Newbie Shapeways Questions

[Metr0Land]

Am thinking of ordering some Shapeways items for the first time, and buying items from (probably) 3 sellers to maximise advantage of the 15pct discount on first order.

 

a/ Am I correct in thinking that although this is Shapeways.com that the actual shipment comes from within the UK/EU so that if I'm in the UK there's no import charges?

 

b/ If I order bits from say 3 sellers, are they all printed at the same time?

 

c/ Do I have to 'join' in order to get the discount, or can I just enter the BRM-code at checkout?

 

Thanks

[njee20]

A) yes

 

B) yes

 

C) not sure, but I’d sign up anyway, they do pretty frequent offers which are worth having.

[rue_d_etropal]

Best to sign up as you get all the discount options, and easier to sort out if there is a problem. If for any reason one of my items gets rejected by Shapeways(they tend to move the goal posts on occasions!), I get a message and normally fix it within 24 hours. The customer can then put in a new order for the fixed item and add it to the original order , so no extra postal costs.

 

When there are discount offers, then it is sometimes worth checking to see if 'delayed order' is cheaper. It does not usually take much longer, depending on which materials are being printed. Sometimes, but very rarely you can combine a special offer with other discounts, but I sometimes think that is more likely an error not intensional.

 

Another advantage of signing up is that the designer will have a better idea of who is buying, rather than it just saying 'guest'.

 

I have been doing this for several years so have seen how Shapeways has changed, mainly for the better.

[MarcD]

We use them all the time you can also find discount codes online that some times work. Delivery is from Holland and takes about 3 days from dispatch but that could be because we live in the back of beyond. Also they usually give a date for finishing production but we normally find they arrive before that date.    

 

Marc

[Quarryscapes]

Am thinking of ordering some Shapeways items for the first time, and buying items from (probably) 3 sellers to maximise advantage of the 15pct discount on first order.

 

a/ Am I correct in thinking that although this is Shapeways.com that the actual shipment comes from within the UK/EU so that if I'm in the UK there's no import charges?

 

b/ If I order bits from say 3 sellers, are they all printed at the same time?

 

c/ Do I have to 'join' in order to get the discount, or can I just enter the BRM-code at checkout?

 

Thanks

 

a) Shipment is by UPS from Eindhoven in the Netherlands. They are good, though on all bar one occasion have turned up the day before the tracking email states it will be delivered so watch out for that! 

 

b) Yes. Your shipment will depend on the slowest product - Black High Def Acrylate are usually ready first, cast metals take a while, frosted detail and strong and flexible it's a bit pot luck. If ordering exclusively Strong and flexible, I believe you can opt for a 'slow' service which gives you a little discount, or pay extra for a priority service. The products are all made in the same place, the artwork is generated by users from all across the globe and printed on demand when somebody buys, so it doesn't matter which designer or shop you are purchasing from.

 

c) Probably, I believe the discount is applicable to anybody signing up rather than just BRM readers. 

[rue_d_etropal]

 

Probably, I believe the discount is applicable to anybody signing up rather than just BRM readers.

I take it there is something in current edition of BRM.

 

Special codes are a bit funny. Every so often I get a message displayed, offering a discount, but it does not work. I tend to use the slow option, and have still found it is a lot faster than even a few months ago. It does depend on how many and what size/type of items are in order. I have sometimes found it quicker(not by much) to add an initial order, then add more to it later. A bit cheeky, and difficult to prove it works. Much depends on how busy Shapeways are. Expect a bit of a delay, when there are extra specia and popular offers.

It also depends on which day you put an order in,as UPS don't work weekends or bank holidays. This can result in it taken longer for them to pick up and then deliver. I can order on a Wednesday evening, and it will get delivered by the following Wednesday on delayed option(assuming no bank holiday), assuming there are no problems. If I am tracking an order I can sometimes see items go into production, then back into pre-production. Occasionally problems only get spotted once the item has been printed, and I get a message then.

Overall it is a good service, with big advantage of having worlwide coverage. I assume local taxes etc are sorted out, but at least I don't have to worry about that.

[Metr0Land]

Thanks for your help guys.  I've just placed an order across 3 sellers, and a mix of FUD and WSF items.

 

Current status is it's meant to be shipped 10Nov and arrives with me 14-15Nov.

 

I used the code BRMXSW15 which is mentioned elsewhere on rmweb and it gave me the 15pct discount on the products.

[Metr0Land]

If anyone's interested the parcel actually arrived today 10Nov. Thanks for all your advice, very pleased with the quality of the initial items