Steve Cramer wrote:
Brian Nystrom wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a
freaking business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea
to survey his target market.

Hello??? I wrote "It's better that he takes few lumps and learns
a valuable lesson about market research while he's still in
school.", so obviously I know he's a student. Wake up, will ya?

And what, exactly is the lesson? Don't ask questions in a newsgroup that
has been sensitized by a wacko?

No, it's that you need to understand a product before you decide you can
"improve" or "accessorize" it. I'll bet this guy has little or no
experience in kayaks.

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had
the Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically,
which indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed
at Timmy.

Did I say anything about sponsons?

Did you need to? You may be the only one who didn't use the word.

So what's your point? You're making the assumption that everyone here
has simply reacted in a knee-jerk fashion due to Timmy's BS from years
ago. Perhaps some have, but that's not the case with me. Your assumption
is wrong.

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.

That doesn't make them a good idea or a viable product.

If you say so. You should be sure to get ahold of these guys
http://www.castlecraft.com/stabilizers.htm
http://www.sailboatstogo.com/v_page....noe_outriggers
http://www.huki.com/store/
and about a hundred outrigger canoe clubs and tell them they're wasting
their time.

Give me a break. We're not talking about outrigger canoes or any other
kind of canoes, for that matter. The fact that there are already
companies selling products into what must be a tiny market just means
that there's even less room for a new one. It also indicates that the OP
didn't even do basic market research before starting his "project".
Otherwise, he would have asked about what we thought of his "improved"
kayak stabilizer. The more I think about it, the more he seems like a
lazy kid that wants someone else to do his homework for him.