On Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:58:09 -0800, John Smith
wrote:

However, the part of success in selling snake oil, "In all, it's a
perfectly acceptable small market waiting to be exploited", I'd have to
see to believe ... the market seems saturated already!

Acording to my mentor (now retired), the secret to success for a small
business is to find a narrow corner of the market, so narrow that it
won't attract the attention of the big guys, and do everything you can
to own it. Small companies just don't have the resources of the big
guys. The trick is to avoid them, not lock horns with the big guys..
Therefore, I don't see anyone going into the land mobile, TV, tower,
GPS, cellular, or car antenna business. These certainly are
saturated, although you might be able to compete on a cost basis.
Where small companies have succeeded are in the niche markets, such as
Stepper IR, various weird CB antenna contrivances, and wi-fi antennas.
If you've got connections in Homeland Security, consider military and
paramilitary antenna system.

As for snake oil, I don't consider giving the customer what they want
to be snake oil. If the market demands garrish, weird looking,
strange, camouflaged, and/or colorful antennas, it's not snake oil.
Several vendors have demonstrated that weird looking sells well. If
that's what the customer wants, I don't see a problem.

It's also possible to produce deluxe versions of common antennas. For
example, I suspect a gold plated antenna, with rare earth doping to
improve conductivity, and ceramic insulators made from clay found in
Area 51, to be sellable. It's not that far from what I read in the
audiophile catalogs, with their $500 power cords, wooden amplifier
boxes, glass turntables, and acoustic pretzel speaker enclosures. You
might not sell too many of these deluxe versions, but you'll make lots
of money on each one.
http://www.audioadvisor.com
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=CRGRPC

Remember, the surest sign of success is pollution. Since the market
for antenna products are not yet totally polluted, I don't consider
the market to be anywhere near saturated or successful.



--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS