be simplified or, terrible words, "dumbed down".

Waterproofing, accelerometer, USB connectivity, many-to-many device assignment, firmware updates, long range... does anyone really buy because of these features?

So, for now our self assessment is that we've probably created a jewel of engineering but one that is not perfectly suited to its target market. One that is just barely viable commercially given how complex it is to assemble, to source all the parts, and how much documentation and support is required. However this "barely viable" status falls into the "not viable" as soon as you consider the opportunity cost of not leveraging the same manufacturing capabilities to do something else.

Still though, having had a successful pilot run for a first product, with no returns, dozens of people using the product and even positive reviews and satisfied users is a really amazing first step. Things can only get better as we begin to get a clue.

With these results finally known, the Pilot Run benefits will likely begin to be phased out shortly, including the payment terms (where we have until now paid for bank transfer fees and half the escrow fees), the hardware upgrade period, beta testing privileges and so forth.

Comments

By joho69 at 2011-05-07 13:08:06 Reply

atm your target market is been affected by price as the price drops you will see people who buy it but want features like leash ect

By Lance_Lake at 2011-05-14 09:21:09 Reply

"And those who wanted all the bells and whistles turn out to also want them as cheap as they would be if we had a market of a million people like any normal electronic manufacturer, which we are unfortunately very far from having or ever hoping of having."

I'd like to comment about this.. Though from the past posts I posted, I doubt it will make it past moderation. But at least one person would have seen it. To that person, I'd like to say that I'm only looking to help.

"And those who wanted all the bells and whistles turn out to also want them as cheap as they would be"

Correct. I WANTED all the bells and whistles, but I also WANTED it cheap. I was however willing to take either/or. I mentioned before, make a base one with a main feature (perhaps the D-Link) for a base price and make another model with all the extras for your high end price.

WANTS are not NEEDS. I NEEDED this to be priced within my price range. Sadly, I don't have $1,500 to drop on this (with no word about pricing of the battery when it runs out in 2-3 months). So the way I'm thinking, I might not be able to afford a battery. So I'm spending around $500 a month at BEST before it runs out of power and is worthless. That's way to high.

"if we had a market of a million people like any normal electronic manufacturer, which we are unfortunately very far from having or ever hoping of having."

You could have it. Studies have shown that lowering the price means more customers which if done correctly, give you an overall profit from the pricing high model.

Neosteel makes the most expensive chastity belt shocker (except you of course) at 665 Euro. Granted, yours has more features, but are the features worth more then double the cost? In my mind, they aren't.

Look, if the battery was something I can get myself and I didn't have to rely on you guys for it, I would pay around 1,000 at most for it. I realize you guys think that the price needs to be this high, but by setting it that high, you are eliminating people who were fans of your device. Now, if you are making razor thin profit on these ($20-$30 a unit), then I feel for you. Really I do. I only hope you can either make a more cheaper, "Light" version I can buy or you figure out a way to lower your production costs. But somehow, I think you are making more then that per unit (well, when they sell that is).

By mrfresh at 2011-05-15 01:25:47 Reply

My thoughts on this are as follows:

I agree that the price tag makes it very much a niche product. I would love to order one, and have been following you for some time in the hope of seeing the product come to market. I am very supportive of the work you have done, and would of course like to see you be able to make a living from the product, so I do understand the situation you are in of having a superb, high spec product with a market which is limited by the cost. The high cost makes it, for me, a product which could only be purchased with debt - something my wife does not like, and further complicates the buying decision because inevitably someone like me is asking myself : "will they sell enough at this price that it remains supported". Maybe you will find that there are a core of people currently saving with a view to purchasing at the current price in the future - I am one of them, but with no clear timescale!

My situation is that I am married to my wife who has agreed to a 'leadership role' in our household, as part of which we utilise chastity. I suspect your market includes people like me, as well as single males, and also couples in long distance / virtual relationships, and the needs of these three markets probably vary slightly.

However, for me,the following things would be crucial to the 'buy decision' : basic punishment and reward functions (i.e. 3 levels of shock / stimulation, and the ability to implement punishment cycles).

The following things would be highly desirable options. I would be disappointed if they were not present, but it would not prevent me from buying: canine mode, leash mode, configurable preset options - in that order.

The following things are of tertiary interest or no interest to me, as they have no obvious role in our lifestyle: waterproofing (CB always comes off for a bath!); USB functionality (though I guess this is crucial to the part of the market which is long distance / virtual relationships); silent commands; many to many assignment etc.

I think that covers the things you mentioned specifically. If there was a cut down product, not waterproof and without a dongle, that just gave my wife remote ability to shock or reward at will, at $500 or less, I would buy it tomorrow.

I would love to have the full feature beauty you have produced, but will need an unexpected lottery win, work bonus or other windfall before I can do so!

I hope that helps. Please feel free to contact by email if there is anthing else I can assist with re: market research etc.

By dh1900 at 2011-05-18 02:43:42 Reply

Hi all! I have been monitoring this product for some time now and am quite a fan of the whole idea. I would hate to lose a unique product like this so I want to offer my positive criticism and point out things as I see them.

In my opinion, the whole device is overengineered. I realize that the manufacturers wanted to make an amazing piece of technological innovation, but these extra features came at too high a cost. The core product is a remote controlled device that attaches to a chastity belt which enables pulses to be transmitted through the genitals. This should be your basic model. The advanced model should have the extra features like the arousal inducer, canine mode and the USB dongle with an enhanced range and leash mode. It is my opinion that software and coursework and all of those are things where the return does not justify the effort. Whatever the device does or it's features, it should be waterproof because a chastity device that needs to be removed every time the wearer gets wet is nothing more than a toy.

Just be ruthless, strip the features out that require the most effort to maintain (I'm thinking primarily software development and maintenance) and try to cut the price down as much as possible.

By subdude at 2011-05-29 16:15:55 Reply

I admire the amazing product that this became. Unfortunately, I can't afford it. Here is what I hoped for at a lower price. I hoped for something that could be controlled via Bluetooth from my phone. Jest a simple app. The device itself need not have the leash mode, or any type of program as it is connectedmand controlled by my phone (or my pc with a standard Bluetooth dongle). The app could be password protected so a sub can't change what his mistress sets. I would be happy with a very basic unit. I don't need It to be waterproof. I was hoping for $200 or $300.

I hope this is helpful.