Thanks for bearing with us during the scheduled downtime! We know that took a little longer than expected, but this is one of the biggest back-end improvements we've made in the last few years.
**Note: While we are back live, there are a few small issues we will be addressing over the course of the day. If you notice anything strange please to let us know, and trust that all will be back to 100% in no time***
We are excited to share that we've upgraded Shapeways to a new platform that will pave the way for better, safer, and more agile Shapeways.
With this update, we've made a few changes:
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Introducing the Shapeways Product Identification Number (SPIN)! In the same way that products at the store have SKUs, all Shapeways products now have SPINs. The format will be 9 character, alpha-numeric, such as: 5GGRU5DKE. This does not replace model ID, but it does open up a new layer of product identification in the future. Also now your products, and our site, are more secure. SPINs will now appear in URLs, CSV downloads, invoices, sales, etc.
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Product URLS have changed from this format: www.shapeways.com/model/2260620 to www.shapeways.com/product/5GGRU5DKE. URLs will also no longer end in the material ids. For example, your URL used to end with the material id ex: materialId=61. Now, it ends with optionId=42614453. This and the SPIN make your product information even more protected. Rest assured,
all old URLs will redirect to the new URLs -- we've triple checked to make sure that the old links work. All search engine optimization will also carry over to the new URLS.
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Pricing CSV no longer has a product volume column. You can still see the volume of your products on the product page.
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Markup Invoice & Sales Overview Spreadsheet no longer contain Production Order Numbers. This should have no negative effect on your selling experience.
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Filters to manage your models in My Models have moved to the Shop Inventory page, which lives in the SELL tab. My Models will direct you there now, or you can use this
link.
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SELL tab will now take you directly to your Shop Inventory page, to make for easier selling on Shapeways (it previously defaulted to your Shop Settings page). We know many of you have been asking for easier inventory management, and this is the first step towards that.
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The "downloadable" and "not downloadable" filters previously available on My Models are no longer available. You can still offer products for download -- you just can't sort your models that way.
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Not for Sale products have been removed from public search, galleries, and shops, but they remain on your Designer Profile (and in your models of course). This is based on feedback from both you, our shop owners, and shoppers that not for sale models are confusing in the shopping-focused areas of our site. Rest assured that Not for Sale items remain visible on your profile in order to show your skills and work as a 3D modeler and product designer. You can still, and will always be able to, direct link to your products from anywhere.
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When you're viewing one of your products, your view will now mirror the shopper view of that same product. This is awesome for those keeping a close eye on markup and dealing with exchange rates - something you've been asking for!
This is a lot of change for what may not appear to immediately impact you today. We ask you to trust us when we say, this platform upgrade is necessary for a series of improvements we plan to bring you soon, and will serve as the foundation for a better, more agile Shapeways for the years to come. There are a lot of exciting things in the pipeline. You'll learn about them very soon- we promise!