DOUG HALL - LIVE HERE AT AMERICANINVENTORSPOT.COM SUNDAY NIGHT! 9:30 PM EASTERN TIME UNTIL...

Looking forward to it. I wish it was tonight, but Sunday is cool too.

That's really great that you got Doug on your site. How did you pull that one off. I read some where on the site that the judges were reading the comments on the site. I guess I believe it now. I'll see you Sunday night with my questions. BTW - the new logo looks really great.

Thanks. It should be fun. Doug and I have been in contact somewhat trying to find a way for him to make a guest appearance of some sort. Obviously, he's very busy. Beyond the show, he's got his Eureka Ranch day job. And I know what that feels like. Trying to keep this site fresh after also having a day job is no easy task.

so please stop by and make Doug feel welcome. and feel free to be bluntly honest. he can take it. just don't be foolish. have smart questions and don't just whine about stuff.

here's one question I'm very interested in. Will there be a season 2 and if so, which judges will be returning.

I'm following the show and from my observation Doug Hall has The germ filtering toilets seat couple (FlushPure or Pureflush), The round car seat man and the door clip woman. Sounds like such a broad range of ideas. Why these three???
They're all real inventions but helpful in so many different areas and if two of them are not chosen do they still get to bring these important products to market?
Doug seems to have the three true inventors.

Doug may not be able to answer some of these, but here are some questions I have:

• Isn't there any QA testing?
• Shouldn't focus groups be of target consumers?
• Who were the consulting companies? Are they all in one production & marketing houses?
• Don't they have sales prices in mind, and isn't the focus group a good time to propose that?
• I know it wasn't Doug's call, but why did "Time Out Tot" get cut while "Naia" is still going?
• Is ABC leaning toward exercising their option on any of the finalists?
• If the show comes back, any hope of format changes?

Please, spread the word that Doug will be here LIVE at AMERICANINVENTORSPOT Sunday night 9:30 pm EST. The bigger the showing, the more likely we can get interest from other guest bloggers. Who knows. Maybe the other 3 would also be intersted. We have extended the offer to Peter, but have yet to hear back.

I look forward to Sunday night. I'm sure Doug will have some good insight as to the future of American Inventor.

Marc Griffin
The "BulletBall Guy"

Question for Doug: The Invention or Inventor. Honestly what is more important? I use thousands of great inventions on a daily basis and don't know nor care who invented them. They work and that's the bottom line.
You are a mentor to 3 teams. Whatever works should move forward.

I may be double-posting, as I asked this on the main page, but why oh why do the judges keep asking what the market potential is for the receiver's training pole? When my youngest was in her teens, any sport she thought she'd like, I would buy the sports crap. She had a closet full of it. Same for my best friend even more so because she has two "sporty" kids and her husband played college football. Heck, parents with non-sporty kids would buy this just hoping the kid might turn out to be great at catching footballs. The market is huge--any parent who wants their kid to get outside, try football, maybe find out they can succeed at it. Put this product in Walmart before Christmas and it will be under the tree for every boy and sports-loving girl over the age of 10. Nobody knows what to buy kids over 10 anyway, except more electronics. (Gah! I'm SO glad my kids are grown now.)

And by the way this doesn't include the instant orders from every football team at every school in the country. I predict they would order a case of 12, as the product looks like it could take only so much wear & tear.

Doug, as a viewer I am *so* tired of hearing the inventors talk about how much time and money they put into their invention, as if nobody else has ever put all their time and money into something. If this show is to go another season, less melodrama and more of the science (CSI-type angle). I hate to say it, but I cringe every time they go in for a closeup on Mary Lou as she tears up (oh, pleeeeease). I know you're not the producer, but could you pass this along?

Production-wise, one of the best shots in the show was when you went back and encouraged the boy inventor who chose the wrong invention to present.

My product needs,needs, needs to get on this show, what do I do?

I bet I know the answer to this one! Watch the show's site (http://abc.go.com/primetime/americaninventor/) and if a second season gets the green light, they'll post the info on upcoming American Inventor auditions.

If, on the other hand, what you really mean is that you want Doug to ask you all about Scubuzz, he'd have the opportunity to mention that there are only TEN spots left at his inventor's boot camp (see his website at doughall.com).

What's to keep others from stealing the inventions we see on the show? Or more precisely, how much exactly must a similar idea differ for a mega-company to get their own patent on it?

Along the same vein, why doesn't the show screen inventors before they come before the judges so they don't waste your time with products that already exist? I would think a quick internet check would have turned up a product like the bedside organizer (Yep! It's at www.organizes-it.com.) I bet if the show was live you'd have people blogging within seconds of each presentation telling where to find many of these inventions.

