Why My 3D Printing Business Failed, and How to Prevent it for Yours

[@omartabaza7561]

that thumbnail is laughably bad, I hope that's on purpose.

[@christophersfactory]

It wasn't, I only barely started my channel when I made this video, but now so many people have watched it that I'm scared to mess with something that's working

[@acrilly]

pin of shame

[@omartabaza7561]

@@acrilly Looks to me like he's just having a good laugh about it, since he is clearly one who can admit his mistakes.

[@mfeldheim]

Well it worked 😂

[@d4nr055]

@@christophersfactory Dont let the opinion of one person change what you felt was good enough at one point. It was enough to get me to click on your video along with 4 hundred thousand other people and then some. who tf is even omartabaza anyway??

[@donoteatmikezila]

Don't sell "3D printed stuff", use your 3D printer to make stuff you can sell.

[@andyking05]

Very good way to look at almost any business

[@fourfaces6674]

Excellent Point! I make stuff and I use my 3D printer to assist me in this process!

[@fourfaces6674]

I made a fragrance, and designed a special top with my 3-D printer. Top was designed to assist in sealing the fragrance .

[@shakya00]

Ironically true. People don't want to pay so someone print their STL file. People don't care about how your object was made either. 3D printers are just a tool to produce a product your customer is potentially interested in. Like every other production process

[@morphsquad]

Exactly, I have a 3D printing business and most people don't even know I 3D print the products. ​@shakya00

[@dsp4392]

Takes a great deal of confidence to share a failed business postmortem. Thanks so much for being this generous.

[@Ebani]

Actually it takes a youtube channel, at least if you want people to actually watch it. 🤷‍♂

[@just2draw]

Agreed. Good on him. 👍

[@schmidtyyt]

The majority of this info applies to any selling. 3D printing, woodworking, jewelry...whatever your craft and/or art is. It's great stuff.

[@christophersfactory]

It applies to selling, and it's honestly what I have the most fun doing, too. Programming the stock ticker during COVID is, like, a core memory for me, because I had so much fun doing it.

[@Niceguy54444]

Nope, I am doctor and ppl dont care about price. They have cancer, and will pay any price for it

[@Sbensonn]

@@Niceguy54444 People don't care about price because they're going to get sick or potentially die. Healthcare is a necessity not something you buy on Etsy. Not even sure why you're comparing something like healthcare to selling an 3D print on Etsy.

[@99897767]

@@Niceguy54444 medical care is free here

[@Niceguy54444]

@@99897767 are you naive or stupid? if you have cancer you need special drugs that are not funded by the health service

[@RebelCowboysRVs]

The Paradox of Choice... Also known as Choice Overload. As you add more color options, you actually make it harder for people to chose. Many people not buying because they could not chose. And the one that do chose, second guessing themself causeing them to be less happy with the purchase. So by offering less choice, you actually get more sales an happier customers.

[@christophersfactory]

Exactly! I was a little surprised by the comments how many people didn't understand / didn't agree with this. Especially when a product has, like, twenty colors listed, it makes the product appear cheap and common.

[@grassroots9304]

Well said. I run across this myself with products I'm interested in. That there're too many color choices isn't precisely the problem, it's minor feature differences. Do I need the "regular" unit or the "plus" model unit? Websites listing 10 or 20 different models with no clear-cut defining feature list to help zero in on which unit is the one which will do what I want. Like trying to pick peanut butter which, while slightly humorous, isn't meant to take away from the seriousness of the problem of "choice overload": is creamy okay? Do I need crunchy? Will crunchy be crunchy enough or do I need extra crunchy? Natural, un-natural, no-oil separation natural? AIGGH! Screw it...SPAM for dinner. In the case of products like these I usually just get "option overload", get grumpy and frustrated, and buy nothing.

[@zoltanbiro6388]

I think it's not that dead simple. Ikea has lot of very customizable furniture and it works

[@MorrellPrinting]

@@zoltanbiro6388 Actually Ikea is a great example of this. They convince you that buying a system (which only comes in 3-4 colors, btw) will fulfill all your hopes and dreams of modular storage. You can always buy more parts later to add on, so you buy the main piece first every time. I've thought about this every time I shop there and think to myself "boy, I wish XYZ cabinet came in Red (or whatever)" ... they could easily offer it in red, but they didn't to avoid too many options.

[@meganheartswell]

​@@zoltanbiro6388one thing Ikea does is have items people aren't intended to buy. It's a middle option that makes people upgrade to a more expensive option. So it looks like three options but only really two are practical to buy. Ikea does all sorts of stuff to make you buy more. It's interesting

[@ColbyBallew-oo9rk]

Have always enjoyed the honesty of someone telling why you should consider not doing something, instead of trying to sell you on why you should.

[@gadcad3d]

As a shop owner, I can't stress how important it is to find something niche at the intersection of your hobbies/interests. Not only will it let you enjoy the work, you'll almost certainly end up with a better product! I am extremely grateful for the open source make community that has allowed this hobby to flourish over the last decade, but, from personal experience, you have to be careful about distributing designs/models for any of your products. Even if you add a non-commercail attribute, you could end up spending hours trying to get violators delisted and likely won't get any financial restitution for the trouble. Essentially, don't share something unless you're willing to let it go.

[@crawlersncustoms]

Watched until the end and want to add my experience: Christopher is spot on. If you're going to buy a printer as a tool, you'll want to design and produce your own parts. With that being said, I started with my own designs mostly because I wanted to make them for myself. I started to show them on social media and other people wanted them as well. That's how my business started towards the end of 2020. Early in 22 I left my full time job of 17 years and am now self employed. I spend most days on fusion designing my own parts while fulfilling orders with parts I produce on my 7 printers(I still need more). Later this year I'm hoping to pick up my first SLS printer. It's worth noting I also use the printers to prototype parts that I then have manufactured in more traditional methods(CNC machining). Without adding in other skills and areas of expertise, buying a printer to produce products designed by others is almost guaranteed to end in failure.

[@ausaskar]

Yeah, it sounds like most of your business is on the computer modelling side and the 3d printer is just a tool to translate that work into a physical product. Which is how it should be, no carpenter sells a "wood sawing service" where they go around and cut wood for people with a circular saw, they use their subject knowledge to create completed products to sell.

[@Graham_Wideman]

@@ausaskar a "wood sawing service" -- hahaha. Well there are certainly guys with chainsaws that you can hire to apply their wood-sawing service to your trees!

[@ausaskar]

@@Graham_Wideman lol I guess my analogy was a bit flawed!

[@Sbensonn]

@@ausaskar Unless you're a scummy dropshipper.

[@EricLaspe]

@@ausaskarI think the analogy holds up. A guy with a chainsaw is a commodity. Even if wielding a chainsaw requires *some* skill, it probably falls into the category of unskilled labor.

