Question: Selling Covers/Cases

[UncleBob]

So, I was thinking, with the number of people who don't like cutting the DS cases for GB/GBC games (and I don't blame them!) and the ease with which I can do it now - combined with easily getting good prints at Staples - I was considering offering a service of making cases.
Cases run a little under $1 each.  Prints run 49 cents each.  I was thinking that I'd have Nintendo ship the cases to me and charging $3 per case/cover ($3.25 if you want the manual bar cut) - plus actual shipping costs to the end consumer - with 50 cents from each one going to Snowcone to either help pay for some of the site or start up some kind of cover-bounty project.  The other $1-ish would pay for my time/gas/etc.

HOWEVER - I'm just looking for ideas at this point.  I know we have a lot of great cover artists here who do a lot of fine work and I don't want anyone to think I'm stealing from them  I don't expect to get rich from this (in fact, I've been very forth-coming with the details of how I do everything as it is, so anyone who wants to do this on their own, obviously, can).  I was just thinking of providing a service - and making a quick buck or two.

Opinions?

[Vt102]

If you do that you would be exposing the site to copyright infringement and possibly braking a number of laws.

I don't believe we can endorse, sponsor or allow such action.

[Zelimpdna]

If you just offered to mod the cases for people, without covers, I can't see there being a problem.

[although if you then offered to provide covers as well through private email without affiliation with TCP, well, you wouldn't be too different from some people who do similar over eBay.]

[Kayvin]

Yeah, Vt102 is right on the copyright issue if you start printing covers that have copyrighted logos and images on them.  The modified case thing though isn't a half-bad idea, I might buy some myself, as I've failed all attempts to actually cut through one of those suckers.  Although, I'm guessing if you want to be able to market it, you'd need to have cleaner cuts than the cuts I've seen in the pictures and videos.  Products should be high quality. 

[Mick Dundee]

Yeah, Vt102 is right on the copyright issue if you start printing covers that have copyrighted logos and images on them.  The modified case thing though isn't a half-bad idea, I might buy some myself, as I've failed all attempts to actually cut through one of those suckers.  Although, I'm guessing if you want to be able to market it, you'd need to have cleaner cuts than the cuts I've seen in the pictures and videos.  Products should be high quality. 

Dremel cut off disc and a soldering iron to melt the plastic smooth

[Kayvin]

Yeah, Vt102 is right on the copyright issue if you start printing covers that have copyrighted logos and images on them.  The modified case thing though isn't a half-bad idea, I might buy some myself, as I've failed all attempts to actually cut through one of those suckers.  Although, I'm guessing if you want to be able to market it, you'd need to have cleaner cuts than the cuts I've seen in the pictures and videos.  Products should be high quality. 

Dremel cut off disc and a soldering iron to melt the plastic smooth

See now, I wonder if my desires for smoother cut cases is going to lead to someone lighting their house on fire...