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Rating: 
Summary: I hope I'll be able to find something better than this book.
Review: I have found this book very difficult to enjoy. To begin with, the first chapter is spent telling me that I can do it! The writing is condescending and achieves the opposite of the intended motivation. The cartoons are stupid and not comical.
While reading you'll quickly learn that the author offers a service to you, the aspiring inventor. Reese, as your partner, will take your idea, help you develop it, package and pitch it, and negotiate the contract. In exchange you split the royalties with him. This sounded like a great idea to me: Your idea combined with his knowledge and skills could produce great results. It's a win/win.
So I looked into his website. For him to consider your idea, you must pay a 175-dollar fee. The concept is that this fee is nominal compared to typical lawyer fees. Its object is to prove that you are serious and so that Reese is not swamped with ideas. The real payday for Reese is when you get paid too with royalties for licensing your idea.
I am a college student and cannot afford to swing 175-dollars so easily, so I requested that he waive the fee and hear my idea. I assured him I was serious and that I believed my idea had great potential. After all, the big money is in the royalties, not the 175-dollar initial fee. Reese declined the offer. He said that it would be poor business practice to offer different prices to different people.
I am very objective, and I am not offended that Reese declined my offer. But, to address Reese's inability to modify prices, consider that car dealers negotiate prices, department stores have sales, and of course, Amazon will sell you this book for less than your local bookstore. I quote Reese from page 68, "While we're on the subject of fees, if the price quoted is more than you can afford, it's quite appropriate to ask if the attorney can come down a bit."
Reese unintentionally enlightened me to the nature of his operation. The 175 dollars is so important for a very good reason. The 175-dollar fee may seem nominal compared to the fees of a lawyer, but Reese is dealing with many more clients than a lawyer. One thousand ideas submitted is worth $175,000.
I know that if you're reading this review you have an idea, you don't know what to do with it, and you can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on a lawyer to find out. Reese knows this too. This is perfect marketing.
I'm not suggesting that Reese doesn't do what he claims. I'm sure he takes ideas and markets them and makes money for himself and the inventors. However, I question what percentage of submitted ideas he acts on. If he was successful with a significant percentage, it may have been lucrative for him to at least hear my idea. The message Reese sent is clear: The 175-dollars is more relevant than the potential of the idea.
I give this book two stars because I commend Reese for his clever approach at earning a buck. I feel he is unethical, and he condemns most of his own practices in this book. However, when it comes down to the bottom line, Reese isn't breaking any laws, and he's trying just like you and me for that million-dollar payday.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply excellent... I've read it three times...
Review: Even though I know I should I usually don't take the time to contribute to Amazon's book reviews but...
This book was so fantastic that I just had too! I loved Harvey Reese's no-nonsense tell-it-like-it-is style... no fluff or touch-feely BS. He explains exactly how to come up with ideas for new products, how to assess their true merit, how to bring them to reality (via licensing)... and most importantly, how to make $$$ doing it. This last part is a salient point, as Mr. Reese is a professional product developer himself and sees this as a "business" just like any other. The book is loaded with plently of real life examples of incredible success stories involving everyday people that made millions from products that started with ideas... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Post It notes, Cabbage Patch Kids... Mr. Reese himself came up with over 100 licensed products in the market today, including those little reindeer horns you see dogs wearing around Christmas time. You can easily read this book one Saturday... and the info you'll glean from it will prepare you to make some real $$$ from your next million dollar idea.
Rating:
Summary: Sane, sensible and honest
Review: Harvey Reese gives excellent and straightforward advice on what I used to think was an awesomely complex topic. Structurally, the book is well organized, simple to follow and written in language anyone can understand. His style is intelligent and interspersed with humor, examples, and concrete information. He not only details the steps, (he loves lists) he also tells the reader what to avoid and why. And he addresses the human issues. He talks about frustration, disappointment, commitment.Reese demystifies the legal mumbo-jumbo and makes the subject of licensing understandable to anyone. I've read hundreds of "how-tos" in the business genre, many that vastly oversimplify difficult subjects. This one tells it all - the good, the bad and the ridiculous. Ultimately, it is both believable and usable. Reese's book is an outstanding and inspiring resource for anyone with ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: mr. reese will have his cake and eat it too!
