Request for opionions on a business idea.

Mar 6 19:41 UTC 1998

Ok, here goes.  I've got an idea for a small business and we're (me and my
 husband Joel) working on the logistics now.  Part of my job is to find out
 interest and do research in other areas.  So, I'm gonna pitch my idea here
 since this is the most pertinent target audience..and your a captive one :)
 
 We're planning on offering a subscription to a newsletter that will provide
 most if not all product recalls that pertain to children, be it toys,
 carseats, or other furniture/appliances, like cribs or mobiles.  The first
 issue of a new subscription will contain recalls back as far as the mid 80's
 up to as recent as a day or two before publishing.  After that, there will
 only be updates.  Therefore, renewals will be cheaper than the initial
 subscription and if you lose the big master list you can order another at
a
 individual price (not yet set).  
 
 This will be published quarterly because there aren't that many updates in
 a given week or month necessarily, and they tend to come in clumps,
 particularly from federal programs.  The price for the first year will
 probably be something like $20 a year and the list will only pertain to the
 US really.  This is mainly because some of the main sources for recalls
 are government agencies and I don't want to deal with foreign governments.
 Mind you, this list will still be useful to people outside the US since alot
 of the major names in kids products are worldwide, like Fisher Price and
 Evenflo.  '
 
 As i said this is still in the works.  I'd like to hear comments of any sort
 on this.  Primarily I'd like to see whether people think it iw a good idea.
  
 I'll post updates as I have them.
 
 Thanks!
 Jackie (mom of Kyle, 14mos)

response 2 of 4:

Mar 8 23:21 UTC 1998

Thanks for the info!  I've looked at the recalls there and at the magazine
itself.  The more we think about this the more we realize that we should drop
first years subscriptions to around $15 a year and renewals to around 8-10.


Of course the primary use of this list will be for all those people (myself
included) who buy things used at garage sales and thrift shops.  When you buy
something used you don't get a product reg card to send in for recalls and
unless it's a carseat, there isn't another place to register the product
really.  Therefore, it's up to you, the consumer to keep up with recalls and
it's really rather like playing russian roulet with your child not to know
what has been recalled and what hasn't.  Also, alot of people pull things out
of their attic and pass down to the next generation when they have grandkids
on the way.  When doing so it is crucial to check out everything.  there are
soo many things that have been recalled in just the last 10 years that my
list, in 10pt Courier, is over 45 pages long, one-sided) and I have probably
30 pages to add.  Mind you, we'll shrink it all down and make them all
two-sided, but still, that give you an idea of how long the list is assuming
each entry is about 7-10lines.  

anyway, thanks for the continued info and your thoughts.

Jackie

response 4 of 4:

Jun 10 20:31 UTC 1998

We're finally ready and are out on the market!  We've just started 
advertising and have a very low key simple web page at the moment.  We 
offer a children's product recall update and list as well as including 
articles on safety in each issue.  For more information check us out on 
the web at http://www.zebra.net/~snoopy

We can use all the word of mouth advertising we can get so if you like 
what you see, pass it on!  

Thanks to you guys for the support early on and for bearing with me and 
being my sounding board in the conception stages.

Jackie