Sell 3d printers at the mall

Hi all,

Has anyone tried to setup a booth/kiosk at a mall to spread the word and sell 3dprinter kits and fully assembled kits?

I want to know if your experience was good in terms of sales or was just a show for publicity? I was thinking if you can print our peoples names in a cool 3d way (google sketchup) that can sell and then you might get a few monthly sales?

Please let meknow your expeirence and how big the mall you are in is.

Thanks

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[omemon.wordpress.com]

ehm, what?

3d printer is not like a 2d printer in cost reliability nor ease of use

in short not for general public YET

just like reading and higher cognitive function is not of interest to all

the easier it is to screw in a light bulb the more people will use light

I know ive built a huxley. Ive seen stalls in the mall which sell helicopters for 100-200$ so i think it might be possible. just asking if anyone did it yet

gonna go out on a limb and say nobody has tried.

I think one of the barriers would be cost of stock. Those helicopters are very inexpensive, and the markup is outrageous. That's why so many people sell them. Unless you get the cost on your printers super low, I don't see how you could sell them at a price that people would consider buying them on a whim.

Maybe swap meets might be a better idea to start? The people there might be interested in the possibility of making your own crafts. You could pay for your spot by selling 3d printed crafts, and try to sell an assembled printer. I know the costs would be a LOT less with this method. You could even just walk around the swap meet, see what sells, and try to get similar stuff off Thingiverse. It's all about finding the people that would be willing to throw down several hundred dollars on a piece of hardware that takes a bit of elbow grease to learn to use. Definitely getting some experience selling these would let you see more clearly how feasible it is to sell in the mall.

I think you might be better off selling objects fabricated on the spot. People come by and check out a display with a bunch of things already printed out (or maybe a catalog of things you're willing to print) and select something. Then they can go out there and shop for a while and come back and pick up their thingamajig. I would make sure I've got a farm of fast and reliable printers ready to go each with different colors and the things available to get are "safe" in that they don't push the envelope with supports or overhangs and were also quick-printing with minimal infill.

I see it all the time with things like T-shirts and caps.

Yeah you both have great feedback. I was thinking a similar approach with printed parts available for show. I saw a video of some folks in Germany who setup a kiosk in the town center square with a kinect camera. They took 3d image of people posing in different ways and printed that out for them. Great attraction and personalized and might get the occasional person willing to purchase a printer. With Mendel90 coming out full force by Nophead, I think itll greatly reduce the cost of the printer: [www.thingiverse.com]

In terms of elbow grease to get the printer to work, we can offer classes on how to use and calibrate the printer which can come for free with the printer. Then maybe even charge for classes on how to use a 3d cad software to make your own 3d designs.

my two cents. Im sure everyone has thought of these ideas before. I guess its time to jump in and try it. Theres no harm in trying, only loss of money and time, which happen anyways if you dont invest your money .

Thanks again, any more thoughts?

The trouble is the enclosed, user friendly and supported printers sell for £1000/$1500+ online.
Add the costs of having a stall or store in a place like a mall and your easily adding another 30% to the cost.

In the current economy not many people have that kind of money to throw around.

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My Reprap blog

jds-reprap.blogspot.com

Owism8,

Funny you mention this now, I'm just about ready to do just what you are talking about in a mall near me. More focused on selling prints rather than printer though, as well as the education on CAD and printer usage.

I'll be sure to keep you informed on how it goes.

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- Anderson Ta

digifabindustries.blogspot.com

Maybe your local mall is filled with geeks with money to burn, but even the nicest mall near me would have trouble with selling $1000 DIY printer.

Well you have to understand that you can build a printer for 200$ (mendel 90 or printrbot) then resell for 500 or so. So its not as high as you think especially if you buy in bulk and also sell online.

Anyways. Would be good to know how others did doing this. Please keep us updated.

atv Wrote:
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> Maybe your local mall is filled with geeks with
> money to burn, but even the nicest mall near me
> would have trouble with selling $1000 DIY printer.


Yeah, I agree, that's why I kinda said I'm more focused on selling PRINTED STUFF as opposed to PRINTERS.

If people have money to throw at silly bands (rubber bands in diff shapes of things), I think I'll do more than just fine printing stuff to sell ><.

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- Anderson Ta

digifabindustries.blogspot.com

still not something that is user friendly

i don't know too many people who can refill toner without making a mess

ASK your mom to print your a paper clip

see if she can do it