If you are planning on submitting an idea to Inventech AKA Invention Technolgies beware of very smooth salesmen with a deceptive sales pitch. It all starts out something like this:
Mr or Mrs so and so my name is Mr Smooth with Inventech. We received your invention idea and well we think it has great potential. The board of directors only accept certain ideas that we feel have potential and well congratulations your idea has made it! You are now ready for the next step which is a prelimanary patent search (which leads you to beleive that they actually do a lot of work securing your idea by making sure there isn't anything like this already patented)
If it makes it past the patent search and we feel like there is room enough to market your idea (which you can bet your ass there will be) we'd like to put together an invention portfolio. All of this for only 895.00 which is to pay for our attorney to do a peatent search (which anyone can do online) and for our excellent staff to put together your portfolio.
These guys are the best in the business. If the patent search is clear then we can begin to market your idea and present it to our contacts and potential manufacturers. (Its at this point that you think, well $895.00 is a nice little chunk of change but thats pretty darn reasonable if I can sell this idea. So you go ahead and do it.
You will get back a portfolio which anyone with half a brain can do after looking at it with some pretty childish looking drawings of your invention and a lot of words with mispellings and bad grammatical English. You then will receive a follow up call...) Yes Mr so and so, did you get your portfolio? How does it look? Do we need to make any changes? (When you complain about how your first grade child draws better than what is depicted in the portfolio they will explain it like this...)
Well Mr So and so that is because at this point we don't want to get to in depth because the detail will come later. We just wanted to get the basic concept across. (Next will come the surprise...) Lets market this idea. This is what we need to do in order for you to get maximum exposure. We need to let potential manufacturers know about your product. This can be done at trade shows where industry only folks are present.
We have certain contacts in every industry that we can directly target by mailings etc. Press releases really stir up excitement about your idea and we can use this to our advantage. Your own website concerning the invention with private access and stats about who has been on and what they are asking has proven to be very effective. Computer cd roms and DVD's that are professionally produced can be given to prospective manufactuers. We will even negotiate contracts in your behalf. You will be in total control of this project.! (You are thinking now at this point that sounds great go for it! Then comes the kicker...)
OK I'll be glad to send you some information on our various marketing packages. Review which one you like, sign it and send payment. (Payment? But I thought that $895.00 was it. You acted like that my idea was so great and your company wants to market it because they get 10% out of any final deal and they don't just fool with anybody that I thought you would finance this project. After all 10% of a half million or a million is a lot of money.
I can see how you guys only want to take those you can market, so why is it going to cost me more money? 5,0000! Is that the cheapest marketing packge? 10,000 if you want it done right? Now your bubble has busted, but the calls will continue. Sometimes 2 or 3 a week. Smooth sales pitches almost convince you to go in debt by putting 5,000 to 10,000 or more on a credit card until your senses kick in.
Why if your idea is so good and they are in the business of marketing good ideas and they get 10% in the end, don't they foot the bill? I would be happy to give them 10% My real estate agent got 6% on the final sale price of my home which I was more than happy to give, but they didn't ask me for 10,0000 up front not even 895.00 to make a home portfolio for me.
Bottom line: Beware of Inventech. They make a living on poorer people who have dreams of living a more affluent life but truly can't afford to lose that kind of money. If they are legit, then they should act as real estate agents, foot the bill and take a final commission of the sale.
Then their misleading statement that they only take a few ideas that have "potential" would be true. If they truly have so many contacts and interested manufacturers for every type of product imaginable, and if they are so experienced with marketing inventions then they should know which ones truly have great potential and pursue those inventions on behalf of their clients at no charge colecting only if they sell your idea just as a real estate and other commissioned agents in any business would do. Trust me people. I lost nearly $7,000.00 to Inventech.
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