I’m sure I’m not alone in having a love for all the geeky and cool products that ThinkGeek offers. I’ve got more than a few them, with one of my favorite being that pizza cutter that looks like the Starship Enterprise. Now, if you have an awesome idea for a geek themed product that would be perfect for ThinkGeek, you will want to pay attention. ThinkGeek has launched the IdeaFactory where you can submit your product ideas and actually make money.
The way the system works is you submit your idea using a written description and an image of some sort. The image can be a detailed drawing or a rendering. ThinkGeek has 60 days to evaluate the idea and get back to you.
The company can tell you your product is crap or love the idea and actually build it. If ThinkGeek chooses to build your product idea, you get $1000 and 10% of retail sales for the product. If the sales from your awesome geek idea hit the $1 million mark, your cut of the retail sale drops to 5%. Royalties are paid quarterly and you have to own the intellectual property rights for ideas you submit. Guess that eliminates my proposal for a bald Captain Jean-Luc Picard cookie jar that says “Shut up Wesley!” each time you open the lid.
Since August, ZTE has been running an American Idol-style contest where, instead of singers, people are asked to judge the firm's future product development. Users were asked to suggest plausible ideas that the company could create and sell within th...