Yeah I grok that. But the weird thing is, you ain’t doing bodymodding yourself. How can you possibly drive customers away from them? If anything, you make more gadgets for them to implant. If I was a bodymodder, I’d be happy that someone makes something that drives people to come to my parlor to ask me to implant.
But maybe I’m misunderstanding that particular microcosm…
To be fair, one must add that especially Steve did a real lot of pioneering (he was the first to implant anything at all, some decades ago) and paved the road for those to come. He took lots of risks (especially being US-based…) and did really good work. Saw several things he did, and they’re really nice 
Problem is not the bodymod-artists (those who implant the stuff) but the fact that Steve and Samppa both sell magnets. So, if someone else sells other magnets, people might no longer buy their magnets.
But, well… I’m from the bodymod-community, been there for the last 20+ years and counting, and the main problem most people I know have with biohacking is the freakin’ bad publicity it creates when / if something goes wrong. Some (!) biohackers don’t use all the knowledge that’s available in terms of hygiene, proper workspace setup, cross-contamination and all that, and it was very hard for bodymodders to be somewhat accepted by society (and, more important, by law) - so, people doing scalpel work at home in unclean condition might just lead to people doing scalpel work in a studio and earning their living of it losing their jobs
A polished turd, is still a piece of shit at the end of the day.
HA! People like you Amal,and anyone reading this are part of the wave of body modification. They likely want you to stay out, cause you call them on their BS it appears.
To be honest, if you were a jerk, I just never would have bought an implant.
I agree with @anon3825968 about how we should all be together as one im a sense.
At the end of the day, Steve and that other guy will just be missing out. To me it seems they are just screwing themselves over. Why not try and go in with you, so they can offer special implants at a special price for their special customers?
Strange that I should get involved in that strange little world. I’m a totally unadorned, suit-and-tie, boringly ordinary sort of guy, and I had never set foot in a piercing parlor before getting my first implant. I know little of the world of body modification - or even simple tattoos - nor do I really want to know more if I’m honest. Even today, when I go to my piercer’s, I feel like a nun in a whorehouse - and I probably look like one too, when I see the gazes the other patrons cast on me.
I mean, the few piercers and body artists I’ve met are nice and all, and so far they’ve been very professional. No complaints. But I really wish I could turn to a medical professional for my implant needs. Somehow it feels wrong for someone like me to patronize body modification professionals. It just ain’t my world at all.
And that’s perfectly okay - to each his own.
But still, things like especially the lager flex-implants wouldn’t be possible without the work Steve did quite some time ago (usually, artists even use his tools to do this), so even if you’re not into body modification, you should (in my humble opinion) acknowledge the works of those who made the things you get done possible, in a way. Or legal, at least somewhere. Or safe
Yeah yeah, no question. I’m not belittling anything anyone has done in the world of body modification, far from it. But doesn’t it feel wrong to you that bodymod artists should have to redesign tools that probably exist for surgery already, just because surgeons refuse to open their own little club to outsiders?
I’m 200% certain a surgeon is perfectly capable of implanting a flexNExT - or any of Haworth’s implants, or even a sparkplug if they wanted to - without having to reinvent the wheel. It’s just that they don’t want to, and it forces everybody to turn to “creative” side solutions for nothing - bodymod artists as much as customers.
Hmmmyeah… kind of. But that’s a difficult thing for me, because I trust my bodmodartist a whole freakin lot more than I would trust any surgeon. Or almost anyone else, to be honest^^
Thing is, a surgeon doing this might do 1, maybe 2, maybe 5 a year of those - maybe even less, because there are a lot more surgeons than bodymod-artists. So, my artist is most certainly more experienced with what might or might not happen when he does to me, well, what he does.
Additionally, another very important thing for me is the part “artist” in bodymod-artist - mine is not just putting something under my skin, he is taking a lot of time to find the perfect placement, the right spot for the incision, takes time and tons of mails to talk the “concept” of my whole bodyart through with me, designs a scarification specifically for me and simply knows what suits me best.
If it’s just “put a chip in my body”, yep, every surgeon will be able to do that. Would be pretty sad if not
But for me (and I know, this is not the same for you ) I feel calm, happy and just euphoric in the hands of a person I can entrust my life to. It’s not about the result (which is great anyways^^), it’s about the process.
I can see where you’re coming from. I get it.
Me, I just need the technical know-how. It’s not a spiritual experience to me, nor is it art: it’s strictly functional. I need someone to put something inside me correctly and safely. And for the things I really have in mind, it’s totally out of the league - and out of the scope - of body mod artists, because it’s not art 
I do the RFID implants as a convenience for everyday life, and as a side hobby to pass the time while I wait to find a way to do the real modifications I want without putting my life in danger.
