Hi, I made a silver jewel prototype, the built is perfect and would like now to launch it as a product. Can I get a cheaper deal at Shapeways if I order large quantities of this product? Thanks! @weirdfishfamily
From what I know , if there was that option were written on the blog or on the material page. So short answer ... NO!
Email service@shapeways.com to ask, but unlike conventional molding cost per piece stays the same (for them as well as for you) with 3d printing no matter how many you order. Your best bet is probably to get a permanent mold made locally (possibly from a shapeways print in wax, but I know nothing about casting). Much will probably depend on your concept of "launching it as a product" - do you plan to distribute hundreds at once through a chain of jewelry stores, or or would it be sufficient for you to have five or six in store at a time and re-order as needed (or point customers to your shapeways "shop" so that they can order prints themselves ?
You might be right, it would definitely be worth a try. Or as @mkroeker suggests, ask an independent operator. But maybe the prices SW have already factor in the casting of multiple products, just not the same ones. I would assume that they have used the volumes of their business with the (3rd party) casting houses to get pretty good, economy of scale, prices already.
As perfect as you think your product may be have you even tried selling it to see if anyone wants to purchase it? A good first step would be to make your model public and offer it for sale before worrying about making it in large quantities. And as far as getting a better deal through Shapeways one of the few ways to easily do that is to put several parts into one model file, depending on whether that is allowed for any particular material. This allows you to share set-up costs between the multiple parts. For silver items you likely have a maximum of 2 items in a model file such as when you produce a pair of earrings.