So, here’s an idea – much like the distributed manufacturing system for printed pulleys, why doesn’t someone set up a website business for RepRap parts? Here’s the outline of the business plan:
- A price could be set for a particular RepRap plastic part, depending upon size, complexity, scarcity, how many more are needed to make a full set, etc.
- People with RepRaps/Straps can register for an account and send in RepRap parts, and get their account credited for those parts.
- Ideally, the website would also have an area where you can print out a table of contents – with bar codes. That way the receiver could just scan the parts into their inventory – and verify the contents/quality later.
- People who send in parts are paid on a regular basis electronically.
- The site also contains a store where you can purchase an entire set of printed/molded RepRap parts – or perhaps just those ones you need.
- It would be quite handy if such a site also sold the various other parts needed for a RepRap – bearings, metal rods, electronics, fasteners, etc.
- I suppose the sets could be sold on a bid-style basis – and the parts paid for pro-rata. 1
This idea isn’t without it’s problems:
- How do you ensure a minimum quality in crowdsourced parts?
- Perhaps you could use a seller/rating system like BrickLink does for lego vendors?
- Why would someone buy/sell from a website like this rather than eBay?
- Well, eBay and Etsy each take about 3.5% with PayPal snagging another 3% or so. Assuming sales are handled through PayPal2 , you’re talking about basically 6.5% out of the seller’s end.
- Assuming you go with PayPal (3%) and you charge less than the 3.5% for eBay, you can probably attract buyers and sellers. The problem is once you’ve gotten this far, you’ve basically re-created eBay buy-it-now or an Etsy store. To succeed you’ll need to serve the market better or cheaper.
- As soon as RepRaps in the wild increase or demand for parts is met, won’t the bottom drop out?
- Quite possibly. A week ago Mendel plastic parts were selling for $450. 3 Today it looks like parts are going for about $300 or so. Then again, a set didn’t sell with a $200 reserve just a few days ago.
- How many sets have been sold on eBay anyhow? A dozen? Let’s say it was 20 sets at $450 each. 20 * $450 * 3.5% is $315.00. If 100 sets are sold at $300 with a 3.5% cut, that’s $1050. Neither of these amounts would not have been enough to entice me to code a RepRap sales site – but I’m a slow coder.
Tax would have to be paid by each person. 1 part would be taxed 3 times.
I agree, I think the bottom has already fallen out on price. With Isaac printing and being sold, Profound Devices getting closer, Makerbot Ramping up production, and the new family of cast parts… Finally those that want RepRap are getting the access they deserve.
In the end the Lasercut parts for a repstrap are +-250, and that will likely be the floor for RP Mendel pieces.
Not necessarily. You could:
(1) Have the parts sold on commission, so there’s only one actual transaction.
(2) Have the parts sold by each maker/seller.
The other points deserve it’s own post to follow…
It will settle out to about 50 to 100 dollars or so a set. That’s a reasonable and fair price. I’m still not clear why there has to be a business model. This isn’t like piracy or Fortune 500 business, this is a legitimate honest enterprise. Once the Makerbot monopoly is broken on the market place, things will get a lot better, a lot quicker than people can imagine.
(1) An open source monopoly is an oxymoron at best. There is no such thing.
(2) No one says there “has to be” a business around 3d printing, but this is a suggestion for how one might structure such an enterprise.
(3) I’m totally lost as to why a business model is set in a dichotomy against “honest enterprise.” Business models are for more than just piracy and Fortune 500 companies. Any business of any size, even down to a lemonade stand, requires some kind of planning.
(4) $50-100 a printed set would barely cover the plastic, wear/tear, and shipping on supplies! And, at that price I can’t imagine anyone would want to print parts. Even at $100 you’re talking about at least $30 in plastic, at least $5 to get the plastic shipped to you, 24 print jobs of 2-3 hours each, and at least 6 hours of human intervention if everything is going perfectly. During that time there will be a snag in plastic, an extruder clog/ooze, maintenance, and just random failures. You could easily burn through some other parts at the same time – idler wheel, insulating retainer ring, etc.
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I’m in!
I have had a makerbot for almost a year and a half, i got one from the second shipment. I’m 24 and getting out of the army in about 8 months. I am starting a security business in the DC area next year and this will be my second business.
Email me, I’m totally in.