The Amazon 3D Printing Store
The new Amazon shop for 3D printing is not what one might hope for and in some ways it is disappointing – dare it be said underwhelming.
It is a forthright opinion but on face value, it is nothing more than a shop window selling 3D printed (made) items from the likes of Scultpteo et al. We will surely see all the usual suspects there very soon. No different to Shapeways (manufacturer/retailer) but with a much bigger footprint and traffic which is many orders of magnitude greater to play with.
This is not commercial innovation and neither is it supply chain remarkable but we will see lots of media ‘heat and light’. It is purely a case of jumping on the bandwagon and trying to attract people to buy items where there is real revenue – on the hardware and filament as can be seen below the fold on Amazon’s page.
As for Asia where the largest markets exist, we shall see an Alibaba 3D printing store selling items within 18 months (an opinion). We should not forget they dwarf Amazon in terms of sheer size and sales.
A Non-Proprietory Marketplace
It was a shame that the marketplace for buyers and sellers of the actual models that 3DPrintWise created 9 months ago did not gain traction. It was never supported by the 3D printing community as was hoped and commercial realities were what they were. Perhaps it was too radical to have hundreds of little guys make small sums of money from their designs and downloaders pay a little to 3D print them. Regardless it did not take off. That marketplace was non-proprietary and open to all. Even this week, a similar marketplace with the same idea, appeared in the form of PinShape.com. We sincerely wish them luck.
Cynical #Saturday & #thingiverse
Thingiverse as a free repository will never be the answer to moving the consumer forward. It relies upon the good will of the designers to share models without remuneration. It has its limitations. There are also issues as stated by many about the non-proprietary nature of the site. At the end of the day, one may think (cynically) it is an advertising platform to promote a single manufacturer of 3D printers. Fair enough but it is a surprise that more people have not seen through the obvious and created a marketplace for models which better serves a balanced interest between designer and printer. Instead, in the context of the wider market, the stand-off between designers and 3D printers persists.
Aside: MakerBot now has a dilemma with their 3D printing store where models are for sale – what to do about their Thingiverse? Trying to sell well known figurine characters is not going to save that particular business line if an Amazon or an Alibaba migrates to selling models for download – an opinion.
Consequence Of 3D Printing
There is a another issue for 3D printer manufacturers which is looming on the horizon.
If Amazon, Alibaba and others do move towards a solution of mass customisation and huge variety without offering the models themselves, it may actually damage sales of 3D printers to consumers. This may be marginal but it is not without any consequence at all. One reason for buying a 3D printer for the average consumer disappears.
Open Source 3D Printing Issues
Consumers wishing to 3D print need an open non-proprietary marketplace for models. One where all designers can sell and 3D printing people are willing to pay, even a little bit to support designers. Is such a possibility Shangri-La?
Open and non-proprietary marketplaces selling models for 3D printing have not succeeded as yet given the ever present free repositories and the lack of good solutions to protect against piracy. Now new proprieteory routes to market are opening for designers. After all, if you are a 3D printer why pay if you don’t need to on the one hand? On the other, if you are a designer why make your models available if you can control their use by having someone (reputable) always do the manufacturing?
Afterthought
Come on down Ebay, come on down Google – you are probably the only businesses large enough at least in the West to make a global marketplace for models which serves a balanced interest.
In summary, the 3D printing marketplace is remarkably similar to the early days of personal computing and software – the behaviours and approaches are the same. Stand-offs, proprietary vs non-proprietary etc. It just happens more quickly in 2014 – that is all.
Update: see comments about 3D Printing at Walmart