Sally, I believe if the world were filled with lots of you then the catch would be a hit. The point is do you want America's next great invention to be device which might help a child to catch a football OR a safer baby car seat? The chances that Erics sparkling personality could win him the American vote over the car seat is possible. This would mean he might win and we'd end up with a Pool Noodle on a harness being the American Inventor winner. That's SAD. If this were to happen it would be Mr Ed's (Evangelista the judge) fault. What a fool for Ed to choose the Catch over The sackmaster.
If AI does not return next year it is absolutely Ed Evangelista's fault.

The football invention is just a pool noodle? The whole show is *ruined* because its focus isn't primarily humanitarian? How old are you?

Rest assured, Sy, somebody somewhere is inventing safer baby car seats and all kinds of other things that will make this world a better place. Otherwise I'd say Evil Ed deserves capital punishment for ruining our society as a whole just when this show came along and things were looking so good.

This has been bugging me ever since the "Here Comes Niya" doll was put through to the finals. In the first episode the "Time Out Tot" lady was told "no" because it was felt her product was fully developed and that she was only using the show for PR. So how was Niya able to make it this far? It's just as fully developed, and has even been sold by K-mart already. The full history of the doll's development is here at niaonline.

Here's a quote from page 2 of the article:

Davenport-Powell finally inked a deal in February 2000 with Kmart to sell the Niya doll during the Christmas season. The chain store agreed to purchase a limited number of the dolls for distribution nationwide.

We were fortunate to meet with a buyer who shared our vision. Still, you have to deal with people who have limited vision about ethnic products. It was through the Kmart buyer that we found a manufacturer [Integrity Toys in Chesapeake, Maryland]. The order was for an October shipment. We met our deadline. The dolls sold out. The rest is history.

Davenport-Powell is confident that her goal of selling at least one million Niya dolls is very realistic, and she is working to get the doll distributed at additional retailers, including Toys R Us and FAO Schwarz.

Interesting! And a quick check reveals that the links to purchase the doll have been removed from www.niaonline.com, a site for professional African-American women.

Hmmmmm... yes, ver-r-r-r-r-ry interesting that the links have been removed. Maybe Niya 1.0 will become a collector's item.

After perusing more of americaninventorspot.com, I've noticed that others have posted the same info I did about Niya and K-Mart. This begs the question... if a lot of viewers have easily found this online info about Niya with a simple Google search, how come no one with the show seemed to find it? Of course, maybe they did. But then my original query of how the heck this made it through while "Time Out Tot" didn't, still stands.

I'll be interested to see how she uses the $50,000 to improve the doll. In the preview of the next episode it looks like an artist is illustrating a new look for the doll's face. She says in the article the original doll's face was sculpted in the likeness of her daughter, the real Niya, who also recorded the doll's voice. I can't imagine Davenport-Powell being too happy with the suggestion of a redesign.

I'd like to know how much delay there is between the time that an episode is aired and when it was taped. The show isn't live, is it? So, are the inventors and their work still in progress, or is all the work, modifications, etc. complete?

If the decisions have not yet been made, won't these forums possibly affect the judges' decisions and/or influence them in some way?

So basically they USED the show for product promotion then. Personally I saw the doll as being a limited market item anyway, targeting mostly the African American family. Shouldn't the next great invention be one that would sell to almost anyone.

Hey all,
It's AI's Sheryl "Inbrella" McDonald. I just wanted to extend continued gratitude to Doug for keeping it real during my stint on AI... and to all of you who post your commentary (both positive and negative) thank you. It's wonderful that you are so supportive of the show. While I am unable to offer any commentary about my experience on the show, it is important that you know I am greatful for your continued viewership of the show. Keep on inventing...

Love the show, and looking forward to Season II. (Hint hint)

I'm curious about the entry process of the show. Did you and the other judges have to screen ALL the entries or was there a process to help weed out any of the absolutely absurd products, or were there multiple panels of judges and your team had the final say so?

Any idea of how many entries there were in the competition?

Did you see anything that didnt make it as an entry that you thought.. Hmm I want one of those..

Finally, if it were your decision to make, would you allow previous participants to re-enter into the competition for season 2 if there was one?

For example, if someone's prototype had some problems and didn't win.. What if between seasons the issues were resolved. Do you think that participant should be granted a second chance?

Loved your invention, and will watch for its release in the future.. Our family wants several of the InBrellas and believe it will be a big hit in the near future!

Keep up the Great Work Sheryl!!!

Anxiously Awaiting an Inbrella,
Bob Loveland
Highland Springs, VA

Gotta tell you, your invention is pretty cool. yeah... there were a few bugs to fix. But that takes time. usually more than 30 days. And the way I see it, you went from idea to product in front of millions in the equivelant of a blink of the eye. Awesome. Once you make it a bit smaller, and open and close instantly, it's a no brainer hit.