[@ziddy1478]

Your right, selling 3D prints on their own is saturated and unprofitable. Once you start mixing 3D printing with woodworking, electronics, and other skills, then thats when it starts making sense again

[@daitedve1984]

Print. Put inside an arduino. Paint. Throw away. 🤣🤣

[@stickyfox]

If you can buy a printer, turn it on, and make a part, you're not going to make money selling that part. If you can design the part and the process to make it, that's where your niche is, and when the rabble figures out how to do what you do, you stop doing that and focus on the things that make you money. It's the same with lasers and CNC milling centers and lathes and EDM. Turnkey operations pay jack. People generally pay more for things made by crafters, not mass produced junk that can be made by machines... and 3D printers are really not suited for mass production.

[@plausible_dinosaur]

Though bear in mind the competition is always ramping up. I used to sell £5,000 a month through ebay, a few years later I now have more products and sell £600 per month.

[@morphsquad]

Exactly, that's what I did. ​@stickyfox

[@maladyofdeath]

Except people steal your designs

[@Kalvinjj]

When I made my 3D printer I never intended it to be a money maker, instead I made it as a tool for my own prototyping needs, where wood and hand cut sheet was not enough anymore. Ended up showing it off for an internship and got the job, and it ended up paying itself on engineering projects by machine-hours and full rent of the machine itself. Definitely didn't expected it, but was quite welcome. A few real usage prototypes are out in the wild now made by my machine.

[@christophersfactory]

There you go! I think that’s the way to do it. Mine has ended up paying for itself, but I don’t think it’s proper to purchase one with that expectation. If it does, though, great!

[@freakinccdevilleiv380]

Showing off some project is excellent to get into a job, I did this too when I finished uni and it was awesome.

[@tysk5729]

i never expected it to sel stuf either😂 just saw it as a tool

[@SneakyJoeRu]

I invested into a bambulabs printer because I felt limited by my old ender style printer. I did it for myself. And my wife who's a craftswoman. But I still hope to start selling things I print with it at some point. So far couldn't even sell my old stuff

[@jerryboics9550]

Well played.. An old boss with little tech knowledge thinks you're a magician but doesn't realize a child could do it..

[@rickseiden1]

As someone who has creative commons designs on Thingiverse, if you download, print and sell my designs, I'm fine with that, even if I don't get credit or money for it. That's what creative commons is, and if I had a problem with it, I would have chosen another license. I always try to include not only the printable file, but also the design file itself. I hate it when I find something that is almost perfect, and I have to make a little tweak to it, but all I have is the STL file. That's a pain in the butt, and never really works right. So I always include a STEP and F3D file in my downloads if I can (I may not have in the past), and I always release using creative commons.

[@cheesestickfpv6162]

Yea I don't think he understands what open source licensing is and how it can be leveraged and is leveraged in business models all over the world.

[@Christopher_Gibbons]

Nah man you got it all wrong. The flexi dragons and cute toys are by far the biggest sellers. You just have to sell where your products belong. The internet is where you buy solutions. You want to sell to the intersection of novelty, and a captive audience. Sell toys at crafts fairs. Target bored kids that have been dragged around by their parents. Then once the kids are entranced with the rainbow fidget toys, you sneak around back and get dad with the small parts trays. If you wanna go after mom, you are going to have to learn to paint your prints. Succulent planters are an easy sell. P.S. Remember the magic words: "Everything here is made entirely from US grown corn derivatives."

[@greatrespect1549]

Your conversation skills are really great. I dont even own a 3d printer, still I watched this video till the end. Great video.

[@UncleJessy]

Wow! This is a fantastic video for people considering jumping into this with your honest feedback/experiences. It 1000% can be a massive headache. This fall (which is typically my busiest time of the year) I dialed it back a lot. I for sure could have made a good bit more money if I didn't but the time/mental worry of getting prints done & out / returns etc was just easier by limiting sales a bit

[@christophersfactory]

Totally agreed. For me, my price of inconvenience is higher than what I was earning. A lot of people, I think, underestimate the requirement of being on-call to make products for customers at all times. Sure, it can be very fun, rewarding, and profitable, but it's not without its fair share of headache. Cheers, friend, thanks for the comment

[@Punx2lit]

uncle jessey commented ❤

[@____Daniel____]

you need to do something like that as well uncle Jessy :D , i love the part about fees - no one talks about that!

[@NicoleHam]

the 3d print GOAT!! I'm so happy you knew your limit, like you got the space now to re-calibrate and take it easy. no use in forcing high sales and printing high volume. nice

[@colinmcintyre1769]

10 out of 10 advice I appreciate how you seem to share everything factually, but in a motivational way.

[@blackredroll]

Great tips for those considering entering 3D printables market. I've been selling my things for 1.5y now. All models were designed by me for me and then I realized that there could be interested in those too, as there were no such things on market. Although I've got bigger items, so longer to print and more expensive, I found that those small and so cheaper ones sell the most. It also keeps you more exited if you sell item often, say daily than once per month. Good tip about colors, the less the better. Important tip is to design thing to eliminate need for supports and so time for post processing. An item can be instantly shipped out once printed. Keep big enough stock of items bigger than regular demand, in case someone decides to buy more than usual buyer. It's.also worth considering selling digital files of your models in case selling printed versions it too much of hassle, e.g. requires lot of time to print or assemble, or demand is not that big. Last tip, at first print up to 3-5 items to probe if there's demand for it. Generally, I treat selling as extension of my 3D modeling and printing hobby that gives me fun, satisfaction and some, but not significant money, compared to my salary.

[@NicoleHam]

I have still not 'succeeded' as a small business making prints/prototyping my own stuff, but I got (both) my printers for the sake of figuring out the craft and eventually moving to making castings in other materials after many years of being a fairly ok financially 2d artist. This is a super neat video on what to expect, and I learned a lot in my (now approaching 2 years!) quest to just make fabricated stuff. I think your comments on the market over-saturation hold true, especially when selling in spaces like reddit or tik tok- people who are aware of 3d printing will ask your for an stl before they buy your physical prints. but my history in selling 2D art seems to hold true; and I've learned to always do 'you'. dont waver and make comprimises just to fit into a market, and your stuff will stand out. IE - instead of stating your pieces are 3d prints, paint it, varnish it, or make a casting in a much different material and sell it like a manufacturer would sell a toy release. Be creative with your marketing, do photoshoots, get pics of your work in other people's hands. When yougo to art schools and have critiques, you have to establish why you do certain things when you present a piece in a gallery setting- selling online is no different. Make your prints a series, make them unified colors, make monthly designs that have your own spin in a classic item. Things take a little finesse to get there, and I really hope I can expand on my small biz ideas soon! Also as an artist and freelancer, seriously stay curious, keep tabs on what people are doing, ask other sellers questions out of earnest, so many people are willing to help. Anyway, awesome and transparent video. Thanks for sharing 💕

[@medicshark]

thank you for sharing as well! I finally got a 3D printer myself (I also come from an artist background) so I'm hoping to start selling stuff eventually!

