What would people thinking about the option to buy a mystery filament. Like say as a consumer you want PLA, and cant choose what colour you want or want to try a different brand. The odea of getting a mystery roll could be interesting. Either to see how you dial it in, or try something new. It could be the store brand or maybe matter 3d. Point being it could be done at a slightly reduced price from a premium brand.
From the store side it could be a way to shift whats on the shelves and offer a random discount of say it was a premium filament, but just the same or could be a store brand or even value brand which does kinda work in the stores favour from the idea im trying to explain. Like say its a flat $25, for a random roll. As the consumer i may be able to choose if i want pla or petg, but it could be a double mystery too.
I came up with this idea after seeing the recycled petg in the sale section for awhile and as much as i like the idea, its a bit pricey and due to it being recycled, im unsure of its consistently. But i wouldnt complain of I ended up with it and id still give it a try anyway.
Even as a trial run, 3dpc could set aside 100 rolls for this idea, if $25 were the price, then maybe 30 value rolls, 30 store brand rolls, and 40 “premium” rolls. No rebranding needed, just if ordered as a mystery roll then the counter/eshop goes with one from the list. Or rolls a 3d printed dice on a 3d printed dice tower
I was thinking about a filament of the month some time ago but I’m kinda liking that idea more. I think a Mystery PetG or PLA could be kinda fun. You would end up with filament you may not otherwise buy.
I was thinking that I get to busy doing …that I never looked up and totally missed things like the matte materials being potentially so much better. It would be good to put some time into trying new technologies, just need a framework and a push to do it.
I like the idea of mystery filament, or at least mystery order filament. Once it arrives it would be good to know what it is! LOL I have a roll of apple green Petg that prints really well and I like a lot. It is re branded and no clue who made the original and the rebranded isn’t available anymore.
Well i didnt have a subscription idea in mind, but hey that too could be an idea to float here. Maybe a seasonal subscription that dosent auto renew, that way you dont get overloaded with filament unless you have a need for more. With it being seasonal it could be a package of say 4 or 5 rolls, at a price that covers the shipping. Id like to think if its multiple rolls of filament then atleast 1 would be guaranteed to be a “premium” filamemt, but then i feel it gets a bit too technical in the numbers game and takes away from the mystery and fun aspect i had in mind. Though these are just ideas.
They could get the manufacturer’s to make up sample packs of new filament they are promoting and supply them to 3dpc to support this. As part if it we could review the filament. So we would be known trusted reviewers. Like a 3dpc users seal of approval. The plastic companies can throw some marketing budget at it too.
Heyyy, i like that idea. I havent settled on just 1 brand of filament and dont mind experimenting, plus i like having a variety of colours on hand.
Ive done some filament reviews on amazon, which has resulted in free filament. But i do my best to give it an honest review and try to both learn a bit about the product and teach the seller about what i find.
I regretfully havent really done any reviews on 3dpc regarding their filaments… Ill get onto that xD
But yeah, id be cool with doing sample reviews as part of this mystery filament idea.
Different idea, for 3dpc. But perhaps ask those that participate in this, both from the manufacturers and the reviewers, if a set filament profile could be provided/made up. I found a random filament seller on amazon (they found me actually) and they had filament profiles for all their products for cura, prusaslicer and simplify3d. I figure if there are a few people getting the same filaments, and email in their filament profiles. 3dpc could review the differences and make a “store suggested” filament profile for that specific filament. And put it up on that filaments product page.
… Ive got alot of ideas, but never the time to voice/work on all of them xD
Just to offer a contrary opinon: I’d almost certainly never buy that.
Partly it’s a financial reality thing. I have 100-200$ a month, max, for all my hobbies combined; this makes me be very focused with my purchases. I want to know as much as possible before I expend some of that limited budget. Also, since most of my printing to date has been large, multi-part and often multi-spool project, I need to make sure I’m matching materials to ensure good joining, consistent painting, etc.
