Do big companies take product idea "submissions"...

[arrfep]

Is it likely that if I have an idea that a company could use, I could in some way sell it to them? The thing is this: I think I have some decent ideas. Well at least one decent one that a big Office Supply company like Acco/Swingline might be interested in. What I don't have is any resources or engineering/drafting/design skills.

Now, obviously I would take the proper precautions w/ a patent or whatever I could afford, and not just send some drawings on cocktail knapkins and expect a check back in ten days. But since I would have pretty much no outlet to offer my product, not to mention wouldn't be able to produce it for a price at which I could make a suitable profit, I figured maybe somehow I could get someone to buy the idea from me for a nominal fee, take care of all the aforementioned dirty work, and still make mucho dinero themselves. Win-win, right?

Or am I severely deluded?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Large companies are not likely to persue ideas outside of their own company due to patent infringement, patent costs, legal costs and so on and so on.......

Your best bet is to patent it first then, attempt to sell it. This is expensive and time consuming. Sad to say but, independant invention by poor sods is long dead.