Is my idea feasible and profitable?

[Nikolay]

Hello all!

I want to get a Geeetech G2S Pro and offer its services on here. My idea is to print in my room (mainly PLA so I dont die from ABS fumes) and get to a point where I make back the money from the printer and filament and print “for free”

What kind return do you think I would get per order? I understand that it might be slow at the beginning but how slow and does anyone have tips about getting noticed quicker?

Thanks in advance!

[wirlybird]

Good points here by ejalal. Get a printer you can afford with a bit of a reputation for working ok and then play and plan to spend! Burn through the filament learning and having fun. Make things for friends and family. They may buy some stuff if you do a good job and help support the habit. Get a hub set up and learn the ropes there also. Get them to order through the hub to see how it works.

It takes time. You don’t just buy an airplane and think you will make money instructing without first learning how to fly.

[ejalal]

Hi Nikolay,

First thing, getting a 3d printer just to make some pocket money (sorry this is how I call it based on my 3D hubs revenue) especially with a cheap Chinese 3d printer is not a good idea at all. You will give up too soon as the revenue will not be as expected.

Customers take the printer brand into account, not just the prices or proximity.

BUT getting a cheap Chinese 3d printer to learn and experiment things, failures, clogs, and plenty of other stuff and LEARN how to fix them is the way forward, at least if you break your cheap 3d printer you wont loose too much.

Be sure that you will experiment more or less the exact same issues with a more expensive/branded 3d printer sooner or later.

If you want to launch in the business of 3d printing, then get your self a branded one, something that works out of the box and with customer support.

[jose_anes]

The geeetech g2s is a headache. Their prisa is solid. I have both. But the g2s requires extra work. It takes many upgrades to get it to produce consistent quality. Also, don’t expect to make a big profit in this site. At best you end up paying the price of the printers and equipment.

[Nikolay]

Yeah I have read and watched videos about the g2s pro being unreliable but unfortunately I dont really have much space and that 37x37cm size of the delta printers is doable for my room and where I want to put it.

I can only go up to 39x39cm maybe 40x40 if I let it hang by 1cm. And my budget for the printer is up to £350. And of course I want a dual extruder.

And I’m not asking to actually make a big profit, only enough to cover the cost of the filament and printer so I can print “for free”.

[Zapaer]

Hey,

You may want to get a hepa filer/air purifier for your room or make sure you have good air circulation even with PLA.

Also, depending on the printer you may want to consider getting an enclosure or building one to limit the noise it generates.

If you have room mates be sure to consult with them, as the noise can get annoying especially at night.

In terms of the business, you may want to consider registering your business so that you can issue invoices. Depending on your region, you may not need to register your business to issue invoices. Read up on your local business regulations/rules (taxes, etc…). If you are able to issue invoices, 3D Hubs takes a 12.5% commission, otherwise, you are charged VAT (~3%).

For financing your printer, it might be worth getting a silent business partner to lend you the capital in exchange for a % share in the business profits.

This way you can buy out their share if the business is doing good, and you don’t loose as much money if the business tanks. Be sure you clearly communicate with your business partner if you choose to do this, and have the agreement on paper and be sure to maintain majority ownership.

[cobnut]

Hi @Nikolay @wirlybird makes an excellent point about the time it takes to become a “useful” printer for customer orders. 3D Printing is a long way from being a “push button” operation and you’ll need a lot of time and failed prints before you can sensibly offer your services for customer orders. I was printing personal projects for 6 months before I registered with 3DHubs and I don’t think that was long enough given what I’ve learned since then (and continue to learn). If you register too soon, you run the risk of not being able to satisfy any customers you get, that means bad reviews, which means no more orders and could leave you with an uphill struggle; it’s far better to wait until you’re confident you can print at a high quality, in a good turnaround time, reliably.

Don’t overlook the extra costs involved with printing; not only is there the filament itself - if you want to print customer orders you’ll need a reasonable stock of the most common materials/colours and the cash to buy more on demand, but you’ll also need other stuff. You’ll need blue tape, maybe Kapton tape, glue sticks, acetone, isopropyl alcohol, spare bed sheets (if you use them), maybe wet and dry paper, etc. etc. You’ll need to think about where and how you store open reels (they need to be kept dry, actively so using dehumidification or another method).

It’s certainly possible to make some decent income from printing via Hubs, but it won’t happen overnight and probably won’t happen at all with only one printer and a cheaper model at that, so you’ve got to prepare yourself for maybe a year or more of practice, failure and learning before you see any kind of net profit.

[williamlora0822]

if you want to offer 3d printing service, i do not suggest the DIY kit. If you want to get a geeetech 3d printer, i would suggest their Mecreator 2 https://www.geeetech.com/mecreator-2-desktop-3d-printer-p-999.html