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I’ve been trying to figure out pricing. It’s a difficult task, as I want to get many orders but make money and not lose it.

I find that removing support materials is annoying or time consuming or both. I don’t know - is the standard to leave the support material attached? I can remove them for an extra price.

I have to chart out the cost of consumables, other than filament, and figure that into cost. With a Stratasys, that can be expensive. But it is a very accurate machine.

As it is an accurate machine, it is unlikely that there will be misprints. But as material cost and time in the printer increase, the cost of a failure goes up. I am trying to judge what is a failure, which I’d have to cover the cost of, and what is a ‘minor imperfection’ which the customer should accept, unless they pay more for insurance of perfection.

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Good questions, and similar to what I have been wondering. Is there a previous business model to what we are doing? I suppose we are almost in the role of blacksmiths a hundred years ago, fashioning objects for customers. Unfortunately, I know nothing of how blacksmiths conducted their business. :slight_smile:

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Also I assumed that you are using an FDM printer. Most of what I wrote still applies but you may want to check what the guidelines/standards are for the printing method you are going to provide.

Also 3D Hubs has a nice tutorial on how each pricing feature works: https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/feature-update-hub-pricing

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@Andromeda,

Hi, I totally understand how you feel. I recently started my hub and pricing was the most difficult aspect of the getting started.

I am still learning and adjusting my pricing. I recommend you take your time and not rush into it. Here are some tips I can think of in hind sight:

1. Check out your competitors pricing. You can upload a sample print (downloaded from Thingiverse) and see how much they charge.

Pay attention also to how long they take to complete the order (some take 1 business day other can take 5 etc…) this will typically be represented in their pricing.

2. Convert your filament cost to the cost per cm^3. This can be done if you know the density of the filament (material) and the cost per certain unit of mass typically per kg. This way you can figure out how much material will cost you per job and determine a minimum pricing set point (below which you start to make losses). You can also take into account financing of your 3D printer, electricity costs, and labor (for your time to setup/clean up etc) per unit time per job. Excel is your friend for this.

3. Once you figure out 1) and 2), you can now consider your pricing strategy. Typically, you will find there are different pricing tiers for Hubs. You will see 1-2 in a relatively low tier and 3-4 in the moderate price range and then some at the high end. You typically want your profit margins to be at least x5 your cost. This takes into consideration that the print will fail, and even if it fails 3 times you can make a small profit. You can also play around with the initial startup cost. You can set it to low (1.25) to be competitive or you can set it higher (20.00) to get serious orders (if you are getting too many orders or want bigger clients). You can also take into consideration your consumables cost in the startup cost.

In January (2017) 3D Hubs updated it’s guidelines for FDM printing and now you have to remove supports before you deliver the part. Typically, Hubs include this free of charge. But you can make it explicit on your Hub that you will charge for extra support material and removal if the part requires a lot of supports. You can also charge extra if clients want more infill % (more than 20%) and perimeter/shells (default is 2). Etc… You can also offer post processing techniques (sanding/filing) at an extra charge.

In terms of print failures, as part of the newly updated guidelines your prints should have a dimensional accuracy of 1mm or (+/- 1%) whichever is more.

So as long as you removed the supports as much as possible (reasonable) and the part is within the dimensional margin of +/- 1mm you should be good.

Also there should not be any obvious defects like large blobs on the print, or layer shifting etc… A good rule of thumb would be to ask your self if you would be happy with the part. If the answer is yes, then it should be good to go.

If you are just starting your business, you will want to get traction by starting out at slightly lower prices than your competitors and offer a really fast turn around time (1-2 business days). Once you have a 10-20 orders and you are at the Intermediate rank on 3D Hubs, you can start to raise your prices to the what your competitors are charging. Then you need to think about what will make your Hub stand out? Maybe you can offer a faster turn around time than the other hubs (1-2 days instead of 3-5), maybe you offer cheap local delivery, or maybe you offer some materials your competitors don’t have.

In terms of rankings in the search result, having returning customer can help boost your rank. Also I think once you have more orders with positive reviews you naturally progress on the search results. Although 3D Hubs has not been totally transparent as to all the factors that are in play for the search results.

When you start out, your reputation is all you have! It’s is super important to make sure your clients are satisfied beyond a doubt. You will want to get a 5 start reviews for all your jobs. You can filter potential negative customers by vetting orders before you accept them. Declined orders cannot leave you a bad review. Communication is key, get to understand how flexible they are on the completion date, what the part is going to be used for, and what type of quality they are expecting (resolution). Also make sure you take a close look at the design. Generate the gcode for the object and use the print preview function to check if there are any hidden features (like internal cavities/complex geometries which will make printing it more challenging).

Finally, be sure to take care of yourself, starting a business can have a toll on you not just by taking up more of your time but also mentally. If you feel that you are being overwhelmed (bad review or too many orders causing stress), you can take your printers offline and take a break. You can also change your pricing model to make it more profitable for you (and usually reduce the quantity of orders). Also don’t forget, 3D Hubs has a really fast support team, so if you ever have any questions be sure to send them an email/contact them.

I wish you all the best on this (ad)venture you are about to start it.

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I think blacksmiths had a guild which fixed rates. So, yes, I am not eager fir a return to that system.