Any advice on selling self-made hardware

[Ribster]

Type of device?
Power source?
Potential emissions ?
Quantity per year expected?
Country of origin?
Areas exporting to?

I am not the OP, but in contrast to you I have read his posts: 

- Current deskew device
- Powered from USB-C or external 5V.
- Emissions: not much info, expecpt that he considers them unproblematic.
- Selling specialized lab equipment on Tindie or ebay, so probably a couple dozen.
- Country of origin Belgium
- Plans to sell to Europe only (for now)

Wow, i was not expecting so much feedback! Have been busy, sorry for lack of feedback.

I think adafruit got around the thing by selling 'kits'. So add the headers so it's required you alter the product, and that way the liability changes to the end user.
Since i can do emissions measurement and conducted measurements, i can provide data which only takes me some time.
It's true that full compliant measurements are in the order of 10K for a product to be tested. Here in belgium it's the Blueguide EMC lab, that can handle such things.
Normally you would do pre-compliance at home, to work out the kinks of the product. And then do a pre-compliance test (2K i think), before spending much more on the fully compliant tests.
It's a bit chicken and egg problem i think, you need to know your product sells (enough interest), and then you can be assured you will get the money back.
But producing a USB > UART converter like the CH340 boards you see everywhere, it's nearly impossible to make profit for this.
There is a 'low voltage directive' for sub 50V that is cheaper. So making the devices work with 24V or USB-C, will alleviate a lot of hassle.

I do have an LLC to put everything behind, with a good insurance when things do turn south.
The products are mostly for lab use, so one could assume that they know what they are doing, adding the hobbyist / prototype remark just wont cut it i assume.

I'm going to launch with a RF prototyping board, it's just a PCB with SMA connectors they can solder on.
Also some LED boards, which are just some leds on a PCB.
I think i can get away with not measuring them, because they are a 'sub-assembly'.
The current deskew device (which puts a fast square wave on a wire) will spew out a lot of EMI i guess.
But you need a fast rising edge, to actually measure the time deskew from your current probe. So the product is inherently a mess to get qualified i guess.

The radiation / conduction critical products i will test before launching (to be sure), and then maybe provide the measurements in the manual ?
It's the wild west out there, but making low cost hardware for DIY people is not really accounted for in the legislation, unless there are some excemptions for this ?

[lutkeveld]

This is not legal advice, but you can get away with a lot when selling direct to consumer in low volume if it is not a hazardous product.
A product that is not working can be okay in the beginning, but you do not want lawsuits because of high voltage, exploding batteries etc.
Stick as much to pre-certified components and best practices as possible. For example, use an AC/DC adapter instead of trying to integrate it into your product.
Renting a lab for pre-compliance can also be a reasonably priced sanity check.
Then when volume ramps up and there is more budget, you can always run more certification.

And as to the selling itself:
I have sold hardware products via resellers, but they take a big percentage and require stock upfront.
Especially in the beginning this can be a deadly combination, sometimes even prohibiting sales via a reseller if your margin is too low.

Something like Tindie is quite okay, does not take too much margin, and requires very little effort.

Your own store (Shopify/Woocommerce) is the most flexible, but can require a bit of a time investment to set up.
Depending on your platform, integration with external tools like bookkeeping and shipping software can be a real timesaver once you scale up.

[L1L1]

Tindie is a viable option, and has a 10% cut. I think it's do-able, because the buyers are already there.

Ebay is a good space, i also get comments for being lost in the noise. But i think ebay is big enough, with good SEO focus it can stand out.

I would also suggest lectronz.com

That platform has all the tools needed for tax (VAT) calculation if you are a business. And for sellers that are outside the EU, Lectronz can help with imports in the EU through IOSS.

[jonpaul]

exactly what is a "current deskew device"

What is the market in potential sales perhaps year, eg 100/1k/10k/100k?

what is,the existing competitive devices on the market?

Jon