Price Adjustments and an Event!

Hey there, I know it’s been quiet, but we’ve been working behind the scenes to prepare for a lot of things. First of all, we’re adjusting our prices a bit. As I was working on some larger models, I noticed the pricing got a bit out of hand. That was due to how I calculated the prices for each design. I’ve now adjusted that pricing model to account more for the time I’m hands-on, which gives me a more refined control over the price. As such, you may notice that small models are going to go up a bit in price as I have a set minimum handling fee now. Print prices are now calculated by: Labor involved (Prep, cleanup, and assembly), time it takes to print, and how much material it uses.

We will have some small models in the future that we will produce in batches, which will have a lower price point. I will likely post them as stocked items when I do so, allowing us to maintain large batches to reduce handling time.

Watch out as well for new options. As a test, I gave the option for PLA or TPU on some models. I will be adjusting that soon to be listed separately, as I’ve refined how to print with TPU (it’s like printing with hot bubble gum). Since we have to slow down the printer to achieve good quality, the method of calculating costs is a bit different. Initially, I was doing a percentage markup to account for the different material costs, but now it also involves a lot more time.

Regarding new options… We have an IDEX printer now! For those who don’t know what that means, it has two print heads on one machine. That means the potential to produce prints with two colors printed directly. In the past, I’ve offered, for a small added fee, to add a color change partway into the print. This option still requires contacting me at this point, as it only allows the section of layers to change color. However, with the IDEX printer, I can target specific areas to have the machine automatically swap between the colors and print with both. I’m still working on learning and tuning this machine, so for now, it’s being used to pump out more prints faster, but I hope to add a separate option for these as well.

When the option changes for the models go live, I will likely adjust how the main store page displays, but I will tackle that update when it comes. For now, I will honor any orders at the current listed prices, and if you order a more expensive model, I’ll be double-checking with the new pricing methods and issuing a partial refund if it calculates out as less. 🙂

Lastly, I want to let everyone know that we’ll be joining in the Frewsburg yardsale days by setting up at the new Kiantone Self Storage facility for the weekend. We’ll be bringing all of our available 3D prints as well as some other crafts to the event. We’re currently pumping out as much as our poor machines can handle to have the best stock we can offer. Hope to see you there!

~Tiff