Joris,
As a designer, I am completely fine with people downloading my meshes.
What I upload to shapeways is a) over-smoothed to the point where the original topology is hard to decipher (which is presumably what a designer might want to conceal - their modeling techniques, or maybe how sloppy it is for that matter
b) sufficiently hollowed out and sealed up that it would be very annoying to use for any other purpose other than rendering as is c) stripped of textures, lighting, and bones which I might not want to release freely.
Now, I suppose that someone could download the mesh, reupload it and print it out on their own to avoid my markup. I didn't think of that before. That's a shame, because I would like to be able to give away certain things without worrying about that.
Second, there are some objects that I want to be 'open-source'. See, I had an idea several years ago to start a little forum based around the idea of collaborative manufacturing. Basically, people would come together around an idea of an object that they want to exist, and create and refine it in an open environment. When enough people were aboard, we would pool the funds to have them produced on a large enough scale for it to be relatively inexpensive.
The specific project I was working on with this in mind was called LEDBricks. Basically, custom made Lego bricks (but larger) with LEDs embedded in them that would light up when they were stacked on a special board carrying current. Ultimately I didn't go through with my idea, but shapeways comes pretty damn close to realizing that vision. So, that is one example of something that I would let be freely distributed with the hopes of others improving upon it.
Of course, it would be up to the individual to decide if their data was up for grabs.
A shop can still be essentially a personal gallery showing off items for sale, but suppose I have a model of an army soldier with the following options: with helmet, without helmet, rocket launcher on shoulder, with backpack. All of them would be the same basic model, with a few different additions (forget for a moment that I could make those accessories detachable and list them separately). Would it be better to have a separate listing for each of those variations, or would it make more sense to have a single listing for the base character + accessories? I don't know the answer to this myself. I imagine it would take a considerable amount of work on the back-end of the site, though.
One example is that I have a spinner knob, one with a 1/4" hole and one with a 1/8" hole. From the gallery view, they look exactly the same because the hole is underneath. The only way to discern is from the text description.
For customized items, the way Etsy works is two-fold. They have a generalized custom requests page, which people post open invitations for designers to create something for them. The designer submits a bid, and the person can accept or reject that bid. Each designers shop also has a custom request button, which allows a customer to directly initiates a bid request from that designer. Mostly it is used to ask for customizations of their existing product line.
I see the two as being distinctly different: the forum as it is now is sort of a free market approach where people can find a designer most suited to create what they want, and if each shop had a request button it would allow people to seek those whose work they enjoy.
Good point about making the site design too busy. I retract that suggestion
Actually, I know there is a way to do this in Maya. You have to convert the object to an active rigid body, which has its volume calculated for simulation purposes. But for the life of me, I can't remember the variable that returns its volume data. Once I find it though, I want to create a mel script that prints out the volume and price in the HUD right under the polycount; That'll keep me on my toes!
I think I mostly print out things that are small both in bounding-box and in volume. I really don't have, at this point, the need for things 49x39x20cm in size. When designing things to print, my priorities are: 1) choosing the 'right' size for what the object is 2) keeping cost down within the current parameters (volume=cost) 3) keeping the volume down, because I am still in the mode where I think shapeways is a blessing that I don't want to fuck up by being greedy.
Does the idea that bounding box = price come from the time it takes to print the larger pieces? I don't think charging for space/volume would change much for me personally.