[@Redo3D]

you're easily becoming one of my favorite channels when it comes to 3d printing advice. Absolutely agree with everything you said here. I run my 3d printing shop with 20 printers. The hardest part is building your foundation, your workflows, and having everything well organized and automated. Once you have that and youve improved your workflow, the money gets easier. Everything you make needs to have a standard that all of your products follow. If you try to make too many different things that arent easily integrated into your established workflows, you're going to have a hard time keeping up. Once you have your formula down, and your "factory" set up, its easy! Getting to that point is the hard part but so worth it.

[@christophersfactory]

Hey, I love to hear it! Twenty printers, wow! That's quite the setup. Totally agreed, once your operation becomes big enough, you need to run it similarly to a traditional factory. Optimization and efficiency! Thanks for the comment, glad you're enjoying my content. Cheers, friend

[@Derederi]

​@@christophersfactory can you not patent your product? Would it still be copied?

[@NackDSP]

If you plan to use a 3D printer for a business, you likely need twice as many printers as you think. You also need printers with high quality Japanese 80,000 hour bearings. If you have only one printer, you have one or zero working printers at any given time. I bought Monoprice printers to start with and found I was repairing them all the time as these printers were built with the lowest cost lowest spec Chinese made bearings and motors. My first fan motor failed after only 100 hours of use. Other bearings and motors failed started failing one at a time shortly after that. Prusa now uses Japanese bearings and that is the lowest end printer I would touch for a business.

[@GregShaw]

A very nice honest video there Christopher. I myself got into 3D printing to build things that I wanted. Over the space of the first year and learning how to fix all those 3D printing 'issues' (This was the pre Bambu era) I started to learn 3D CAD software and started remixing other designs and then moved to making my own from scratch. I had some simple designs liks clips and more complex design such as telescope mount brackets and other astrophotography accessories. After the first year of selling I paid off the 3D printer and all the 'upgrades' to it and it's been continuing ever since, where the side hustle has made the original cost of everything several times over. I think Etsy fees are ridiculous and decided to use eBay to get going, the fees are more transparent with eBay. After 2 successful years I plan to move to my own online store but will still keep the eBay store going so that the products are in several places.

[@joeking433]

Trying to sell 3D prints is like trying to mine gold, the real way to be successful is to sell picks and shovels. ;)

[@stinkyham9050]

When I got my first large printer for hobby interests I tried making money with it. I realized almost immediately that it wasn't worth it. You can't really sell prints for much and you have to put in a lot more time then you think. For those who have figured out how to make it pay my hats off to you but for me I'll make a lot more money just going to work and pulling some overtime.

[@charlesgraves2147]

my experience exactly.

[@WhiteWolfos]

Since I can't find a job yet I just hustle through printing. I don't make like half of minimum wage yet but I put lots of hours everyday to have for food and rent for the space after the running costs. In that aspect a regular job is way better and less commitment than this.

[@jazztheglass6139]

Same problem I had with a large giclee printer, lost a lot of cash

[@daitedve1984]

Key point is what you print! Obviously you shouldn't print any plastic sht, which is sold by typical chineese shop for $0.1; :) Unique, niche item is the key. Say, some company makes "door lock" prototype. For start they barely will order 1000 boxes from china factory. And... here you are! :) You can do job for 'em, making 1-5 samples and you CAN charge for these samples enough money.

[@percyblok6014]

Better off printing for people that don't already have a printer. Lots of times people will purchase the file and can send to you to print out. Of course this makes more sense for local customers.

[@sirenamichelle]

Etsy charges the shipping fee whether you print the label with them or not. It’s how they got around people lowering their prices on the item and putting it in the shipping price. So they started charging a percentage of the shipping.

[@christophersfactory]

Toward the end of the video, I welcomed everyone who had an opinion that might differ from mine to share it in the comments, so that 3DP shop hopefuls can get a wider range of experiences to form their opinions from. Everyone has really showed up, thank you for that! This comment section has become a trove of useful information, and I highly recommend you read others' opinions in it. :)

[@En_theo]

The legal part is the most interesting. If people ask you to print Batman statues, I'm pretty sure DC can sue you. Since I'm no lawyer, I may be wrong but it would really surprise me if it was the case.

[@psychospartan3007]

I wanted to buy a 3d printer to create 1:1 ratio sculptures and sell it for thousands

[@nicecriminal6150]

Great job bud.

[@widowmaker7831]

@christophersfactory Hey you showed up on my feed so I decided to take a look, to any of you with 3d printers I'd like to make a suggestion. I am a mechanic and I find one of the most annoying things is when fasteners break they do so quite frequently and usually the only place to buy anything that will work to replace them is the dealership which is huge mark up in price if they have fasteners for the car your working on. Also those annoying wire clips and ends, what I am getting at here is there is a market for this stuff as lots of it is hard to find anywhere. I have always thought of getting a 3d printer just to avoid the hassle of needing to replace things like this. I see your etsy shop expenses may be not the right place to sell this kind of thing but maybe you could offer services via online forums and boards dedicated to repairs, There are probly tons of other things like this where having a 3d printer would save so much time and headaches. GL

[@lindamuvic8110]

Spot on, and informed.

[@FCWW87]

I also have an Etsy shop. I made another comment, but I wanted to point out the biggest trap that I fell in to; and that is selling something that you don’t have made yet. It seems smart to wait until you have an order to make something, however, that means you are on Etsy’s “countdown to ship” clock and that is stressful! Once I started to only sell things I had already made, my life got a LOT easier. And doing it that way has the added benefit of allowing you to make things that are fun for you to make (not things that must be made because you have a customer waiting for it.).

[@scaledoctors7033]

I just discovered your channel and subscribed! You have great content and are very well spoken. I've used 3D printing at work since the mid 80s. We called it rapid prototyping. When they started being called 3D printers, it made them sound like plug and play devices that just kick out cool parts at the press of a button. The machines are getting better, but it takes a lot of knowledge to get good, consistent parts from them. I went the expensive route by designing my own product and having tooling made (injection molds and stamped metal parts). It was very expensive with almost no profit on the first batch of 1000 units. Until you start making 10s of thousands of parts does the tooling pay for itself. I'll never get there and I thought my product was done after the first batch runs out. Then I decided to redesign it being all 3D printed parts that I can make myself. It's got me very excited about 3D printing again. My current printer is great for creating prototype parts in PLA but won't cut it for production quality ASA/PETG or nylon parts. I'm in the process of building a Voron to handle all of the part manufacturing. I'll be watching your channel to see what else you come up with. I think you have a bright future ahead of you!

[@christophersfactory]

Wow, that's very interesting, thanks for sharing! By comparison, I bet 3DP from the 80's *do* make modern 3DP seem like plug-and-play, haha. Sometimes it's still trippy, even to me, that I can press a few buttons before going to sleep and waking up with a large, finished piece for use in a project the next day. That's really interesting about the injection molding and stamping. Those are processes that fascinate me, but the barriers to entry are a little high for me to do anything with now. Sounds like you're having a fun time with 3DP! I'd love to see some of what you create in the future as well. Thanks for the comment and the very kind words. Glad you're here :)

[@lasimek]

One of the best videos I've seen here. Thanks for your honesty.