Review: i can recommend this book...if you're a person with an idea, this book may just help you move ahead instead of allowing your lack of knowledge about how to capitalize on your idea paralyze you...easy to read, and there are some very key ideas in the book but i was disappointed in one regard: the premise of the book is that mr. reese will tell you how you can convert your idea into money in your pocket by licensing your idea...he says you can handle the licensing process yourself.....but then he identifies his website, where he basically says 'maybe you should leave the challenging licensing process up to a pro like me' and points out that his take for acting as your licensing agent is the first $50k/ year, plus 20% after that so on the one hand, the pitch is 'buy my book, and i'll show you everything you need to know to license', and on the other it's 'actually, you might be better off to pay me to act as your licensing agent'..........
Rating:
Summary: Very Inspirational yet not complete
Review: I found this book to be very inspirational. It does have a lot of good information that is presented at a level that's great for those who are just getting started in the invention business. Having an encouraging book is very useful. My only concern is that the book is lacking in detail. I still strongly recommend it, and also recommend "From Concept to Market", which is a little more tempered in mood but provides a great deal of detailed information including a lot of sample forms and documents that are merely referred to in this book. The two make an excellent combination.
Rating:
Summary: A Step by Step Guide For Turning You Ideas Into Income
Review: Let me start by saying what this book is not. This book is not a detailed step by step guide to patenting. Nor a detailed legal guide to structuring a licensing agreement. This book is a guide to help everyday people make money by designing and licensing nearly anything to companies looking for new or differentiated products. Mr. Reese offers up a clear and fresh perspective on the whole process from idea development to setting up meetings to contractual agreements. He covers how to patent & copyright, and guides you through when and how to contact an attorney. Mr. Reese challenges the reader to become product developer, not an inventor. What this means is that if you can help companies make money and gain an edge on their competition, they will be more than happy to give you a percentage of the sales. There are lots of inventors that are good inventors but weak in the selling and licensing of their hard work. This book articulates what steps there are between an idea in your head and money in the bank. This is by far the single greatest collection of practical wisdom I have found relating to everyday products and their licensing. My only complaint is that I wish I had discovered this book sooner.
Rating:
Summary: A Step by Step Guide For Turning You Ideas Into Income
Review: Let me start by saying what this book is not. This book is not a detailed step by step guide to patenting. Nor a detailed legal guide to structuring a licensing agreement. This book is a guide to help everyday people make money by designing and licensing nearly anything to companies looking for new or differentiated products. Mr. Reese offers up a clear and fresh perspective on the whole process from idea development to setting up meetings to contractual agreements. He covers how to patent & copyright, and guides you through when and how to contact an attorney. Mr. Reese challenges the reader to become product developer, not an inventor. What this means is that if you can help companies make money and gain an edge on their competition, they will be more than happy to give you a percentage of the sales. There are lots of inventors that are good inventors but weak in the selling and licensing of their hard work. This book articulates what steps there are between an idea in your head and money in the bank. This is by far the single greatest collection of practical wisdom I have found relating to everyday products and their licensing. My only complaint is that I wish I had discovered this book sooner.
Rating:
Summary: Packed with useful, 'You can do it!' information
Review: This is an inspirational read about something that many people dream of, but feel is simply not something they could do. If you are someone who comes up with ideas, but has done nothing but wait for someone else to cash in on them. This is a book for you. You don't have to spend thousands to make and sell your invention, you can get someone else to spend it for you! They take the big risk and you get cut of the profits. Harvey Reese takes you from idea creation to the final deal, in a positive and informative way. Here is a guy who has licensed hundreds of his own products letting you know how you can do it too!
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