$60 left. Trying to sell a $48 product. Factory still can’t hit the spec.
I have $60 left.
Not "I started with $360." I have $60 left. The rest is gone.
The prototype arrived from Dongguan last week.
This is the part I’ve been fighting over.
The deboss is 0.5mm deep.
It’s subtle, but if it‘s off, the whole thing feels cheap.
The first version came back too shallow.
The second one was uneven under light.
Both technically “fine.”
Neither was right.
The factory thinks I’m overreacting.
They might be right. I’m not sure anymore.
There’s tea inside (Keemun black, 5×4g), but most of the work went into getting this detail right.
I want to make 500 units at $48.
Right now I’m not even sure I can get one version I’m happy with.
I’m opening a waitlist. No payment — I just want to see if anyone actually wants this.
kerryshi.substack.com
Two questions:
When a factory gets close but never exact — do you keep pushing, or move on?
Has anyone here tried to pre-sell something like this with zero audience?
I would personally go to the end, it is as you wish, 60 dollars could be made back. If you think it looks cheap, it might give your audience the same feeling, and more often than not it is the feeling that you are selling, not the product itself.
Unfortunately I don't have any knowledge on pre-selling, but I would love some tips about it!
Being down to your last $60 is the ultimate test of a founder. That 0.5mm deboss might feel like a tiny detail, but it's clearly the soul of your product.
Since you're already running a waitlist to see if the market is there, you should bring your story into the Validation Arena (tokyolore.com).
It’s a 30-day sprint where founders compete for real traction.
It’s $19 to enter, which leaves you exactly $41 to survive, but it puts you in front of a crowd that values quality.
The winner takes the grand prize: a trip to Tokyo! 🏆
That “close but not quite” stage is brutal.
We’ve hit similar points where the last 5% ends up taking 80% of the time, and you start questioning whether you’re being too picky or just protecting the product.
From what you’ve described, it sounds like that detail is the product though. If it feels cheap, everything else gets judged through that lens.
On the pre-sell side, I’d treat it less as selling and more as signal.
Even a small number of people willing to join a waitlist or reply with intent can give you confidence you’re not chasing something no one cares about.
If you get no signal at all, that’s useful too before committing to 500 units.
Out of interest, what kind of response have you had so far from the waitlist?
Hey Kerry, first of all, take a deep breath. You're in the trenches right now, and what you're feeling is completely normal for physical product founders.
To answer your questions:
The factory spec: Perfection is the enemy of Version 1. If you only have $60 left, you need cash flow much more than you need a flawless 0.5mm deboss. If the product is 90% there and technically "fine," it might be time to accept it for now. Your early adopters will buy into YOU and your vision. You can fix the micro-details with a better factory in V2 once you have revenue.
Pre-selling with zero audience: This exact post is your marketing! People connect with authenticity and "building in public" struggles. Share this exact story—the $60 left, the fight over the 0.5mm deboss, the tea details—on X (Twitter) or Reddit. Showing how deeply you care about quality builds trust and attracts an audience faster than any polished ad.
Don't let the perfectionism stop you from launching. Good luck with the waitlist, you've got this!