Partly it’s being inherently risk adverse. To me, the chance of getting a bargain on high-quality filament does not in any way off-set the possibility I just can’t use.
Finally, I am not in the part of the community that enjoys trying to make a new type of filament work. I don’t want to futz about with the printer, I just want it to give me the part I’m trying to make. So some of the things Dr.Marvin is seeing as pros for this idea feel like major cons to me. Yes, from time to time I will try a new filament to see if it works better for me, or I’ll try a new slicer setting or technique to see what it does, but for the most part I have a workflow sorted out and I tend to stay inside of that.
This isn’t to say this idea shouldn’t be tried! Clearly there are at least some folks who are interested, so it might well be worth it from Jason’s perspective. I just felt it was worth noting my opinions, so Jason knows not everyone is going to go for this.
Those are also very good points. I know a number of people only buy black, white or grey filament beacuse they have a profile that works and they dont care for the colours, or have the need for consistency.
I am of the camp where im constantly tinkering and tweaking my printers, and enjoy the colours.
For my big prints i do stay with the same filament brand and colour for them and would reccommend that for work projects. Stay with what you know.
Though for poking around you could potentially find a new favourite filament that works well, and may also be in your budget. Though nothing will beat doing your own research and identifying what properties work best for your needs.
As i said im not particularly interested in a subscription, but if i wanted to get 1 or 2 rolls of filament, i could be willing to throw the dice and see what i get.
As for the numbers i put in the post, they were just simple round ones to explain the idea/concept.
I don’t think whole rolls are the way to go I think just samples maybe 100g so you can print some test prints or maybe a specific test print that could be provided that could also serve as a catalog paint chip idea a user could keep. maybe with a few features on it and the name or part number for the filament. I mean it could be a good resource for 3DPC too with some management, and not just a one-way black hole.
Hi, @VagabondElf Believe me I value all the input here Pro and Con on any topic. I like the honest opinions we can freely give.
Personally, I like the mystery variety, But with this does come challenges with the cost to the buyer being very high on that list. I would like to see us as being a conduit to be able to get it to the community. Personally, I don’t like the subscription service it kinda reminds me of the “record of the month club” Cannot remember the exact name of it but the memory still gives me shivers down my spine. “COLUMBIA RECORDS” that’s the name I remembered as I was typing. (I feel really sad and old now. :))
What about something like this, If we can get our suppliers to pitch in we could do maybe 2 or 3 times a year a LImited “mystery purchase” have a few 250gram spools and maybe some consumable items, like glue or brass bristle brush? Maybe total you would end up with 2 KG of filament and a few tools or supplies for the toolbox? Target it about the cost of a roll of filament so it doesn’t dent anyone’s budget too bad.
good point. I’m using this to make parts for work really, so if I can try a filament that saves me some time or I can use it where nothing else ever worked thats a great way to spend a few hours inventment. if it was just a hobby I’d be with you on that for sure. I was talking about POM in another thread, nobody needs POM to make a new Pokemon character (unless it’s bulldozersaur). that’s a product I might be able to use but 3DPC doesn’t have it anymore. The only way they could find out that I can use it is to have me try it and get it working. I’m sure I’m not alone trying to make FDM parts work in real applications. how would 3DPC know who these customers are?
It would work for them having a premium material and some built-in clients they cultivated themselves that can use it. And also they could also teach others to use. other suppliers might not bother with those materials because they are too busy trying to squeeze the last dime out of a product that literally everyone sells for shrinking margins.
@Jason I remember the pick 10 (?) for one cent then every month we will send you an album that you done want or like for 20$ or something.
I am going to toss a different idea. Maybe a grab bag that you can just add on to a regular order.
There could be a couple of questions like what printer nozzle ect do you use and do you print Petg or pla or …
Then you get maybe some sample filaments maybe a part or short roll and some bits and pieces too. A handful of stickers, maybe even a few printed filament sample things. It could be a way to promote products and or sell things are are not moving well.
