SHAPEWAYS PRICE HIKE ON THE 30TH

[Railwaygun]

This is an apolitical forum - please take this off line before blood flows!,

Or Robomod will Be in action!

[Buzzard]

they have been overpriced for ages

Which for them is a rather silly business model as it puts people off.

A while back I bought a single example of a large bogie wagon with a view to seeing what it was like and how the finished thing would look.  My aim was to have a rake of 10 or 12.  Then the prices started to drift upwards and today at over £31 per wagon I refuse to buy any more.

The other thing we must consider is the impact that reducing sales has on the income of the designers.  Many of those individuals have spent a lot of time and cash to develop and test print a model before releasing it for the rest of us to buy and enjoy.

I for one am glad to be able have a niche model or two that would never be made by the r-t-r brigade.

I will be sticking in an order for a few last bits.  I've noted down some current prices and will be doing a comparison next week to see how much more is being asked for sometimes quite small models.  That information will dictate whether I give Shapeways any further business.

[Snowwolflair]

I think we are looking at Shapeways through N gauge binoculars.  Digging deeper some of their material offerings have not increased and a couple have dropped in price.

It looks as if they have done a return on investment calculation by material and capital invested to make it, and concluded to cover the investment in the materials we primarily focus on the prices have to go up.

Also if you look carefully there are Shapeways shops indicating that the same products may be sourced more cheaply if you contact them directly.  I'm trying one of these my self and  i'm hopeful the result will be equally good at a significant fraction of the price.  NB I wont point the vendors out in case Shapeways get upset but my advice is always read the shopkeepers blurb before buying.

[Doc Pye]

Well I am looking at some Shapeways designs by someone named 'Steam Pint', as I am thinking of building a GWR Saint...see thread below.

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=44267.new;topicseen#new

Hence, if there is another way to source this directly then please do let me know.

[Snowwolflair]

Well I am looking at some Shapeways designs by someone named 'Steam Pint', as I am thinking of building a GWR Saint...see thread below.

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=44267.new;topicseen#new

Hence, if there is another way to source this directly then please do let me know.

Steam Print's models are very good so buy with confidence but as far as I know he does not offer his designs through other sources.

What i was alluding to was designers listing their designs on several platforms each having their own pricing strategy, and others sourcing the prints themselves and selling direct.  What I don't know off hand is whether Shapeways tries to limit this cross platform listing.  If they don't then I suspect they will in the future.

[Doc Pye]

Thanks for that info...sorry I got the name wrong, as I must have been thinking of 'pints' instead of 'prints!'

I figure if Steam Print made these models - and they do look good - then someone has actually tackled the project. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I am hoping to learn from those that were first, second, and third through the door! 

[Dr Al]

Shapeways servers appear to have collapsed under the load - clearly a lot of folk are buying now to beat the hike.

Cheers,
Alan

[njee20]

My order (admittedly only for 3 things) has been dispatched less than 48 hours after ordering, that's definitely a new record.

I give Shapeways a year.

[Snowwolflair]

It looks like small items are being fitted into fast batches when they have space.  Bigger stuff I have on order is 25 days out and I won't pay the accelerated manufacturing charge.

[njee20]

Delivery scheduled for tomorrow apparently.

Yeah all my bits were small, a class 90 bodyshell the biggest. Even so, I never order big things and usually wait far longer than that. May just be they've optimised their 'batching', but I'll wager it's more to do with a lack of orders!

Still, I'm not complaining!

[Newportnobby]

My order (admittedly only for 3 things) has been dispatched less than 48 hours after ordering, that's definitely a new record.

I give Shapeways a year.

A year!?! I'd be very disappointed if stuff took a month to arrive

[RailGooner]

11 items ordered very late on the 29th. 10 are in production, with one still processing. The large volume of the order will garner greater priority if I understand their processes correctly.

[Snowwolflair]

Just sent by email from shapeways

Dear Shop Owner,

After reviewing some members' pricing comparison csv reports, we have determined that we have a flaw with how our new algorithm is calculating the price of certain types of models using Fine Detail Plastic (FUD).

We will be extending grandfathered pricing for all existing products using Fine Detail Plastic (FUD) until we fix this issue. We expect this to take a few weeks.

Once we determine it is fixed, we will provide an additional week for impacted members to download their new pricing comparison csv files before rolling out the changes and removing grandfathered pricing for this material.

All other materials will change over on Feb 4th, as previously announced.

Thanks very much to everyone who contributed their csv file reports to us enabling us to pinpoint and address the issue.

Sincerely,
Shapeways

[Doc Pye]

So does that mean only items already on Shapeways will not be affected; with new items subject to price changes on 4 Feb 2019???

[Snowwolflair]

The question is what is the situation for newly listed items which have the new pricing already?

I think the FUD has hid the fan.