Alright...if we were giving Link o' the Month awards, this one would get my vote for Feb. :-D
neat stuff, VERY, VERY HORRIBLE prices.
Example. THey have a flex sensor for $20.35. You can get a flexible pot for about $6 in single unit quantities. Even with shipping just a single item, you are looking at $13 to your door.
Their form holding black sheet. AKA cinefoil/mattewrap/etc. A 50'x12" roll, what they are selling for $78.50, costs about $$20-30 shipping.
Their conductive velcro: $79 a linear foot. Buy it from less emf and you pay $22.30 per linear foot.
Their paint on stainless steel. You could buy the $20 range and dishwasher kit that does 19 sq ft. for $20. Or you could buy their 4 sq ft kit for $47.
Their flat wire... $162 for 25 ft. Or you could jsut order up a 50 ft speaker wiring pack form amazon, parts express, etc for about $50-80 depending on how the sale gods smile on you.
I'm not sure what I'll paint, but I gotta have some of that stainless steel paint!
Hi raz-00, thanks for the feedback on Inventables. I'm Zach Kaplan the founder and CEO of Inventables. We've just launched the online hardware store and are working through getting the supply chain set up. We've found a better source for the conductive velcro so we're competitive with the other source you found ($22.59 as of 3/10/11) and we're working on a better arrangement for the flat wires but have lowered the price temporarily to $20 for 5 feet to at least lower the total cost. I'd love to learn more about the flexible pot you're talking about as a replacement for the bend sensor. I lowered our price a bit on that but if there is another less expensive technology that accomplishes the same goal we should carry that too. We're working on better sourcing arrangements for the stainless steel coating and form holding black sheets, hopefully we can make updates in a month or two.
We just got a great supply chain in place for one of my favorites you didn't mention called Hand Moldable Plastic. This is readily available all over the internet but we got the price down to $8.50 per half pound. It really empowers folks to unleash their creativity and make plastic parts that look like real products. I'm working on a project with it right now I hope to share on our blog.
http://www.inventables.com/technologies/hand-moldable-plastic
Also we're hiring for a full time sourcing person right now. If you're interested in talking to us, come across more products that need a better supply chain, or know someone that would be a good fit for that job email help@inventables.com.
Thanks again!
Zach
Maude_Lynne
Neato!