I typically dont complain about changes. But this one seems like a terrible idea.
I understand wanting to make it easier for order to be placed by customers. But there’s a reason for order review before acceptance and payment. Some people aren’t well versed in 3d printing and will submit something that isn’t possible to print. But if we enabled instant order we are stuck with a bad order now.
So if we get an order and something gets terribly calculated(which does happen) we would be on the hook for losing money on an order. If we cancel because its not something realistically printable we also get our ranking affected. I will not be using this feature.
I also feel that sometime in the future you are going to negatively rank hubs in the listings that don’t offer this feature.
I also feel that the resources you used to implement this could have been better placed to fixing other issues we have been mentioning for a long time that have not been resolved. Such as shop hours, multiple colors in an order, multiple filament types,…
21 Likes
GONO3D
2
I agree, this feature seems pretty bad for the hub and also for customers.
3 Likes
To expand on this some more.
- Another reason is sometimes you get an order and you can tell its parts for another 3d printer and theyve selected PLA because its the cheapest. The hot end parts will most likely start to melt/fail soon after use. So you let customer know those parts would be better suited for abs and explain why. With the instant order feature you wouldnt be able to fix these issues with the order anymore.
- Another is sometimes I get orders and they ask in the comments for a higher infill or pick a color and request a color I dont have that requires special ordering. I wouldn’t be able to adjust pricing to reflect those issues either.
- Or when they submit an order but request one part in flexible filament and the other in PLA. Cant adjust price and now I have to cancel their order or lose money because they put in comments a special request that could be easily resolved with current order method.
Theres a reason why other places such as a cnc shop look over my request before quoting the order.
14 Likes
I have decided to try it out. I wish however it was only available to customer who have made previous orders and know somewhat how 3D printing and 3D Hubs work.
I guess also any disputes I will not deal with myself but let them go for arbitration through 3D hubs staff. Instant order should really make it clear that the burden of review of the order is on the customer and not the hub anymore.
I just wish that 3D Hubs spent their development time on features it seem like hubs are asking for and not something else.
4 Likes
I am really hesitant about this feature. How does quanity/number of files uploaded get applied into the claculation? I would never meet a 2 day deadline if a customer orders 10+ of a design or uploads a bunch of files. I do have a day job and can’t be home to remove and start new prints to meet a order.
I probably would feel better about this feature if my print settings were taken into calculation plus a extra 24hours for quality check and reprinting if needed.
5 Likes
I think instant order for re-ordering makes more sense, it’s already been done by the same hub and there’s no need to redo all model analysis and printability checks again.
10 Likes
The printability checks on here are WAY too weak for this. Seriously, it doesn’t even check for non-manifold meshes! FAIL.
I would consider using this feature if it was restricted to manifold, single-shelled meshes with no self-intersections.
9 Likes
I’m going to give it a go for now - see how well it is received by both sides. Agree on most points, and hopefully their algorithm will filter all but the most basic orders through - and if they ask for extras after, I will have to be blunt and keep pointing out the T&C that they agreed to with the Instant Order option.
We will see!
Steve
1 Like
It would also be nice if I could enable it for selected printers only rather than all printers or no printers.
3 Likes
I completely agree with you. I had to shut off instant order since a customer kept placing the same order, deleting their user account, then placing the same order again (with identical STL parts) under a different user name: Guess whose ranking suffers because of that? 3DHubs doesn’t seem to realize the market size they could become a leader in if they just listened to their user base.
5 Likes
Yeah. During finals time I get a lot of architectural models that are typically done in rhino and full of errors. It takes a few back and forth messages with how to fix the file before I get something that can print.
10 Likes
When I saw this new feature, I just laughed.
There was no way in hell I was accepting this feature. I have yet to find an order that has the correct support material value placed to it for various reasons and them cutting the mesh repair via netfabb means that in theory you could be sent an open mesh that the customer pays the start up fee for then expects a multiday print back.
Another ridiculous and pointless addition in what now seems to be an endless stream of bad ideas actually being implemented that do no more than confuse customers and make it impossible for the hub to operate efficiently.
Why does 3Dhubs continue to ignore input from hubs on items that need fixing all the while rolling out these “pet” projects? It is a waste of everyone’s time.
2 Likes
Just had my first “Instant order” come through - kinda scary to be honest not knowing what the user has submitted! First order, and yes there is little support needed so the quote is about right, but the material and layer height chosen is far from ideal… (it’s for a GoPro, and they have chosen PLA 300 as the cheapest option).
Does the customer get any notice or confirmation that they have chosen instant payment so have to be happy with what they have chosen, even though it may not be suitable?? If it wasn’t an instant order I would have advised the user to use a better plastic, and reduced the layers to at least 200 micron (I’m now going to remove my 300 micron options as I almost always tell customers not to use it).
Steve
3 Likes
SOC3D
16
And of course, 3D Hubs doesn’t add sales tax so if we get instant orders in the US we have to increase the cost the instant an order is placed…
gregh
17
I was bemused by this new feature. I won’t be signing up but fascinated to hear how it goes for those who do. I have seldom had an order that didn’t have some sort of special explanation or setting of expectations. Seems very impersonal this way. I pride myself on making sure that I won’t accept an order unless I know I can make the customer happy. Not sure how this fits in with my ethos. I’m sure it will cause a lot of Hubs to go through a lot of pain doing a ton of work for very little value just to avoid being down-rated. 3D Hubs will get their 12% either way though.
Hello,
I was wondering if you could share your experience with this new feature “instant order”?
Thank you in advance!
Hello,
I was wondering if you could share your experience with this new feature “instant order”?
Thank you in advance!
It’s OK. I treat them differently to normal order and just print them as they are. Less communication, less chat - just print and send. If I know a design will fail due to incorrect settings, I will tend to slightly improve the print - such as use 250 micron instead of 300, or use a little support even if non calculated. Usually the instant orders are simple easy prints that don’t require any thought, so it kind of works.
Steve
