Please listen I am not trying to say your project does not have merit but look at it realistic and not from a profit stand point. Your business model just does not make sense
This is well said, and I would echo and emphasize the same comments. I think it's important to be really clear on the fact that I think the product itself is great, and I even want one myself! It's just the price we all seem to take issue with.
In fact, I have many times wondered why we don't see more (or any) 2D laser cutter projects that are user friendly and either packaged as kits, or released as open source hardware. I have always thought that such a project would emerge from the laser projector sub-niche-community (as in the people using galvos and mirrors to make laser projectors that display amazing animations, not the people harvesting lasers from commercial protectors). It seems like they have basically all the hardware, software, and laser knowledge, to make such a project work.
At any rate, you asked for feedback in a largely DIYer community, so naturally most of us do the math on creating something like this ourselves, and conclude that your price point is too high to be attractive to us. I very much think this is the case, and would adopt the view of others that this would be a tempting buy at somewhere in the $200 to $300 range.
But here's an idea for you -
Sell a barebones kit for people like those you'd find in this community, who have the skills to build something like this, but want some of the hard work done for them. I'm thinking you could sell a package containing just the motors, gears, rails, bands, control and computer interface hardware, and software. Maybe also the diode driver circuitry, if not integrated into the interface hardware above. If you're currently reflowing the hardware circuitry yourselves, in the DIY kit you could even consider providing bare PCBs + parts to leave the reflowing up to the DIYer.
From there, DIYers could provide their own diodes (some might want to use single mode 405s anyway), mounting solution, enclosure, and handle the assembly (which is presumably a time intensive task on your end). Plus, you get the benefit of other people working with your design and developing a knowledgebase and set of discussions surrounding it. You could also chose the level, if any, of support to provide. I tend to think that as long as you're confident that your setup works, and the DIY parts are capable of leading to a working product in the hands of a capable DIYer, then you could probably provide this type of kit with expressly no support included, beyond community support from other DIYers on a forum somewhere.
I would think that a DIY package containing the above could warrant a $200 price tag in this type of community / marketplace (and perhaps others like CPF, BLF, CNCzone etc). I'd have to think that your cost for the parts listed above would come in well under that such that you could sell it while still adding a bit of cash to your bottom line to help grow your core business of selling the beautiful assembled units.
