I find the lack of availability of 3d filament locally in Bristol to be a challenge. I recently had an order and needed filament in a hurry and couldn’t find any in Bristol that I could just go and buy that wasn’t grossly overpriced (Maplins).
Would 3D hubs people in Bristol (UK) be interested in someone to stock a range of popular filaments and spare parts (E3D etc…) that could be bought over the counter, initially by appointment, but I could do these evenings/weekends a lot of the time, as I’d do this from home?
In terms of a “high street” store, there might be a market at some point, I’m not sure we’re there yet. I’m amazed at how many 2D cartridge shops there still seem to be around and paying the bills, so it could be that this will become feasible for 3D in the future.
However, you’re looking at a fairly limited customer range, even when/if 3D printers become common enough to generate sufficient demand. Like most of us, I get all my filament online, and my preferred suppliers deliver next day, reliably, so for me to want to go to a High Street store to buy, I’m either going to need that filament very urgently, or the shop is going to have to offer something the online stores don’t (buying by precise length?).
I’ll admit, I’ve considered the possibility of opening a 3D store locally to me (New Forest) but right now I can’t see there being enough custom.
We stock a small range of filament, and are only based in Oldbury-on-Severn, about 10mins drive from Bristol. Please see here for what we have in stock https://emaker.io/product-category/filament/ 52
We also have a fair amount of random colours/spool sizes of PLA and ABS not listed, if you’re interested in digging through boxes of filament.
Excellent I’ll definitely take down your details. Very reasonably priced too. This is my only concern with stocking it myself, I would not plan to have any significant overheads except space in my garage but making a few pounds on a spool might be challenging when Excelvan can be had delivered for £6.95/kg.
@DjDemonD, so am I, it would seem a logical thing to do. Perhaps if they don’t (and are we sure none of them are?) it’s an indication of a lack of (sufficient) customer interest.
I agree with you, the Maplin filament is very expensive.
If you’re in need of filament then perhaps we can help. We have great prices and fast shipping. Also if you’re in need of filament quickly then drop us an email and we can get some in the post to you for the next day. We are always happy to cater to individual needs.