[@SergVargas]

That tissue comparison hit home for me. Learned it the hard way. Spent days on a design. Came home after work and stayed up for hours working on it multiple nights on end. Just for someone to say I was charging too much for the tool and someone took maybe 1 hour and copied it. Of course mine was substantially better, but just like you said nobody cared.

[@daitedve1984]

Above own efforts you should count one more thing: people are ready to sacrifice quality level in the favor of price. Titan clothes-peg definitely has better quality, but by price $200 per peg barely you'll find customers. 😆 So plastic/wood peg loses in quality, but strongly win in price. So THEY are also right when they speak about your high price - they know cheaper solution.

[@nickysantoro9194]

In aa way all 3d printing is copying g other peoples stuff.if it was truly original, it wouldnt fit anything.

[@marcosalazar7919]

As a business student who did the same he explained it fantastically, not only the business of it as well as explaining the market from suppliers side and demand side

[@mogsyman]

I bought a 3D printer during lockdown and designed items to hold Bluetooth tags, not to sell but for me. I thought I’d see if others would be interested and 18 months on the product sells worldwide, all day, everyday. I sell on eBay, Amazon and Shopify. I obviously can’t and won’t say the name here but for me it’s been worthwhile. I also got into the gaming industry and that’s doing really well. My advice would be work hard, work smart, don’t try and print too quickly, buyers like quality and you don’t get quality and speed, it just doesn’t happen. Anyway, enough ranting - great video and many wise words spoken.

[@____Daniel____]

how did you end up into gaming? blender maybe? thanks

[@Lone.Willow]

I gotta say, man, you are an extremely articulate speaker. This was a brilliantly concise video. Every line you spoke was intelligent, articulate, and helpful. Wonderful work, I hope you gain a lot of popularity.

[@danielday6755]

Was thinking about making 3d printing a side hustle. I had not considered this point of view. And I agree with it. And I think I will just keep it a hobby that I love. You saved me a lot of time and money, thank you. You gained an new a new subscriber! Keep up the great work.

[@Andrew-zs5tc]

Great video and great points. The trick to business is to identify a market that is not currently being addressed that you can have a competitive advantage. If you are into classic cars, as an example, and it is extremely difficult to find a particular part that you can make. Make it and sell it to that community. Immediately look for the next need that you can address. Ideally in the same community you have already begun to build a market. Assume that either you will satisfy the need or someone bigger or cheaper will come along and take over.

[@TerryMurrayTalks]

An excellent honest explanation of how difficult it is to start a business with some very helpful advice for the 3D printing community. Its good to see decent people putting their wisdom out there for the benefit of others.

[@wickedlee]

I run a 3d printing business and I completely understand where you're coming from. I do not sell on Etsy however, so don't have to pay their ridiculous fees, so a $20 week is a $20 week. The thing I've noticed more than anything (apart from everyone ripping off Thingiverse files) is the sheer amount of what I call 'idea' theft. I've seen loads of other sellers make MY products, and I know they are my products because I'm the one who invented them. Now they pop up on Ebay and Etsy all the time. Unfortunately this is just the way the world works. I'm sorry your business failed. I hope you find something that works for you. Keep moving forward mate :)

[@Yurikan]

I don't even like etsy as a buyer because of the idea theft. It is like having the reviews and feedback of a product under a disorganized file system, with no real standard in production either. The only choice I have is to eat the risk and buy a cheaper item first to test both shipping and quality.

[@benjaminkappler8240]

I wouldn't consider your business as failed. You had fun, made some money and when it became too much of a hassle you simply closed up shop. I bet you still 3d print things on your own for fun. Which is what I believe these printers should ultimately be used for! Thank you so much for offering the cons to the business option of 3d printing. There are so many other videos sharing only the positive; you you can make $5k - $20k a month selling 3d printed items! 😆. Maybe 1% of the people do.

[@k-lab]

Totally agree with you man. Had a somewhat similar experience with Fiverr, I was selling my 3D print design and consulting services and I was selling them cheap in hope to find a returning customer with more complex and interesting projects. But the most of my customers had crappy problems to solve, had to have them solved promptly and of course the money that I got in return were completely unproportionally low to the effort I had to put in. Thankfully this got me involved in some bigger projects, so maybe this should be the ultimate goal of selling stuff for cheap :)

[@marlonlacert8133]

I just charge people by the amount of filament used. And for Time and power. got my 3-D printer to make my own ideas real.. But some people wanted me to print for them.. I they provide the .stl files I will print if I can.. Ever dime I did make went back into more filament.. Oh ya, I kept breaking my wires to my heater bed.. And since I print only in ABS... I had a big problem.. After the 5 break, I invented a new system that will never break a wire again.. As in it now has zero flexing wires for the heater bead! I will post a short video on this soon. If I find no problems with it.. Worked for ten prints so far.

[@ash7324]

The point about not scalping but developing your own proprietary designs for products is so overlooked but so crucial. Anyone who actually looks for 3D printing things online develop a sixth sense for these simple flips of CC models because you see the same core of crap on multiple sites, and its an optic that tarnishes. If a store sells a bit of dross it throws the entire product range into question. When you hit on a store that develops their own products it’s such a breath of fresh air and you can tell there’s more consideration in the products. The part about stacking your skills to create more utility is also a great point.

[@archime314]

100% agree on this. Unfortunately designs that people make that provide utility (are not art), must be patented to protect them. So by releasing on STL sites, technically you have publicly disclosed the design. So even if someone doesn't download your file and print and sell it, they can use that information to design one of their own/similar. So be careful releasing STL's if you plan on patenting, get the design patent first. I'm very reluctant to share STL files of anything and prefer people to purchase the products I design and fabricate myself.

[@markhamilton8765]

It’s nice to see someone smart enough not to get roped in by the sunk cost fallacy. Good for you!!

[@crafthappylife]

If you only sell online, things like the fidgets can be successful, but I agree that anyone with $10 a month, can have a commercial license. Where I think you missed the ball in my opinion is not mentioning in person sales. In the past year, I have done 4 events. The first one my fee was $250 and made $2600 in sales over 3 days. Second convention, $4,200 in sales with a $250 fee, and $250 air BNB (was out of town). Third event was a small 4 hour one at a local library no fee to be vendor and made $520 in 4 hours. The fourth event was 2 days, $250 in fees, and $2,602 in sales. So between 4 events, 8.5 days of selling, I had $8,922 in sales after fees. My average profit margin is 80-90%. This was still $7,137 at worse. I also get to monitor my print farm of 10 printers while I am working from home for my regular job.

[@piled3dprinting]

What do you sell?

[@crafthappylife]

@@piled3dprinting Mainly 3d printed fidget toys. Dragons, little critters, etc.

[@SI0AX]

@@crafthappylife You basically sell the least money making stuff the OP said made his business a failure, but I see you did a trick with it. You developed a community and make money off the events, which is pretty ingenious! I'm thinking about heading that route as well. Open up a 3D printing shop were I sell 3D printers, filaments and teach live courses for a fee.

