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Walmart Holds Invention Contest

Posted by samzenpus on from the dropping-the-price-on-inspiration dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Walmart is holding the inventor's equivalent to 'American Idol' calling for product submissions that will be offered for sale in Walmart stores. Feel that the back scratcher you received a patent for hasn't garnered the attention it deserves? This could be your big chance at fame and fortune."

13 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Finally! by gciochina · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll be able to show my all in one toilet!!! http://i.imgur.com/fdJDV.jpg See you there! :D

  2. Re:FR1ST PS0T by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is this you first time FPing? Overall, you did allright. You did use the term "FRIST", to parody the typical slashdotter's lazy, cheeto and cum-stained keyboard hand, as well as the word "nigger", as referring to darkie-americans. However, notably absent are 1.)the GNAA recruitment blurb, and 2.)sexism in any form whatsoever. You have much to learn, young AC.

    7/10

  3. Re:The prize... by ByOhTek · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yep, and given that it is WalMart, the winning entry will be...

    A coffee table shaped like a car from nascar, which only holds the cheapest, nastiest bears (destroying all others) and has a built in remote that automatically switches the TV to nascar or wrestling and maxes the volume.

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  4. Fine Print... by saccade.com · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Be very careful to read the fine print on contests like this. I looked into one a few years ago (run by Hammacher Schlemmer, I think), and by entering you essentially wound up giving them your IP at pretty unfavorable terms. If you have a good idea, something like KickStarter is a much better bet.

    1. Re:Fine Print... by furytrader · · Score: 4, Informative

      In looking over the terms of the contest, they are offering what they say they are offering: the chance to SELL your product on Wal-Mart's shelves, which is essentially access to one of the largest retail distribution systems in the world. They are not offering to manufacture your product, they are not offering to market your product, they are offering to put in on their shelves. That's what you're winning ... which is precisely what they said the contest is about. If you went ahead and read the rules of the contest, you'd see that. But because it's Wal-Mart, let's all just bury our heads in the sand and assume the worst, right?

    2. Re:Fine Print... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wal-Mart is a historically very dangerous partner, especially for small companies. Their high volume and low pricing come at the cost of any slack for their partners, who wind up on a treadmill of lowering per unit costs, and wind up "making up in volume what they lose on every sale". I've seen several smaller companies with products sold there start out very excited, but go very bankrupt within 5 years because they can't keep the prices down low enough to match Wal-Mart's demands without firing the staff who came up with the product.

      It's a very dangerous tiger to grab the tail of for a small business, especially a small patent holder. If the patent will help pad your resume, I could see it, but don't rely on Wal-Mart to help you make money with it.

    3. Re:Fine Print... by WillAdams · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yep. Everyone should read:

      http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html

      Or look up the history of what happened to the Etch-a-Sketch:

      http://www.peoplesworld.org/etch-a-sketch-and-the-wal-mart-phenomenon/

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
    4. Re:Fine Print... by dgatwood · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You do have the right to refuse such deals, you know. You can always tell Wal-Mart, "Sorry. We can't hit that price point without compromising quality, and we won't do that."

      Wal-Mart might decide to drop your product, or they might not. If they don't, you've won. If they do, you can tell the world (on your website) that your products are no longer sold at Wal-Mart because they tried to force you to compromise on quality, and you said, "No". Then provide a list of alternative retailers that do carry your product. By so doing, you turn lost sales into increased customer loyalty.

      Wal-Mart only screws businesses who are so desperate for Wal-Mart to carry their products that they will compromise their integrity just to stay on their shelves. If you ask me, the fault lies equally with both parties. Just saying.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  5. Free Research for them at your expense. by sethstorm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While it might sound altruistic, it isn't.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  6. Re:The prize... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yep, and given that it is WalMart, the winning entry will be...

    A coffee table shaped like a car from nascar, which only holds the cheapest, nastiest bears (destroying all others) and has a built in remote that automatically switches the TV to nascar or wrestling and maxes the volume.

    Hey, a bear destroying coffee table would be awesome. I'd put it in the middle of the bear pit at the local zoo. I'm not too sure what I should imagine when you talk about the "cheapest" nastiest bears. I didn't really know nasty bears came in cheap and expensive variations. Do the more expensive ones not hibernate or something? Maybe it's longer claws.

  7. Cheaper than cheap by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 3, Informative

    So essentially, they buy the stuff they sell from China because it's super-cheap, and now they're trying to get people to give them product ideas because designers and engineers are too expensive, to save on the cost of product development.

    No way I'm giving the cheap bastards any of my brainpower so they can make even more profit.

    (Mind you, that's exactly what Google does too...)

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  8. supply chain analyzer by decora · · Score: 4, Insightful

    i propose to design a machine that when pointed at an object in a retail environment, will search a database and present to the user an interactive presentation about all the points on the supply chain that led to the object's existence on that retail shelf.

    for example, the overnight wal-mart stockers with no health insurance, the long haul truckers who are continually pushed by managers to drive further with less sleep, the docks where TSA irradiates everything, the chinese factory where the manager rapes the workers on a regular basis, the government run prison mines that provide input to the factory, etc etc etc.

  9. The small print by abarrow · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Each demonstration should begin with the phrase "Stand back if you know what's good for ya" or "Hold my beer and watch this!""