"well if the inventors were to develop it and fund it (like most people do)
then I would agree,  lets see what it does.   But that’s not the tack they
take,  they are asking for upfront money for what is certainly looking like
a sham."

Up until lately, I had taken a fairly laid back approach to the Flow Hive.
I didn't see how it would hurt anyone. . . . Until I saw how the indiegogo
project was progressing . . .

Most crowd funding platforms presell items at "reduced rates" to get enough
operating cash to purchase their first set of items, and develop the idea
(get patents, so forth). In theory, everyone wins. The business owner
doesn't have to take the risk of heavy cash output upfront, the business
owner gets to pre-test the market for sales, and the customers get their
items at a reduced price (all be it with a little added risk).

But it would appear they've already spent the money to develop the idea and
obtain (or at least file) the patent. So really all they would need money
for is to get enough working capital to order their first set of frames.
$70,000 sounds about right. They are now at $4.4M and rising.

Their crowd funding platform gives people the option to pay $30 to "bee
very supportive." What are they supporting? You've already developed the
ideas and filed the patent. 269 people took them up on the offer.

The platform also gives people the option to pay $60 for a "flow box,
without frames." Yup, that's $60 for a $15 beekeeping box. So much for a
discount to the "initial investors." 478 people took them up on the offer
(and likely they don't know this is just a wooden box, no frames).

Those two options leads me to believe the owners are doing it more as a way
to extract cash, rather than an opportunity to develop an idea and a
product.

But as a concept, I thought it might have merit, depending on the price
point. If a standard hive would run $200, and you would need to buy a basic
extractor for that hive (at probably $300). That's a high price point to
extract honey, at least for most beginners. If you could get a hive that
extracts the honey for you, and it costs less than it would to buy the hive
and the extractor (and you save time), it would make sense. But each
"super" is going to run you about $460, when a normal super would run you
about $30. So there is no cost savings, even when you add in the time.

While there is a good amount of expense for the inventors to create their
invention, I imagine a "super" priced at $460 provides an extremely heavy
profit. And I do mean heavy.

As the number climbs, it gets closer to scam and further away from a
"reasonable idea."

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