[@crafthappylife]

@@SI0AX Thanks :). I get a lot of business at events, give out my business cards, they can see the quality of my prints, then they will buy from my etsy later if I was out of stock at the event or if they need more later :). That shop sounds awesome. I would love to work in a makerspace all day. DREAM job right there.

[@KurtzeTube]

The business term for “utility” is “added value”. And you are straight on point about that.

[@plasticcreations7836]

I bought a 3D printer around 6 years ago with the intention of selling items that I made with it. I didn't actually end up doing this for reasons that include ones that you mention in your video but mostly because I have a full time job and don't feel like I have enough time. I might end up doing it when I retire but for now I still enjoy making things for myself especially functional items for around the house.

[@shaikikbhalBasha]

thanks for sharing you journey

[@daitedve1984]

It's not a big deal, actually! You don't need to be home when machine buzzes, printing complex stuff. Just ask wife to load model and press "Start"! 😆

[@abovewongart]

This is one of the most educational video that taught me so much. Thank you so much for your wonderful points. I really enjoyed this video.

[@Anime_Empire_2.0]

Great video, I am part of the 3D print world myself I have tried to sell some of my 3D prints and have failed miserably, or just sell one print here and there, I think the key for success is to be unique and to be unique you have to build stuff from the ground up and that is something that requires a lot of knowledge, I recently purchased a brush gun kit that comes with a mall compressor and I been learning how to paint 3d prints professionally, and there is so much to learn when it comes to painting, also I'm learning how to use blender to create my own 3D models, once I get pretty decent on both I will start designing my own stuff and sell it Yes SIR!

[@KristjanS-Kristeh]

Dude heads up! You will make it! :) I thought my business will never gain momentum when i started 3D printing about 8-9 years ago. But i was always aiming at different markets than what you describe in your videos. I always wanted to stay away from repetitive mass produced parts and focus on industrial and car oriented target consumer. This means small batch productions, prototyping, complex parts, ETO parts, one-offs, parts for old-timer cars (parts that are hard to obtain or nasty expensive to buy new). One of the reasons why i didn't want to pursue into mass producing and selling parts is because you need advertisement... and that costs money. Just like you explained in the video fee here, fee there, fee this, fee that. i totally agree with you. And usually what i sell as my own designs made for pure fun but still have a use other than to look at it, i found Facebook marketplace the best.. its free, and it has enough people. :) So keep on the good work! Like your channel! subscribed.

[@SI0AX]

What you just described is exactly why I bought my 3D printer in the 1st place. I have a 1991 Honda CRX I bought for $1,100 and some parts exceed the value of the car! The sunroof gasket is a good example at more than $1,000! There were many little plastic parts that just don't exist anymore. I learned freecad and bought a Prusa to make the parts myself. I thought about running a 3D printing business about making car parts for the Honda, seeing that there is high demand for the parts in my local area in the Facebook classifieds when I tried to sell my CRX parts I didn't need because I was stripping the interior for welding in a race cage and saw how expensive the parts are and realized I was under selling it. It's nice to see someone with a positive experience in what I want to get into. I was discouraged till I read your comment! Thanks!

[@FixitEasyDIY]

Don't worry. KZbin will eventually start to pay you enough soon. Keep it up man!

[@slicedpage]

I remember seeing the falcon 9 model when I first started 3d printing and was so impressed by it. I thought, "How the heck was that printed?" Realising then and there what a sharp learning curve I was about to climb. It inspired me. Thank you

[@christophersfactory]

I thought the same thing when I first saw it! Seeing light diffusing through the white plastic was so awe-inspiring to me; I didn't realize at the time that 3D printer plastic could do that. Interesting that we had such a similar experience. Thanks for the comment, cheers :)

[@3DBearnicorn]

Great advice! I have an Etsy shop of my own and the fees portion is especially important. I have a small range of 3D printed products that I'll be removing and releasing to the wild because they truly aren't worth my time to create. If I had any advice to share, I would add that sellers should experiment with their product range and find products that work for them and their brand and also resonate with their customer base. Listings that don't attract customers might be more useful as free giveaways if they're cheap enough or as a way to build up points on a site like Printables.

[@ET_AYY_LMAO]

I have owned reprap style 3d printers since 2013 and I never really considered selling 3D printed products. I have sold souvenirs that I cast with metal alloys, but that was more a hobby and to see if it could be done (Photogrammetry of tourist attractions, then make a print, a mold and then castings). I agree with you completely, unless you have an actual product it doesn't make sense to print-to-sell. I have bought 3D printed products before, mainly customized magazines for my PCP air rifles (CARM-magazines) better than the original mags in every way.

[@jacobl2222]

Great video, extremely well articulated. I've toyed around with the idea of trying to make some sort of side-hustle out of my printer. But at the end of the day, I came to the same conclusion you warn about: the amount of profit you can likely expect is not worth the time commitment. At least for me. I'd rather sink my hours into passion projects I make for myself and friends/family, instead of tracking orders and dealing with customers.

[@AndrewAHayes]

I have 3 companies for whom I print products for on a continuous basis, it keeps 3 printers running constantly for 16 hours per day, I am happy keeping to just these commisions as I make a fixed amount of money with an excellent profit margin, I never intended to make a business of my printing, I just helped a friend and his employer out one day and it all stemmed from that when I pointed out that 3D printing could save them a massive amount of money over their existing injection molding solution and the massive cost of storing those tens of thousands of parts as there is a minimum order of the injection molding, they get my parts as they are needed with a small contingency in the stock profile, I deliver to my friend who lives a couple of miles away twice a week for one order and he takes them to work with him, the other commisions I deliver myself once a month which is much cheaper than a courier.

[@christophersfactory]

Hey -- that's awesome! Seems like the best things in business come about naturally, like your experience, whereas mine was forced and didn't do as well. Glad to hear your business is doing well and your printers are staying busy. Hope that continues for you in the new year. Cheers friend, thanks for the comment

[@pegren4724]

Great video! You are really well spoken which makes it super easy to listen and learn!!

[@solarpunk9994]

It can be embarrassing to share failures like this, but you're doing a great service to the community by teaching us how to avoid a similar fate

[@razorpit]

Spot on with all your points. Did not know how much Etsy takes. 🤯 THAT is the business to be in! 😂

[@PAGrunt]

Just bought a higher end 3d printer for the family. I dont plan on selling anything, and have it for my daughter to learn and for me to make things for work and around the house, but your advice/input was valuable. Glad i clicked on this

[@keldricharts]

Long comment here but I really wanted to share. I knew that getting a 3d printer was gonna be pricey and a hassle to maintain. But I always fell in love with the idea of making things. And I have met people in my town that also bought 3d printers and plan to use it as a business to print whatever the customer wants. And for me I decided not to go that route and just keep on making the things I like to create and only work on a commission basis with certain conditions. First condition was that I can print things from online sites if they aren't to be used as a product for a business. Second was that I only allow Custom designs to be made for hobbyists and professionals, whether it be tools, quick fix designs, or accessories. With that model I was able to earn my money back, and gain a bit of a reputation in our local community and most importantly satisfy both the customer and myself. Even though I didn't pursue my Mechanical Engineering degree, I found satisfaction in designing, creating, and applying. And to those other 3d printing businesses, their business was failing and they got rid of their printers (sad, I would have liked to buy them). So yeah, this video is true. You can't build this kind of business just because you got a 3d printer. You have to supply the demand and not make waste. Most importantly creating a community, connecting with people that have practical problems and trying to solve them with practical solutions.

