Even with terrible quality components, I still don’t understand how they can offer this kit and make a dime of money
https://www.imakr.com/us/en/startt-affordable-3d-printer/1146-startt-3d-printer.html
What is the probability of getting a DOA? 80%? 90?
Probably about 60-70 dollars in parts when bought in large quantity. So thyere is a little room for profit, but quality must be fairly poor
@Polar_3D got one of these and said it was great. If you have experience building printers, this thing is actually a really good deal. Everything arrived working.
Really…hmmmm will have to think on that, even if it is just to harvest parts from. Thanks @ThantiK , much appreciated.
It’s totally a good deal for the parts. Crazy cheap. Motors, couples, rods, pillow blocks, and bearings alone would cost you around $100
I guess they make up for the low profit with their “Build Workshops” at $299
Saw someone reselling this on ebay for $170 http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tronxy-3D-Printer-120-140-130mm-High-Precision-Reprap-Prusa-i3-3D-Printer-Kit-DI-/272558478282?hash=item3f75c053ca:g:f0AAAOSwWxNYrpBa
I looked into this one a few months ago and decided that they’re probably breaking even (-ish) on parts, and making profits on filament and courses to go with it. The fact that they’ve been selling it for 99 USD, 99 EUR, and 99 GBP is a sign the price point target is more important than the profit margin.
Got the tronxy version. Great printer when you pair with octoprint
This is perfectly reasonable. The MP Select Mini is $200, is assembled and ready to go out of the box, and has a solid steel shell and pretty LCD.
It’s not a surprising price for a modern basic kit at all.
35 to 150 for shipping? Uhm, I smell scam…
However bad these printers may be, it seems that they are better than the cheap-and-dodgy rubbish that you can supposedly get on Kickstarter, but you don’t have to wait 2 years for some Kickstarter fool to finish their dumb design and maybe, just maybe, deliver you a working printer.
If this means the end to super-cheap-rubbish 3D Printer designs from Kickstarter, that can’t be a bad thing!
Funny comments. Sell em at a loss and make it up in volume. In the hands of an experienced builder… meh. Takes some serious upgrades to achieve today’s standards. May frustrate more hopefuls than satisfy though. You get what you pay for. It does lower the barrier to entry. Could be a gateway drug to get some interested in upgrading, designing, building, or buying a more state of the art offering somewhere else.
Brook
Printrbot
@Brook_Drumm - oops, sorry mate, I didn’t mean your own Kickstarter 3D printer from 6 years ago. You are not a “Kickstarter fool” at all.
I’m actually a big fan of your Simple Metal, which I own and love, and of Printrbot in general. 
Please understand I was referring to cut-price rubbish 3D printers like the Buccaneer and Tiko and other dodgy garbage that is much more recent than your success on Kickstarter.
Chinese philosophy is different that usa . A 5 dollar margin is good.
@Paul_Gross no, I totally get it. Didn’t take offense at all. I understood your context! Sorry if it sounded defensive, I do that sometimes. You speak truth. 
-brook
Prices are indeed different in China. I agree that $5 profit is great there.
I can’t abide the stupidity of some people who declare “Kickstarter success!!!” based on nothing more than the huge sum of money handed over by backers.
Success as it should be defined in the context of Kickstarter is based on the quality of what is delivered, not on mere blue-sky promises.
Tiko, Buccaneer et al are egregious examples of the abuse of the word success.
