As a Hub owner, I would like to propose a partnership between 3D Hubs and DHL, so when some client makes an order it can be automatically informed about the shipping costs and for privacy reasons, it is not forced to communicate his address to the hub. In that case, the hub receives an e-mail with a code for the package withdrawal in one of DHL points. Another advantage, is the fact that the hub , doesn’t have to add the shipping costs to the earnings and it doesn’t spend time searching for the best shipping offer. The client in the other hand, pay less because has a better shipping offer ( 3D Hubs can makes numbers and so can easily negotiate with DHL) and it is sure that the Hub is not making money with the shipping costs. I think that this operation can save time and money for both sides.
I think you have an interesting point of view and all the topics that you focus should be considerated. The idea of choosing the Hub next to you, it is the most optimised decision, but the thing I noticed is that the client choose first quality and then proximity. This means that sometimes, you can receive a print job of a person that is faraway from you, but is still willing to pay an extra (shipping) to have a quality print. In Italy I find the shipping costs very high, and searching for the best price it is always a nightmare and an agreement with a shipping company could resolve that.
But, after all your considerations, I agree with you. 3DHubs is based in a Community service idea and maybe should be maintained like that, promoting the collect-basis.