[@imyourocd]

though I haven't done much yet still really learning fusions 360, the real magic of 3d printing is being able to bring your own idea alive, it gives the inventor a tool they never had before a chance to come up with something and maybe get rich off of the idea. but not from trying to sell from a PRINTING FARM just proof of concept to actual product, before 3d printers you would have had to pay a factory to bring your idea to life then test if it would work, so if you screwed up somewhere you were out 1000's on a prototype....

[@kenHD122]

I started watching this video thinking, what advice if you failed, but, what you said about having fun is something I must seek for, was the best advice I needed.

[@l8sh503]

Chris, your struggles are exactly my fears. When it comes to 3d printed objects, everyone expects lower prices also. This is why, despite owning more printers than I know what to do with, I'll hold off until I have a perfect product that has a big profit margin, high demand, and relative ease to assemble/make. Then you run into another issue. If it's easy to make and assemble, people will rip off your design and make their own. Hmm... there's got to be a better way!

[@POVgames]

Yup, absolutely everyone will undercut your prices until it’s not worth your time to sell it anymore

[@Ebani]

Which is why you don't just print 3d models but go the extra mile combining your other hobbys, e.g. if you're into figurines and know 3D modeling you can create your own models with their own poses, sure people can copy your best designs but do you think most will?

[@medicshark]

@@Ebani thats what im gonna do!! great advice btw :3

[@motasmagic]

congrats on the extra 41k subs... :P im just starting out in 3d print buisness and this is 2nd time i watched this very helpful ty. I hope you are doing well my friend

[@adscomics]

I think it’s also important to nail down the type of audience you wanna target. I’m really big into Gundam model kits, and I’ve been considering 3D printing and selling accessories and props to use with them, which could appeal to a more niche (like you said) audience that’s passionate enough about this hobby to wanna buy things like this to put with their kits. Hoping that works out if I decide to go thru with this.

[@adscomics]

Great video obviously. Subbed.

[@Tubeytime]

Absolutely diamond-tier info, can't thank you enough for sharing.

[@welbot]

It's weird how 3d printing is just quirky enough to have the potential to create anything you could possibly imagined, and yet be such a niche thing 😂 Definitely agree, don't do it unless you're going to be equally as happy doing it for yourself and making no money, as you would if you were making some money. I have narcolepsy and a bunch of other health issues, so there's really not a lot I can do for safety reasons. I receive a small pension, which is just enough to keep me fed and housed, so I started selling some digital 3d models for people to print online. Usually I print an example to show it too, but depends on my $. As much as I'd love to make more, anything I do get is a bonus, so I'll just keep hammering away and hope it grows. I reckon with the sales I've seen, if I had been in the mindset of actually trying to make a viable business of it, depression would set in and make things even worse. I think it really is important to approach it with the right context, otherwise you'd just be stressed and depressed all the time.

[@kordellgreen9794]

yeah my insomnia has and curiosity landed me in printing and i can t stop thinking about running a lil shop full time at home

[@welbot]

@@kordellgreen9794 I'd highly recommend starting out just part time with an online store first. If you have a stable job, don't give it up before you know you can sustain yourself with your printing related income first.

[@kordellgreen9794]

@@welbot I’ve been doing stuff for my family and freinds doing about 100-120 a week and working 40+ hour job to so not bad I’ll have it paid off in no time and prob get and ended 5 plus to go along with my super racer

[@mirsidorov5112]

Take pro and prebiotics with billions of bacteria daily, 500mg of magnesium threonate, 3-5 grams of omega 3, 1 gram of GABA before bed, turn off all devices 2 hours before bed (take a walk, read, listen to audiobooks etc.), and get 30 minutes of exercise daily (can be as simple as a walk). Your condition will improve dramatically. Im a Kinesiologist and Nutritionist, been helping people for 15 years with all sorts of stuff.

[@combativestelth6105]

I mainly got my 3D printer because I always wanted one. Now I got friends paying me for designs and coworkers. Using fusion 360 to create stuff and using it to make smaller toys for my kid. Also make seasonal decorations for the house. Don't care about the money. Just a fun hobby

[@Hedgewalkers]

Very good advice and very well done! Your video was concise, rational and compationate! You have quite a gift for communication. People want to hear what you have to say, I know I do. Keep making videos, you do the community a needed service!

[@zero00044]

I bought my first 3d printer thinking I could make some oney off of it. Gave up on that idea pretty quick. While I did make a few things that my co workers at my job wanted to buy from me, I had way too many print failures. Success rate for prints is like 10%. Probably an issue with a warped build plate or the firmware, which can't be updated because the company no longer supports that model. So it took too long to make 1 thing and I wasted way too much filament. Recently bought my first resin printer and have had so much more success with that. I've only had a few prints fail, but that's due to user error. Took some practice to relearn supports for resin prints and one failure was due to missing a piece from the last failed print that was still in the resin vat. Unfortunately I don't see myself making any money with my mars 3 pro resin printer. Resin is just too expensive. I see people online selling unpainted resin figures of copyrighted characters for hundreds. For a 12 inch figure. I wouldn't buy something like that at that price and i definitely wouldnt sell anything st that price either. I own a different kind of business now and i actually sell at a much cheaper price than anyone else in town. Like half the price, because i believe its a fair price. Plan on starting up a website this coming year besides my Facebook page to expand to the e-commerce market. Everyone keeps telling me to do etsy but they take a cut of the sale plus random fees, which means you have to raise your prices just to get the profit you want. Like he explained. Much easier to create my own site with a flat monthly management fee for $30. Most of my things are custom orders that are made to order. Also I might get a different filament printer sometime in the future. The elegoo Neptune 3 max looks promising. Same as the pro and plus but at the maximum size. Huge print volume. Just need to find a place in my apartment that I can put the monster lol.

[@WhiteWolfos]

Just be wary of resins and fumes. Spend a bit extra for safety (ventilation, clothing, etc). I had some accidental spills on my skin and I didn't know until I tasted it on a piece of fruit. Not too long after I was dealing with digestive issues and facial paralysis for several months(resin affects your nervous system). So yeah don't be like the old me and place the printers in the same room you sleep in lol. If you have a garage or dedicated work room that would be preferable. Avoid resin and alcohol fumes as much as possible.