But you know what, even at the size it is, and manual, it would be a hit. Why? Because it works and fills a need.

That's one man's opinion. But I'm usually right. No really. I am. ... ok like, most of the time, that I can remember. but my wife says I'm losing it anyway, so... what was I talking about?

I'm lost, where do we ask doug q's...right here? or is there a live chat room of some sort.?

1. Being where you are in the competition now, do you have any regrets to any greats inventions that should be this far.

2. What was the most ridiculous invention.

3. What were the strengths of the others judges in your opinion.

4. Knowing that the judges part in filtering out the competition is doen now, who do you predict america will vote for to win.

5. How hass AI changed your life, or flooded your mailbox.

6. Are there any inventors on the show that you are contining work with.

Hi Doug. I have enjoyed watching the show although I
feel ABC has underestimated their viewers by not
showing all of the top 24 inventions when the final
cuts were made to 12. My dad counted about 19 out of 24 inventions that were actually shown. Did the other 5
people drop out of the competition before the final cut?
Can you give us some insight to what other inventions
you thought should have made the cut?

Thanks,
Sara

My number one question has to be about prices. Doug's the only one who I've seen even bring it up (drink plates and solar cooler IIRC), and was scoffed at by the rest of the panel both times. At some point are the inventors actually going to say what they expect to charge?

Hello, My name is Suzette and I live in Pompano Beach, Florida.
I have two inventions one is patented and one patent pending. I
would like to know how to get on the TV show.

1.If you had to rewrite the show format, in your oinion, what would you do.. perhaps you might give insight to the downfalls of the current show.

2. What have you learned from the show experience?

(Not necessarily an AI tv question) Doug, what is the best & worst product you have seen that actually made it to the marketplace for sale, whether it be in the past or present.

If AI2 happened, would you do it? or want terms/changes? if so, what?

At what point will they let us know about a second season?

I see by reading on your website that you are Contract Inventors.. Does your company as a think tank ever work on your own product ideas rather than contract projects? Or is it that there is just such a huge demand for your company as a service instead that there is no time for other personal/company projects?

I think I asked that right..

why didn't they show the auditions of the peoplr who didn't make it to hollywood?, there were a lot of inventions that would surpass what was shown on the show, I did an audition and didn't get picked, oh well, but after I saw what was sent to LA, it's a shame that you and there other judges didn't see them and maybe have helped them along, was ABC just looking for a comedy show or were they really looking for an invention,

Doug,My first question to you,Why is there so much attention on your own web site about the Gobagger?? This was never addressed on the show.Are you affiliated with this product?Beside that when did this product get in to the competition?The real question lies with Ed's decision.The easiest why to put it.The Sackmaster has human value.The Inbrella has some person value.The catch pole has some athletic value.How would you arrange them

www.copybagger.com

Any input on the pricing process of a product? Is there a magic formula that seems to work?

For example, I see that Mark Martinez sells his invention on SackMaster2000.com for $49.95. Do you find that products are just given one of those magic $?.95 price amounts or is there typically a formula based on profit percentages, or is it just whatever the market will bear?

Take for example, the cute little restroom door clip, it seems something like that would be most likely $2.95, $3.95 or $4.95. Are we as a bunch of consumers just brainwashed into those amounts and the pricing is randomly picked or is it something else?

are we even sending our thoughts to Doug or are we just shootin the breeze

I'm curious, I was just searching on the net for Inbrella just to see what would come up, and found that there is a company using the Inbrella name on a product or service already. See www.inbrella.com
Does this mean that the inbrella product name would be off limits for Sheryl to use and would need to come up with another name, or is it possible to still use a product name already in use?

That in itself is a great question too.. Is anyone here? The time was 9:30 Eastern time on Sunday April 23rd correct?

For anyone participating in the chat, it appears that the answers are appearing at: http://www.americaninventorspot.com/node/715#comment

Bob, I think they've done to this site what they've done to the show, made a fool out of the show and us, Halls probably sitting in his ranch having a cold one and laughing at all us losers, and thinking about, PAPER, I said yes to, PAPER

you've got issues. why do you think doug is sitting and laughing at you (i know he's not laughing at me).

SallY: If you think this is such a sure thing, better
look at the liability issue first,this won't be under
any christmas tree that soon.

Hi Doug,
I'm Dwight Sloan the Solar Polar Rock and Roller guy. I was wondering why you were the only one who said no to the cooler. It works, and works great.
What were the downfalls that you foresaw? I would
like to correct them as I greatly admire your expertise. It was hurtful that the only judge who is an inventor and who I personally respected was the only one who said NO. I want this thing to go so help me with your comments please!