The platform is intended to make it easier for makers, pro-makers, start-ups and small businesses to promote and sell their own inventions and product creations to a much wider audience of fellow makers and engineers. The RS DesignSpark engineering and maker community itself has over 650,000 members.
Potential sellers will be able to list any product that is related to electronics or 3D printing as long as they have created it themselves. This can include anything from add-on boards for single board computers such as the Raspberry Pi or Arduino platforms, to stand-alone projects, 3D printed items and wearables.
According to RS anyone will be able toregister for free on the platform and to sell their own creations or buy products from other sellers. DesignSpark Marketplace will also enable buyers to purchase unique items that are newly developed and not yet available to the wider market.
Importantly, no fees or commissions will be taken for selling products on the DesignSpark platform, although payment platforms such as PayPal or Stripe will take a commission from the seller.
DesignSpark Marketplace will be the latest major launch from DesignSpark.
Initially launched in 2010, DesignSpark offers free-for-download tools for PCB, mechanical and electrical design, as well as libraries, information repositories and the ability to share designs and other key know-how.
“One of the biggest challenges today for makers, engineers and other budding entrepreneurs is getting their new products and creations in front of potential customers and being able to test the market before committing their design to mass production,” said Mike Bray, Head of DesignSpark at RS. “DesignSpark Marketplace is an innovative solution that enables makers and many others to list their products and promote them to a very wide audience. DesignSpark Marketplace also completes the concept-to-creation-to-market process for engineers, meaning that DesignSpark now helps engineers design, promote and sell their products across a single platform.”