[@alessandrocasol9499]

Thank you for sharing. I think si very hard to make a 3d print business where you sell your products on E Commerce White not offering services for companies or schools outside. Without some loyal big clients is very hard to make margins I guess

[@waynefilkins8394]

3:10 is the most important part of this video, along with the "utility" thing he talked about, which is similar to what I call "functional prints". Most things I plan to sell do something. They don't just look pretty. You can sell some stuff that looks good but once you add 1 actual type of functionality to it, your chances of success increase drastically. As for the thing he said about other skills like wood or metal working, another big thing you can do is whereas most people just want to print a block of plastic and throw it in the mail, I use the 3d printer to make pieces, combine those pieces with other pieces, both 3d printed and of other materials, metal for example, to create something more than just a piece of plastic. If I told you what my main product does you would be blown away. It's not a super high demand or functional product, but just the use case would truly amaze those printing busts or w/e other basic stuff. I have several containers of all different bolts, nuts, keychain ring things idk what they are called, double sided tape strips, mounting screws, sticker paper to print stickers on, bearings, epoxy, and a few other things and I'm just getting started.

[@hansihintersoos7581]

I agree 100%

[@TheEtbetween]

It’s called Value! In business! Like any business you need to make the right Product!

[@ez2automate]

I wonder how many sellers on Etsy have liability insurance? I had a product that included a couple of small RC servos without the electronics, just the servos. I was going to sell it on Etsy but decided not to because of the liability.

[@bishopdredd5349]

Respect for being so open and honest.

[@MagicZant]

I just started this 3d print bussines for jewelry, and i would like to say that im extremely happy with the results, im a 3d modeler so i can make any ring or jewel ring, and the modern casting system making it feel like printing real money for sure

[@TraeTheGreat]

I just bought my 3d printer for the same reason, could you help a brother out

[@MagicZant]

@@TraeTheGreat sure, what do you need?

[@TraeTheGreat]

@@MagicZant I just need to get started lol 😂 but seriously I want to start a 3d business around jewelry to, what printer do you use

[@MagicZant]

@@TraeTheGreat I use an Eleego Saturn 2, but any resin printer will work fine, i bought the saturn 2 beacuse the 8k screen, wich will provide a better detail on my school rings, but you can´t use the normal resin the printer usually uses, its a speacial resin "castable resin" there are a lot of types, i use Siraya Castable, is the counter part of castable wax used in jewelry, and it works the exact same way as the normal wax, but it can be printed in any LCD printer, the cast process is the same, i use a bump vaccum and 2 small ovens to make the gold go inside the resin mold, and the come perfect

[@gman9543]

Thanks for the video Chris. Bang on, on all counts. Things I would add: 1) Your time has value, don't work for free. If you're spending time doing order fulfillment or design, you need to factor that into your costs. 2) 3D printing is not really a mass-production technology. Things you create can take lots of hours to make. You need to factor that in into your workflow. 3) 3D printers are machines, and machines require maintenance. This requires parts which cost money and your time, so that needs to be factored in as well. If you're just starting out with 3D printing, I would get the printer to learn on. Then if you think you've got something to sell, start small and see there's a market for what you want to sell first. Let the market dictate your next moves.

[@emily36130]

I sell 3D printed model wind turbines. It's extremely niche, so I don't make much money off it, but I'm having fun doing it.

[@christophersfactory]

Wow, sounds like we could be alternate reality versions of each other! haha.

[@josotelo1334]

I love your personality, and ability to clearly convey your thoughts. 5 star video!

[@hoblon]

You know the funny part? The demand for the 3D-printed stuff for Ukrainian Army would blow your mind =)

[@kolyxix]

Thats a very interesting perspective. Do you mind explaining why? Can you give examples?

[@jsmith6599]

​@@kolyxixMostly drone parts, conversion kits for dropping grenades, whole purpouse-made FPS strike drones, parts for land-based drone platforms, etc. Same for Russian army - it is also supplied by civilian volonteers and small businesses where large military industry is lacking.

[@jonathanbinns5725]

Very true but it's all volunteer work not commercial, maybe mag loaders and individual props but the shells, grenades and fins in massive demand are not bought by the govt from individuals drukarmy( Google them) supply literally tons foc , still not enough.

[@vincenthernandez2242]

Thank you for this. I've been looking into buying a 3D printer for utilitarian purposes like a tool in my toolbox rather than a "money printing machine" so to speak. I had no plans on running a "3D printing business" but this is still good stuff to know

[@SkateSoup]

That stack of fees really reinforced my decision not to go that route. I got the printer to do something with another hobby that exists, but it's hideously expensive. With a friend who shares interest in that hobby, I came up with something simple for it that when I looked around didn't really exist. I tested interest with a vendor, and there was immediate interest from their customer base. I looked at Etsy to maybe get more margin per unit, but the logistics, customer handling, and everything else just didn't seem worth it. The retail price the vendor came up with was enough that I could just wholesale to that vendor and still make enough for it to be worth my time. 2 paid off printers later, I send them in batches so I'm not on a specific timeline and demand is enough that we're still on a "send as many as you can when you can" basis. I'm not min/maxing profit, but it's way easier on my sanity, and I can do production without interfering with my day job.

[@SI0AX]

Very realistic. What you just explained is why wholesalers exist. Like Nvidia(sell to computer parts stores), car manufactures(sell to car dealerships), food manufactures(sell to supermarkets) etc. They just sell to resellers because it lets them put all their focus on manufacturing and let the others put all their focus on selling.

[@drones4drones]

A lot of common sense information here, and very well provided! A lot of thoughts that I've had, and you expressed them very well. Great tips - thanks! I've produced a few things and really enjoy the design process. It's a great fun hobby, and you are very correct - if a person is thinking about moving forward with a 3D printer, they should focus on enjoying it and making cool stuff...even if they don't make money doing it. That's the difference between a hobby and a job - it's fun and productive even when you're not getting paid. Thanks for the great video!

[@JustCuzRobotics]

Great video! Some of my perspective: I took a very different approach to my own store when I decided to sell things. I started out with PCB products as just a standard non printed item but before that I started to offer 3D print commissions. The upside to this is I charge a price that's worth my time. The downside is the back and forth with customers can sometimes be a pain in the butt. However the level of competition is relatively low, I have a niche in the Combat Robotics market, and I was able after a year or so to pay off my $750 Prusa. I print mostly high end materials that others cannot print and my prices are high enough to make it worthwhile for me and to keep the number of orders low enough that I'm usually only doing one commission every week or two. Every single one my minimum profit is like $10-20 since I just set it with an arbitrary labor charge. I send invoices though Wave to my customers directly so my only fee is ~3% credit card transaction fees. No etsy, nothing. I pay $23 a month for my Squarespace web store and that's easily paid for by my normal products so it's not a big deal as I make literally over $1000 a month from normal physical product sales. The print commissions are just another 'product' for my customers to choose from that also happens to pay for my printers.

[@FCWW87]

Good for you man! I think the big takeaway from your comment is that if someone wants to get in to this space they should find a niche market and get your foot in the door that way.

[@gelatinskeleton8745]

This is probably the most valuable video I’ve watched on YT in a long time.

