Mike999 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I just saw this posted on Missing-Lynx, a military modeling board. Link to original post below. A quick search showed other Shapeways vendors writing about it. On Feb. 4, Shapeways is implementing new minimum prices. The Missing-Lynx poster says some of his products will increase in price by 20-25%, with some increasing over 50%. He may have to discontinue some of his more expensive items. So if you want any Shapeways stuff, you might want to order it before then. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/shapeways-price-increase-as-of-febuary-4th-t318015.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Do people on Shapeways get charged for being on Shapeways? I'm not sure what increased prices for prints requires the retirement of a digital file. It's not like it's a tangible physical object until someone decides to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Bartrop Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 22 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said: Do people on Shapeways get charged for being on Shapeways? I'm not sure what increased prices for prints requires the retirement of a digital file. It's not like it's a tangible physical object until someone decides to buy it. From what I understand, they only charge when someone orders something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumi Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 If Shapeways does not charge for listing then I find it interesting that multiple vendors are discontinuing a vast amount of small parts in their catalog because they "cannot be printed affordably". If people really wanted that part they would have gladly paid for that few bucks increase. If they cannot afford it then they can simply not print it. The only reason I can think of is to avoid people whining about being gouged by the individual sellers, which seems quite plausible when you see modellers complaining about kit prices all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Bartrop Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 That's just it, they charge what they think people are willing to pay, and if what Shapeways charges them is more, then it's just not going to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89AKurt Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I gave Shapeways a shot. When they had a sale recently, got the car bodies. I got the figures previously. I'm not that impressed, really depends on the file resolution, and the type of plastic. The figures are really rough, no face features to speak of, except the sexy woman is well done but it costs much more for those. So if they want to jack up the costs that much, they will be shooting themselves in the proverbial foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spex84 Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Yep, that white plastic is too coarse for model car subjects...the best material for scale model subjects is their "Smoothest Fine Detail Plastic" (previously FUD or "Frosted Ultra Detail"). Unfortunately, a car body in that material is going to be pricey. The main increase is for very small objects (like most model car parts) now that there's a $7.50 base fee per object. This is fine for say, an Iphone case, but for a set of model car air cleaners the size of fingernails, it's kind of a pain. The price increase already happened--but older products were grandfathered in. As of Feb 4, even those older products will switch over to the new prices. Shapeways' reasoning is that all the tiny little parts is costing them money--they're difficult to handle, clean, keep track of etc--and their previous cost structure apparently didn't cover that added hassle. They're just correcting course. I agree that it's a frustrating change, juuuuust when 3D printed stuff was getting down to a reasonable cost. I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to my own Shapeways store right now, but any new things I upload will be bundled if possible to offset the price increase, with the possibility of grouping, say, engine parts into multi-part sprued trees. Regardless, for certain small items that are A. difficult and time-consuming to scratchbuild or B.not available in any other form, 3D prints are still worth the cost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I've ordered a lot of stuff through SHapeways, and have always been happy with the service and quality. Everything arrives quickly and exactly as described. Yes, sometimes the parts need a little more finessing due to the plastic used or whatever, but when there is no other source for those parts, what else are you going do? I don't like a cost increase, but I kind of get it. I've ordered a 1/24 scale trubo from Shapeways. It's the size of an M&M. Yet the packaging included a small Ziploc-style bag, bubble wrap, bubble envelope, plus all of the labels. This ultra-small part had a ton of packaging. I can see how they would lose money or not turn a profit on this kind of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 On 1/23/2019 at 8:19 AM, iamsuperdan said: I've ordered a lot of stuff through SHapeways, and have always been happy with the service and quality. How do they ship to Canada? have you ever gotten stung with duty or brokerage fees? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamsuperdan Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 On 24/01/2019 at 8:12 AM, NOBLNG said: How do they ship to Canada? have you ever gotten stung with duty or brokerage fees? No additional duty fees at all. WHat you see on the site is what you pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impalow Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 (edited) I checked my store yesterday and for my existing models the price increase is substantial.... its making me wonder if I should research other sources for my own building projects and not worry about my store at all. example a 1/25th scale motorcycle frame I ordered a few months back was $13.27 the new price is $39.00..(granted its somewhat due to each of the separate parts being 7.99 as Chris pointed out... Thank you for that info!!) But at 39.00 plus shipping for a tiny motorcycle frame, i will find other options to make it. My woodlight headlights are going from 6.75 to 10.50 a set and thats just one piece, the cheater slicks I created are just downright astronomical.... like 50.00 or something stupid. Sadly i was really starting to enjoy using them as a source for cool one off parts, and had completely abandoned thoughts of getting my own printer... this may change that. Edited January 25, 2019 by Impalow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I was wondering how practical would it be to connect several small parts together with a sprue so that it would be considered a single piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spex84 Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 I was looking at the printers too, and even if I spent say, $800 on a printer ($500 US) which is about as cheap as they get right now, I'd have to add resin, other consumables on that. Then shipping...time to set up the 3D files for printing, trial and error and potential failed prints, then cleaning the rig afterwards. Not to mention the off-gassing resin (I'd need a dedicated room/fume hood/extractor fan or something like that)...and then the parts must be cleaned of their support structure. Whew! Pretty soon those little model carburetors would be as pricey as real ones, haha. If I was going into business like Fireball Modelworks, I'd consider it. As a hobby...not yet! Large parts (frames, tires) were pricey before, and have only gone up, as Eric has noted. Spruing parts together makes a huge difference for the small parts. Instead of each separate file/model being $7.50, 4 or 5 small pieces can fit under that $7.50 threshold, within the same file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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