Club Jameco is a website to discuss, create, buy and sell electronics projects and kits. Club Jameco is a way to connect the electronics enthusiast (builders) with electronics designers.
Electronics Enthusiasts will find a wide variety of projects both completed (Projects) and under development (Briefs). Members can Vote and Comment as a means of providing input to influence the final design. Club Jameco will ensure that anyone who enjoys electronics as a hobby will never run out of project ideas.
Electronics Designers can find a source of revenue by designing electronics Projects that Club Jameco sources, builds, promotes and sell as an electronics kit. Unlike other sites that merely publish electronics projects, Club Jameco gives Designers a risk-free way to sell their project designs and earn a commission.
An electronics project is a bill of materials (list of components) and step-by-step instructions that explain how to build something. When the project is sourced and packaged, it becomes a kit. The kit is a DIY (do-it-yourself) project than an electronics hobbyist can use to build something.
All projects begin with a Project Brief. This is just a few sentences that describe the project. Once approved, the Brief will get posted on Club Jameco so that Members can Comment and Vote. Designers will be able to view Member's reaction to gauge how popular the finished kit might ultimately be. Community comments are also a great way to get suggestions about how to improve a project before the design is completed.
While anyone can review projects and comments, Club Jameco membership is required to Vote, Comment or submit a Project. Membership is free.
Registration Process
1. Select Join the Club
2. Complete the Registration screen and accept the Terms of Use
3. Look for an email within a few minutes from Club Jameco with a link to verify your email identity.
4. Use your email address and personal password to log on.
And, of course, if you have problems write us at Info@ClubJameco.com.
No. For security reasons the log in processes are separate for the two sites.
The Club Jameco website is run by Jameco Electronics. The site was specifically designed to create an interactive community and it is tightly integrated with the Jameco.com website where all sales transactions are conducted.
Club Jameco Partners
Bay Area Circuits. Custom printed circuit boards for hobbyists.
LinkEdge Technologies. Website development.
Would you like to partner with Club Jameco? Write us at Info@ClubJameco.com
Club Jameco Members can Vote for either Briefs (Projects still being developed) or Projects (completed kits). A vote is designed to encourage the Designer working on a Brief as well as help guide fellow hobbyists to find the most popular electronics projects.
You must be a registered member to Vote.
You cannot Vote for your own projects.
Only registered Members can make a Comment on a Project.
A Comment posted to a project Brief is an opportunity to communicate with the project Designer while the project is still being developed. Here's your chance to influence the design.
A Comment on a completed Project is an opportunity to offer your review of a Project, give others a sense for what to expect if they buy the project or ask a question about the Project.
No. We want Club Jameco to be a wide source of electronics projects and kits and so we've included both professionally designed kits as well as those designed by Club Jameco Members.
Write us and tell us what you would like to see. We’ll try to find an appropriate Designer. Send your e-mails to Info@ClubJameco.com.
Every kit is graded by the project Designer with one of three grades: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. A Beginner project requires no previous experience and simply requires following the instructions. An Advanced project requires prior experience, special tools, specific knowledge or an experienced hand. Projects that are not Beginner Projects or Advanced Projects are Intermediate Projects.
All Club Jameco kits are sold by Jameco Electronics. Jameco guarantees all kit sales accepting returns for 30 days from the order date and guaranteed to be defect free for 90 days. Every project is carefully reviewed prior to making it available for sale. Your satisfaction guarantee is backed up by your direct access to Jameco Electronic's management team. Have a problem? Write the management team: Management @Jameco.com
Jameco’s Technical Team is available during business hours at 1-800-831-4242 to assist customers in any way they can. The team supports over 50,000 products, however, and may not be able to provide detailed support on any one project. The best avenue for support will likely come from other Club Jameco Members. Post a question on the Club Jameco Project page and wait for a reply.
Jameco publishes a newsletter where we publish do-it-yourself articles. Build a project, take some pictures and tell us your story. We would love to publish it in an upcoming newsletter. Send your submissions to MyStory@Jameco.com.
Jameco will send all Designers a commission check once a quarter (every three months). Commissions will be calculated based on the sliding scale below. The commission percentage is based on each individual kit's sales volume during each quarter it is available for sale. Commission payments will be calculated based on shipments, net of any returns during the quarter. Checks will be mailed to the address the Designer has provided within 60 days of the close of each calendar quarter. See the Designer Agreement for more details.
Project Designers can monitor earnings by accessing the Track Your Earnings section of My Account.
|
Quarterly Kit Sales |
Commission Payment |
|
First $200 in sales for any kit each quarter |
5% of Net Sales |
|
Sales above $200 and up to $500 for any kit each quarter |
8% of Net Sales |
|
Sales above $500 for any kit each quarter |
10% of Net Sales |
We both do. This is a partnership. While the Designer is responsible for the initial idea and all the design decisions, Jameco is responsible for managing the business side of the relationship including sourcing, manufacturing, stocking, fulfillment, promotion and sales.
Sure. One way is to monitor the Comments you get for both the Brief and the Project. These are your potential customers who may have questions about a project before they buy. You might also want to share the web address for the Project with your friends or post them on appropriate websites for a bit of extra visibility.
Jameco will incorporate the Club Jameco program into its traditional marketing vehicles including Jameco's website, catalog and newsletter. Jameco also periodically advertises in magazines and other websites.