[@iancraig2507]

Thank you for being so straightforward and honest. Lots of people thinking of starting a business should watch this.

[@norcal6181]

The whole "you should only sell things you designed" argument is lost on me. Like there are tons of companies that sell injection molded plastic chairs. They obviously didn't invent chairs. Why is this a moral issue. If you get a design that someone knowingly posted with a permissive license I don't see the problem as long as you're not passing it off as something you invented.

[@Janovich]

You just have to be aware that the nature of digital things and their ability to be shared an unlimited amount of time at practically no cost means it will eventually kill its own market. If you're the first to make a particular model you might be able to sell it for reasonable price, but eventually for whatever reason someone else will make a similar model. Since there's already an established price point there is incentive to undercut and offer it cheaper. This will repeat until someone decides its not worth the effort of selling and just publishes that digital commodity for free. At that point you can't expect to charge for more than just the material and printing time. In the future expect 99% of all 3D models to be freely available, this trend is already rapidly happening. There will always be a small market for new models, but their lucrative lifespan will be short due to this process. I have in fact downloaded many quality models for free myself, and have in return shared quite a few creations of myself for free. Its truly a great technological development we're going through.

[@blitzkrieg8776]

I got into 3D printing, resin specifically, as I will be having thousands in savings by printing my own models rather than buying them from Games Workshop themself. A warlord titan costs somewhere around $1500-$1800 just for the legs and chassis alone so getting the Saturn S for about $350 and a couple hundred in water washable resin was definitely worth it.

[@daitedve1984]

Is there people who pays 1500 for a plastic toy?!?!

[@blitzkrieg8776]

​@@daitedve1984 More than that as the Warlord titan is in seperate kits, body, guns, etc.

[@MutaleMulenga8ight]

Really appreciate you sharing this perspective on 3D printing, and specifically 3D printing as a business.

[@Spronkadunk]

I do sell a great deal of things that I print. I found that for me I had to find a niche market of something that I was passionate about. Yes that limits your customer base, but I found that since I am passionate about it that I have made it the best that it can be and I have also found that there are customers from other areas I did not expect.

[@christophersfactory]

I'd wager to say that makes it more fulfilling for you too. Thanks for sharing!

[@Spronkadunk]

@@christophersfactory It absolutely does. I walk into places and see people using my stuff all the time. I am also introduced to many people as "the guy that makes all the stuff"

[@christophersfactory]

@@Spronkadunk hahaha that's awesome!

[@DevildudeEMZ]

@@Spronkadunk spill the beans, what stuff ? 😂

[@Spronkadunk]

@@DevildudeEMZ it is all related to billiards. Chalk holders, quarter holders, bridges, cue claws and some other stuff I got cooking.

[@billklement2492]

Chris, sorry your business didn't work out! Thanks for sharing your experience! You discuss it well. Remember there are other businesses out there. Now that you've gotten your feet wet, you can use what you learned and apply it to a different project. My own business didn't pan out. For good reasons I couldn't control. I ended up getting a "real job" and that's worked out, but I do miss working for myself! Anyway, thanks for the video and best of luck!

[@TheAndreasMustola]

I follow these rules: Only sell what you got in stock. Only sell your own designs. Sell the things you print and use for yourself. Avoid stores that take a lot of fees. Buyers should always pay for shipping.

[@Glebiys]

Your strong side is analytics and information presentation! Great video!

[@Halpo3D]

I've been running an Etsy shop for a bit now, it's slow to pick up but I found a niche. I specialize in resin prints so I sell a lot of minis for table top games. I think the thing really holding me back is how much time it takes to get listings up.

[@rickygraham6838]

Hey this was a fantastic video. I've been overwhelmed on starting my own and this gave me a perfect idea of what I was getting into and how to approach it.

[@zerofox3d]

Thanks for the video Chris, underlined many things I already believed. Question, did you ever calculate a conversion rate on the platforms you sold through? It's an important metric in e-commerce many don't look at or consider.

[@lightninganderson911]

Thanks bruh, I'm looking at making a 3D business myself and this really took the edge off. Gonna keep at it for the right reasons now, FUN

[@3dprecisionscanning55]

Great video one thing you forgot when 3D printing everyone forgets to add the cost of electricity to the item which works to be about $1 per hour. So if your project takes 8 hours to print you would need to add $8 to the cost of the item.

[@christophersfactory]

Wow, that's a really important point that I left out. Thanks for mentioning it!

[@3dprecisionscanning55]

@@christophersfactory Not a problem that is why I no longer 3D print,, I 3D scan now only

[@trafton00]

You are way off on your cost to run a 3D printer.

[@3dprecisionscanning55]

@@trafton00 Not on the power cost we already did a cost analysis with special power meters the average cost was $1 per hour with the machines we were using.

[@trafton00]

@@3dprecisionscanning55 ahh I was assuming a basic hobby printer. Which printer were you using that uses that much power?

[@DonTimmons-kh4dz]

Thanks for sharing Christopher. You make a great ambassador for Etsy . Stay humble, and may your creative side keep shining.

[@anon556]

You are a very smart man Christopher. Don't get discouraged.

[@PersonalArtWorkshop]

The last bit got me! "your having fun!" Thanks for the sharing!

[@DevildudeEMZ]

Hahaha 3D printing is no longer a niche ? Dude I think you are taking things out of proportion, also the amount of people that own vs sell products that are 3d printed is not as wide as you claim ……. Also y made 4K at an event selling articulated dragons and paid 5 printers with my first events 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@christophersfactory]

Glad to hear of your success! Thanks for your comment, a wider range of perspectives helps people gauge better.

[@bibleboardgames]

Thank you! Very good points. Lots of truth there. Many of us love making a new design and imagining it will sell well, but selling for a profit is often 10-100x more than we initially think. One exercise is to get a spreadsheet and list every cost to design, make, market, and sell. Then actually test if the marketing & sales channel works with small amounts before scaling up.

[@Engineerboy100]

You really hit a lot of very valid points! I sell 3D printed items and have been very pleased with the results. To your points I have combined 3D printing, Mold making, car enthusiast, auto mechanic, and mechanical engineering my products and they paid for my 2 X1 Carbons the first day they were delivered. I will use some of your points in refining my products selections to offer the absolute best to my customers. Thank you for posting this video, great job.

[@charlesblithfield6182]

You have presented some ideas that I find a could be useful to apply to small businesses other than 3D printing. I think one of the most important skills is the ability to self reflect and learn from mistakes or learn from knowledge acquired in a particular endeavour that wasn’t successful (and these are not mutually exclusive learnings since one can experience failure through no fault of one’s own). Thanks.

[@ianupton5239]

Thank you, Christopher. Informative, inspiring and real!

[@PapaP86]

7:44 - I only agree with this if designs other people have uploaded specifically stated it is NOT for commercial use. If they uploaded it as being fully open and fine with others selling it, there's no issue. But I'm sure there are some that would take designs from others that were stated not to be for commercial use and still sell them.

[@sedled2829]

I think you just explained product development, this experience is gold