That just put a smile on my face - few people get that at all, honestly, so - thanks!
That is perfectly valid, and I understand why you would feel better when you’d go to a surgeon for that.
And that is one of the thing that I find so strange and interesting here - the whole biohacking thing, it’s kind of a culture clash. Very different people do it for very different reasons - aesthetics, convenience, improvement, transhumanism, and tons of other reasons… and they all meet “in the middle” with the implants, in a way. For me, I would have never considered getting chipped had Amal not put blinkies on his chips
Both Steve and Samppa have realized that cutting people is a linear work stream… you cut, get paid. You don’t cut, you don’t get paid. Coming out with products means you work hard at first and keep your products flowing and you get paid even on sick days. Their reps push the legitimacy and popularity of the product. Damage the image of the product and you damage the income stream. This is what Steve was mad about. Samppa was just insane… wanted me to sell m31s only to him exclusively and he would exclusively put them in people (is what he said), and I was like “no way would I limit the product in that way” and he lost his shit.
Yes, he did a lot of amazing bodymod work, but that’s not the focus of my irritation. His product development was not so stellar. Someone else actually developed the silicone magnet implant. He took it and ran with it. He is now associating himself with cyborg nest, lending his name and rep to the company, but again not really pioneering much in the way of development. That’s all fine, and I don’t see anything wrong with that, I just give credit where credit is due, and likewise I tend not to where it’s not due.
once we launch… something… either the poly mag or the Titan series… I’d say right now it’s still premature at best.
I’ve known a couple of renowned artisans in the - equally strange - little world of luxury guns whose names were so sought after they were paid insane amounts of money to work very little, just because putting their marks on the gun they worked on would instantly quadruple its value. If your rep is good enough, you can charge enough to be sick many days per months.
I usually find products branded with the name of someone famous highly suspicious. Like Dr. Dre headphones. Either those products are designed by someone else and sold at unreasonable prices simply because they bear the name of someone famous (and I’m not a sucker) or they’re not very good - as just because you can speak in a microphone doesn’t mean you can design electronic products.
As far as I can tell, DT isn’t notorious for selling unsafe or subpar products. So I’m guessing it was just a case of not appreciating having competition in the product space.
Oh yes, I was not talking to him about selling magnets, it was other projects. Our magnets were direct competition for him. With the ultimate failure of the m31 line, I guess he had the last laugh… for now.
Well, last time I saw mad cyborgs a lot of Romulans got brutally killed by XBs, so yeah.
$500 in the super immediate future is probably too much for me, especially adding in install costs (I’d missed the price tag first go around, so I don’t wanna let this hinge on me being counted just now), but if it was pushed out after the holidays or COVID I would definitely be able. (Job looks a little less stable than it once did.)
You could consider a limited number of time-constrained non-refundable payment plan slots, too, if you want to drive up the sales, reach as many people as possible, and potentially expand your spares stock while being subsidized to do so. Given that there will always be folks who want to pick up one after the sale goes down, it could create room for people to “sell their slot” if they have to back out, so they don’t lose and the magnet still sells.
Hmmm, that would likely be something to talk directly to Amal about, but I doubt he would want to front several thousands of dollars. I am not sure he would even front one person ya know. I am not one to advocate for using lending services, but I use Affirm to buy online things. It makes it easy to use, which is bad for people who don’t understand it. Please don’t just use them all willy nilly, be responsible.
Maybe someone could sell “raffle tickets” or whatever for those who would like a chance, however big or small?
Well, part of that is dependent of course on how the manufacturing contract is structured. In ordinary mfring it’s often something like X amount for the contract and production samples/fine tuning, followed by X for manufacture, and X for delivery. No idea how it works in limited runs like this mind you, but if it does, you could base your time table around that which ensures no one is going “Just three more months.”
I have other thoughts on how to do it, too, but they do get a bit complex to ensure the minimum headache to Amal and Co.
We are set up to allow PayPal financing but that’s up to the buyer to get approved for etc.
Oh man, Sampaa doesn’t like me either. I very particularly said “anyone who uses parylene is dumb, it’s not good to remove” “why … I use parylene” “well it’s dumb Sampaa because removing it is impossible”
Speaking of which, has anyone ever had a parylene coated implant removed? I’m going to have to get my fingertip magnet removed soon and I would appreciate any tips on how to get it out without too much damage to the surrounding tissue.
It. is. Going. To. Suck.