On 21 Jul 2005 07:27:22 -0700, wrote:

Prometheus (nice name!) wrote: "You know, Ruth- I'm of the opinion
that you're undercharging as it is.
Look at what you've got there- Stainless steel, with the three O-rings
assembled. I don't know if you're making them yourself or gettting
them from a machine shop, but either way they're a custom(ish) product
made from a high quality metal that is not particularly easy to work
with, and has an additional assembly step involved."
***********************************
I like you're way of thinking, Prometheus! However, most woodturners
wouldn't pay more than the $4.50 per that I'm charging.
I'm having these done at a machine shop, but I put the rings on myself.
We decided to go with the 300 series stainless and better rubber
rings so both materials are FDA Approved, which the chrome stoppers
definitely are not. The turners who have received these "SS Niles
Bottle Stoppers" (BTW, the official reg. copyright title ahem!) have
all emailed saying how impressed they were with the quality and hefty
feel (each weighs 1.8 oz.). So, Prometheus, you are absolutely right
in what you're saying, I guess a big part of it, for me, is the thrill
knowing I came up with this idea and a lot of woodturners think it's
terrific.

Thanks for the encouragement!

No problem- it sure looks like you have a winner there! I don't drink
much these days, so I haven't got into the bottle stopper thing, but
I've got your page marked just in case.

Also, it occured to me after spotting this thread again that the USPS
was advertsing a service a while back that allowed the sender to weigh
a package at home, and then print a label with exact postage. IIRC,
the benefit of this was that you could send an envelope with a sheet
of paper in it for a little less than the cost of a standard stamp.
Odds are the prices were set in cents per gram, which could be a way
of saving a little money in the process, as well as saving you an
extra trip or two to the post office!