Shapeways sad news

[Peter_T1958]

It was announced that shapeways has filed for bankruptcy...  

https://3dprint.com/311136/shapeways-executives-resign-as-3d-printing-service-files-for-bankruptcy/

[finescalerr]

That surprises me. I thought more hobbyists would choose Shapeways than would buy a 3-D printer. Maybe fewer modelers are out there than I thought. -- Russ

[Stuart]

Wow, that's a shocker! They gave been my go-to for some of my more complicated 3D pieces.  Hope they can pull out of this.

[Ray Dunakin]

That's surprising, and unfortunate.

[Hauk]

I´m having mixed feelings about this.
In short, for me Shapeways lately have been about rising prices and falling quality.

Lately, I could get better prices and quality with a local hobbist  with a $ 3.000,- resin printer than with Shapeways.

There is an awful lot of modellers doing great stuff with their realtively  cheap printers. Many of them have 3D-printing as an hobby in itself.

I hope that Shapeways going belly-up will be a boost to home printing, and that it also  means more business for the smaller 3D-print based companies like Modelu and New Zealand Fine Scale.

I would love to hear Lawrenece´s take on this!
 

[Peter_T1958]

You are right about about the rising prices and falling quality. There are other companies out there that will do the same and do it even better!
But there is also another side, that will definetely be lost: their marketplace. This is/was a huge database for the modelers.
I also kept my shop there and had a small income each month. Obviously there were people that searched this database and found parts they needed. I don't think they will find them on another platform.

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

FWIW I did a costing on some railcar bodies some time ago.

The Shapeways price was huge.  I didn't (couldn't) go there.  A local supplier did a nice job for around 20% of the price ($100/unit and, sure, freight factored in a little).  The Chinese did the best job for around 20% of the local price ($20/unit).  Not only that, but they cleaned up the parts the first time around (which I did not want), so they redid them gratis to my requirements.  The technology used was broadly similar for all.  Shapeways was around 20x more expensive than my final supplier.

I love dealing with the Chinese.  It can be quirky, there's the odd communication breakdown and very occasional disaster, but on the whole very positive.

The ONLY thing Shapeways really had going for them was convenience.  There are others out there that offer similar for a LOT less.  Granted, convenience has a value, but not enough to keep Shapeways alive.

I never used their store - but there are other places you can sell models.

[Bernhard]

One advantage of Shapeways was the large selection of materials. I think it will be difficult for me to find a new supplier who can deliver at reasonable prices, especially for brass castings.

Bernhard

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

especially for brass castings.

Well I can probably help you there...