You know that doohickey you’ve wanted to make for the last decade, but you’ve never had the right materials or equipment? The one that’s going to make you rich? Your time for glory has arrived.
Ponoko, which launched at TechCrunch40, has introduced a revamped site that will bring e-commerce functionality to their marketplace, allowing users to buy, sell, and give away the designs they’ve created. The site allows designers to sell their products and have Ponoko ship them directly to customers, enabling them to create a virtual storefront with few (if any) upfront costs.
Sellers need only pay a small fee to the site in addition to the cost of materials, without having to worry about establishing distribution channels or inventory. And buyers are guaranteed that products are unique – they can even buy and modify design files if they want to tweak something.
Ponoko has also added a factory and moved its headquarters to San Francisco, explaining that over half of their U.S. visitors live in California. According to Ponoko, the move, combined with the direct designer-to-consumer retail model, will help reduce carbon emmisions. Ponoko’s desire to go green is given further credibility by the addition of Graham Hill, founder of TreeHugger, to their board.