Dragons' Den

[Mark Spice]

Snip

Oooh this sounds so good I'll have two!

I thought that he missed out a lot by focusing on the elderly and infirm as a market. I think he should have tried to market it as a solution to H&S concerns over changing bulbs in small businesses, church halls and the like. After all we all know the potential hassle that ladders involve in that sort of enviroment.

That said it does sound like they would avert a minor hazard (people climbing on chairs etc to change bulbs) with a slightly higher hazard (buildings burning down left, right and centre, leading to higher CO2 emissions and the crash of civilisation as we know it due to increased global warming).

Cheers

Mark

[Owain]

He should therefore send it to Two Jags suggesting the device be made mandatory under Building Regulations Part P.

Owain

[MM]

I started off enjoying it, but that was really just because of its novelty value in the beginning. The inventions are so often ridiculous, and the candidates so obviously unprepared. Now all I dream of is for another of these tossers to do a Rachel. Take 'em down a peg, like.

MM

[MM]

I still don't see what is wrong with a normal step ladder to change the bulb.

MM

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , Mark Spice writes

As soon as I saw it I wanted 96 of them! The hassle caused by a simple thing like changing bulbs is massive for landlords.

I dont think he focussed much on the new build, or refurb. market either.

I was amazed that he didnt at least state that his market was actually the whole market, in which 20 million, (or whatever the figure is), are sold every year, and that he expected to convert 50% over a 5 year period.

If I had a choice of £2 for a normal holder, and £8 for one of these, in a one off situation, I would spend the £8 in B & Q.

At least this would have left it for one of the Dragons to either get excited by the numbers, or to shoot him down, rather than shooting himself in the foot from the start.

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , MM writes

It's a ballsache getting the ladder out and putting it away, and there is always a chance that you could fall off it.

In small houses and flats, there is no room for the ladders.

[Bart]

I used to be nervous about man-handling aluminium step-ladders near naked lit light-bulbs.

Burnt-out bulbs which look safe but could contain live parts are worse. Is this fear justified?

Anyway by fitting 12000-hour bulbs you can forget about changing them for a long time.

Bart

[MM]

Oh, of course it's not a ballsache! It's no more of a chore than getting out the boot polish things to clean one's shoes. Aluminium ladders are as light as a feather. You only need a minimal height one for the vast majority of bulbs.

Of course there is! They don't rust, so they can be kept outside if there's absolutely no room indoors. I'll bet there are *very few* properties in Britain which are genuinely too small to store a small collapsible step ladder somewhere.

MM

[MM]

Afraid of flashover, perhaps?

No.

But they look truly ugly.

MM

[Bart C]

If the ladder breaks the bulb it can touch the live filament inside, while I'm holding the other end..

Bart

[Gogs]

Aluninium ladders may well be light but try telling that to someone who is not a fan of using one, ie an OAP with bad hips.

There are many households that dont have any form of securing stuff outdoors ie Shed of some description, so how long would it take for it to vanish

[Rob Morley]

It's not difficult to fix an eyebolt to a wall or concrete slab so you can chain up ladders and other stuff.

[MM]

So instead of a simple solution that costs £20 down at B&Q and lasts for decades you would prefer to equip every ceiling socket in the property with one of these "pull down" types, yes? Which themselves will probably only last a few years at best.

MM

[Gogs]

Yes its not a problem to tom, dick and harry.....and Joe bloggs.

But what about the OAP with bad hips for example who can hardly bend down, let alone get out the power drill and start fixing eyebolts.

If the person is fine with drilling concrete then there is a very good chance they have no qualms when it comes to going up a ladder and changing bulbs.

[Rob Morley]

He won't want a ladder in the first place.

I was referring to

[Gogs]

Ah so you get the point, the OAP that wont want a ladder, well they probably wont want to change a bulb, so any idea that would help them not to need to stand on a stool/steps or a ladder would be a good thing.

[xscope]

I've just been looking at Peter Jones' website.

Is the planet big enough for this guy's ego? e.g. Peter Jones, Ultraprenuer.

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , xscope writes

Looks like a flashy website designed to sell his book, and give him access to hundreds or thousands of ideas, so he can cherry pick the good ones.

[Rob Morley]

And what does that have to do with securing ladders outside? I replied to a point that you made, I have no desire to discuss anything else with you.