Pricing

Discussion in 'My Work In Progress' started by irkmade, Jul 16, 2010.

  1. irkmade
    irkmade Member
    Originally the gold plated steel was the same as the steel.
    I ordered it just a little after that offer ended and it became double.
    Now, it is twice the price I paid for.
    I don't believe the price of gold has changed that drastically in the last month.

    Is there an explanation for the redoubling?

    I really like the slightly knobby bumpy gold that my little charm turned out to be. And also dig the stainless. I m just curious about the price changes....

    I am grateful for the opportunity to do this and help cool people make a profit too. :)

    Animatedly,

    irk FrankvisSteelBlueGold.jpg
     
    irkmade, Jul 16, 2010
    #1
  2. 28396_deleted
    28396_deleted Member
    Check out the last live show , Bart explains the new pricing structure of Gold plating - the bigger the size the cheaper it will cost you to print it.

    Oh and your model reminds me of this ;)

     
    28396_deleted, Jul 17, 2010
    #2
  3. 34534_deleted
    34534_deleted Member
    We also mentioned from the start that the original pricing was an introductory offer to gage the interest in gold plating, and we tried to communicate everywhere when the temporary offer was ending.
     
    34534_deleted, Jul 17, 2010
    #3
  4. irkmade
    irkmade Member
    You did communicate well, that the original pricing was ending, and then it did....

    then there was a new pricing.....

    then there seemed to be another arbitrary jump.

    lets use real numbers. 4.50(same as steel)-> 9.00-> 20.00


    My curiosity has not been quenched by your answer jdl.

    Nor have I seen anything explaining why the last jump occured.

    I am trying to use the service and make it work.
    But if I can't rely upon the general price of something, how can I sell it to someone or order multiples?

    My cost for ordering something with gold plating more than doubled. I want to know why. :)

    Please tell me. At this rate I suppose I could use gold leaf paint....but the electroplating(?) seemed like a better option.



     
    irkmade, Jul 18, 2010
    #4
  5. irkmade
    irkmade Member
    Nice. Have you printed it out yet? :)
     
    irkmade, Jul 18, 2010
    #5
  6. pete
    pete Shapeways Employee CEO
    Hi Irkmade,

    we only have had an introduction price of gold and the current price.

    The intro price was:
    $5 + $10 / cm3

    The main difference with gold plated stainless vs stainless is the extra labor to get the gold plating on AND the cost of the plating (gold + machines + ...)

    We found that we cannot do that for $5 per part as the remaining $10 / cm3 is already there to cover for the printing of the stainless.

    So we have decided that we will offer gold for $20 for the initial 1 cm3 and so on, you can clearly see that for bigger models there is hardly any extra cost. It is for the small models that there is quite a difference, which is exactly reflecting our cost.

    We will work hard to try and make it more affordable, but for now this is the price.

    So in short, we have only changed the price of gold once, which was to go from the intro price to the current. Also we are quite confident that this price will only get lower in the future and not higher.

    Hope it helps, if not let us know.

    best regards,
    Peter
     
    pete, Jul 18, 2010
    #6
  7. irkmade
    irkmade Member
    So, it is a dis-incentive to make small items to be plated.

    I do hope it goes down in price.

    I do not agree with what you say was one price change because I
    saw the intro price, same as steel, then paid approximately 9 dollars, and now the same thing will cost a minimum of $20.

    I will drop it now because I don't have any intention of paying for the gold plating when I can do something similar for a cheaper price on top of the steel.

    I like your service.

    I hope you can work out the kinks and not disincentive-ize in this manner in the future.

    Congrats on the World Cup.

    Keep helping people make fun stuff. :)
     
    irkmade, Jul 19, 2010
    #7
  8. euphy
    euphy Member
    To be fair to shapeways, the new pricing more closely reflects the costs of handling. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and if you want services for free, or subsidised, you've got to wonder how the company will stay in business. Saying that, I was a bit shocked by the new $20 minimum and agree that is it a powerful disincentive towards making small objects (which unfortunately are usually the kind I can afford). But I also see it as an admission that there isn't much profit to be had in the tiny-parts market where the cost of handling outweighs the actual printing and material. And that's not a surprise at all, in fact, I'm amazed that shapeways have gone for so long with such a risky flat rate pricing model.

    If you can do something similar at a cheaper price, the thing to do is to go into competition!

    On the other, other hand, it does allow us to justify charging a premium for gold plating, if we are interested in such a thing.

    Sandy Noble
     
    euphy, Jul 19, 2010
    #8
  9. virtox
    virtox Active Member Moderator
    Cute model !

    And I too was shocked (a little), but also happy I could try the gold at a reduced price.
    But I hope people are willing to pay the new prices for gold items.
    Perhaps with the new shiny finish (from Wednesday I believe) the appeal vs cost will be better.

    Still not sure where you got the info that the intro prices was the same as steel ? The first I saw the gold plating, it was $10/cc + $5 startup.
    Maybe a bug/hickup somewhere?


    Cheers,

    Stijn


     
    virtox, Jul 19, 2010
    #9
  10. TommySaysSoWhat
    TommySaysSoWhat Member
    I don't remember gold-plated SS ever being the same price as plain SS.

    I also don't understand why the concept of an introductory price is so hard for folks to understand. This happened with the Branding Irons, too.

    It seems obvious to me that Shapeways gives their best shot at a low intro price. This allows us to try new materials at a low cost. And this allows Shapeways to figure out how much they need to charge to provide the material/service permanently.

    It's a win/win situation. Why would anyone complain about this? Would folks rather Shapeways introduce new materials with a really high price? What would that accomplish?
     
    TommySaysSoWhat, Jul 20, 2010
    #10
  11. cmnwdesigns
    cmnwdesigns Member
    I was certainly put off by the minimum also. Unfortunately I mainly make jewelry, and most people would rather have gold plated jewelry as opposed to a gold plated statue. People are certiainly not going to pay $40 plus markup for a pair of earrings. The price wipes out a chunk of the jewelry market Shapeways could otherwise have started gaining.

    So I'm trying to think of a work-around, because I would love to make a gold pair of matching earrings and a pendant in a few different designs. Perhaps make three pieces, attach them with virtual thin wires, then use a jewelers saw to cut the pieces apart and then use a dremel to smooth the area out? In that case there would only be a tiny area that wouldn't have gold plating, preferably in a well hidden area.

    I don't have a garage to set up any gold plating kit, as I live in a big city and I'm sure it's not a good thing to do in living areas. So this may be my only option if I want to be able to actually sell anything smallish for a profit.
     
    cmnwdesigns, Aug 23, 2010
    #11
  12. 28396_deleted
    28396_deleted Member
    Why the need for a thin wire to attach all pieces?

    You can merge different jewelry designs into one STL file , i.e: upload it as one design no matter how many peices it contains. (and nothing attaching them together) - thus perhaps offer a better cost/value to your customer.



     
    28396_deleted, Aug 23, 2010
    #12
  13. cmnwdesigns
    cmnwdesigns Member
    Hm, well I thought about doing that, but then figured that the price of gold plating probably meant individual handling of each piece. It would definitely be wonderful if I could just stick a bunch of stuff in one file.

    I get all pieces sent to myself first anyhow as a final step in quality assurance and also to add stones or put a final jewelry varnish for protection against the elements. I'll certainly try that and hope they'll do it!

    Thanks :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2010
    cmnwdesigns, Aug 23, 2010
    #13

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