No, we can't forecast sales for any one Project. We can tell you that Jameco Electronics has been selling to electronics hobbyists since 1974 and that we take hundreds of thousands of orders every year.
Once your Project has been published, log in and select My Account. Choose the Earnings tab to track sales of your Projects.
All projects start with a project Brief. A Brief is a sentence or two describing the Project. If the project sounds viable it will be published on the Club Jameco website within a day or so. Once approved, Club Jameco members can Vote and Comment on your Brief.
The Brief is important for a few reasons:
The last thing we want to do is filter out good ideas. Club Jameco will do a “viability” review to make sure that it’s an electronics project that has some relevance. We will also check to make sure that no one else is working on or selling an identical project on the site. But that’s it.
We'll give you as much time as you need, but we won't wait forever! Project Briefs effectively create a "reservation" that keeps two people from working on the same project at the same time.
Once the Brief is approved, it’s a good idea to communicate with your Club Jameco Project Manager and set expectations about how long it will take you to design the Project. As long as the time frame is reasonable and you meet your commitments, then we'll hold your reservation.
Send us an email at Info@ClubJameco.com. We're good at answering email.
Once a Project is submitted, it will be prioritized based on the buzz (Votes and Comments) to gauge a Project's potential popularity.
Every Project will go through three reviews:
Viability Review : Can we efficiently source it and build it?
Accuracy Review : Is this project well designed?
Communication Review : Are the instructions and graphics clear and concise so that a reasonable builder could build this project?
That's it. Our goal is to accept as many Projects as possible.
Our goal is to be as fast as possible. Project Briefs shouldn't take us more than a day or two to approve, but it is likely to take us longer to review a completed Project. Every Project goes through a series of reviews before it is sourced, built and published. The entire process can take a few weeks. We do pay close attention to the Votes and Comments a Brief receives and prioritize our efforts on the most popular projects first.
Jameco will set the price of the product based on the cost of the components selected. You can estimate the price by adding the components to your cart on Jameco.com.
No. It's important that the Designer own the Project design. While Jameco is always available to help identify which components to use, Jameco cannot play a consultative role in the design of the Project.
No. When you submit a Project you assert that you own the design and grant Jameco the ability to build a kit. Once Jameco invests in your Project, you can no longer revoke its rights sell this Project.
Not necessarily, but it significantly simplifies the qualification process. Jameco recognizes that it doesn't carry every electronic component and will do its best to source the components you specify. If you need a component you can't find at Jameco, just find it somewhere else and copy the web address (URL) into the Club Jameco bill of materials section.
There may also be components for a project that are beyond the scope of the kit Jameco would sell. For example, if plywood is a necessary component, we won't include that in the kit. Instead it will be listed as a project requirement that is not included with the kit.
Yes, we recommend it. We think that to develop excellent step-by-step instructions, you'll need to build it yourself. We also hope that you'll submit photographs that illustrate each step of the build. During the course of the technical review occasionally, if we have technical concerns, we may request a working sample of the Project to facilitate approval.
All kits require that you assign it a difficulty level to reflect the level of electronics skill required to complete the Project. While the definitions are subjective, here are some basic guidelines. A Beginner Project is something that virtually any Club Jameco Member will be able to do by simply following your directions. An Advanced Project is one that will require some fundamental electronics skills, specialized tools or specific experience to undertake. Thus, an Intermediate Project is everything else.
No problem. Jameco has partnered with a PCB manufacturer to turn your designs into custom printed circuit boards. In the Bill of Materials section simply upload your Gerber file.
If you don't have the necessary PCB Layout software to create a Gerber file, you might consider using DipTrace and taking advantage of their design guide and video tutorials.
In some cases Club Jameco may be willing to convert your schematic into a Gerber file, but you'll first need to discuss this with your Club Jameco Project Manager.
Jameco partners with Bay Area Circuits which specializes in building printed circuit boards for hobbyists. Bay Area Circuits will evaluate all designs for accuracy to identify problems and have integrated its production into Jameco’s supply chain.
The great thing about Club Jameco is that your design can live and earn money indefinitely. That said, over time all electronics projects need some level of support. Components may become unavailable or customers may tell us aspects of the instructions are confusing. We can't fully anticipate what type of support is required, but Designers must be available to respond within a reasonable period of time. You won't be expected to speak directly to the customer and it's our hope that the need for this support will be infrequent and easily resolved.
You are responsible for affirming that the Project you submit is your exclusive intellectual property. You are also giving Jameco the right to use your design to build a kit for sale.
Once your project Brief has been approved it's time to start designing. When you are ready follow the instructions below:
Please allow a few weeks for your project to be reviewed.
No. In many cases it makes sense to submit your project while it's still in process and allow us to review your Bill of Materials (BOM). In many cases we'll need to help make sure we can source what you want to design in. Approving the BOM early will reduce the likelihood of rework downstream.
Jameco specializes in selling low cost electronic components. While the value of the kit may well be worth more than the sum of the component parts, with the availability of free instructions and parts list all over the internet, we have to keep the price low to remain competitive. Thus, our pricing model prices kits at or below the sum of the components. The Club Jameco commission schedule reflects a significant percentage of the overall profit margin on electronic components.
Yes. Jameco’s Designer Agreement retains exclusive rights only to the specific kit that bears the Jameco brand name. There is nothing to stop the Designer from recreating the project, sourcing the components and selling the design to others. The intent of this agreement is to create a relationship that will allow Jameco to recoup its investment to build and market the kit.