Bambu have just cut off their nose to spite their face, I was buying AMS units + ASA Aero/PLA Aero and build plates from them as local retailers stock only basic filaments PLA and PETG and charge the earth for them.
Since they have taken away my right to chose how I purchase product my decision has been easy in going to Creality for my first of many purchase of four units as they don’t close source things and they don’t seem to care if you buy it from their site or locally.
I have also decided that I will ONLY be using generic filament in my one X1C and I will find a an alternative to the ASA Aero and PLA Aero I was buying…
I used to be able to purchase Bambu labs product direct from the website, now I am forced to buy product only through local retailers who…
a) Charge exorbitant Mark ups on the product.
b) Only sell the Bambu product they can shift massive volumes of - also at an exorbitant mark up.
c) Making it now impossible to get the specialist filaments I required unless I pay STUPID LEVEL money to get them.
It was worthwhile buying Bambu’s printers as they were relatively bullet proof although quite expensive, now they have gone to the “Apple tier” and will be priced at a level that only idiot elitists will pay simply because of the name.
In short their actions of close sourcing filament tags and this decision to only allow local retailers to sell the product instead of users being able to source product directly from their site have been the straws that broke the camels back.
The one X1C I have will be the only X1C I ever purchase, Ive brought 4 of the latest Creality units instead as my first batch.
I was purchasing product directly from their site, in some cases because it was cheaper, in other cases because local resellers don’t stock it or if they do at ridiculous prices as they only like to stock products they move in bulk so if it can’t be sold in bulk it gets sold at an insane price and they stock very little of it.
Bambu has now said no you can’t buy from us direct living in *insert country here * you can ONLY purchase through a local reseller.
More expensive, less availability, less choice - moving it into the “Apple Tier” we will charge insane prices locally because we have a Monopoly and you can’t buy it direct yourself…
I thought I explained myself very clearly, Bambu no longer let me purchase product direct from their site, they force me to go through a local retailer who either a won’t stock products that aren’t big sellers making it impossible for me to get specialist filaments or will price those filaments exorbitantly because they don’t want to have stock on the shelf that they don’t turn over in a week which is what PLA or PETG does so either way I won’t be able to get the filaments I need as they won’t be available or the local retailers will be charging stupid money for them…
well i can understand your frustration, i’m guessing you’re from new zealand, where this indeed happened
while i understand the grievance, a company has really no obligation to sell in all countries, this can be for low market share, or import regulations, taxes, shipping costs, etc, so i’m sure a company only doesn’t ship to a country if they are actually having negatives impacts from doing so, not just because they feel like it…
companies are not non-profit organisations, they need to make enough profit margin on the products to be sustainable, it is what it is, but yeah i’d say you already found your alternative, there are numerous brands out there, also with quality products, if bambulab doesn’t work for you anymore, then finding those alternatives is the right path
Bambu labs products would have been fine if this door hadn’t been closed but yet retailers in New Zealand only sell what they can move quickly and if they can’t sell it quickly and you want it at minimum you can triple the price.
I have no problem with people wanting to make a profit but I have seen some of the markups here on certain items %4500 markup on an item worth $.37 USD landed including G.S.T and freight.
I was going to be purchasing bulk printers and materials for my project - they won’t be Bambu anymore as - as far as I am concerned Bambu have just handed local retailers the ability to print money by charging the end users that want to use these filaments as much money as they can possibly drain out of them in effect a Monopoly we have been golden handcuffed.
If that is the sort of thing Bambu is going to do - never mind the closed source nature of certain aspects of their business so far - I am done with them.
I have to agree with @h3li0 post.
Yes it’s a pain if you did in the past purchase from them direct and now you can’t. Obviously something has changed that wasn’t in Bambu’s favor.
On a positive note, you have found another printer that is good for you.
I would not be surprised if what has changed is local retailers complaining to Bambu that end users can buy their product direct from Bambu at cheaper prices so the retailers can’t charge body parts for product.
sure, i get where you’re coming from, usually retailers will mark-up prices, as they also need to make money, so that’s understandable, the benefit is that it’s closer to you and they will also need to handle warranty inquiries, which they’ll need to act faster upon (depending on local regulations of course)
you’re not the first to state that retailers really increase the prices in new zealand, but is this a bambulab only issue? or is it the same for other brands?
not trying to defend the retailers, i ask because i don’t really now what kind of import taxes and other duties the retailers need to observe in your country, this may not be the case of them being overly greedy, but instead excessive governmental taxation on imports, or really high shipping costs, that then need to be passed on to the consumers (otherwise they would be loosing money with every sale)
In the case of the item I mentioned .37USD is what the cost is for one Blue Common Cathode Seven Segment LED if purchased from over seas direct including transport cost and G.S.T ( at that time 12.5% - now 15% )
At a local retailer you can expect to pay $16.60 including G.S.T - the G.S T component being ( $2.49 ) so the component itself is $14.11 + G.S.T - the component ( and this was at a better exchane rate but I will use todays ) is 67c NZ so the profit on that one component is $13.44 which is ridiculous.
It cost me $111 USD to buy 300, here it would cost me $4980 maybe this demonstrates the greed.
The only way that this Monopoly could be broken is if I could purchase materials from Bambo labs myself at cost and sell them on at that cost +$1 that would force the retailers to lower their prices.
yeah that difference sounds pretty crazy, i’m guessing you are talking about another brand though, as to my knowledge bambu doesn’t sell that stuff
in terms of printers there’s plenty of choice though, the creality k2 plus has been getting pretty good reviews, there is the prusa core one, which should be pretty good as well, and makeronline is coming up with the kobra s1 combo - currently in the pre-order stage
so there’s quite a bit of good core xy going around
Does not particularly help with the AERO grade filaments though.
I have purchased a K2 Plus, I am looking to buy more, they are cheaper, they let you buy direct, they support multi colour via CFS ( somewhat larger than AMS ) and materials ( not necessarily together ) their tags are open source and they are a grand cheaper and almost as bulletproof as the X1C with a much larger build area - just no AERO filaments I have found thus far and that is what is hard to find - especially if you want them compatible with other materials.
check with other name, i think some brands call it light-weight, i think at least colorfabb has one like this, which should be more or less the same properties
Your frustration with supply chain limitations is understandable, and I hope you can find a reliable source for your ASA Aero soon. It’s worth considering how many others in your area might be facing the same challenge. Every problem holds the potential for a business opportunity—what if manufacturing these filament types locally were feasible? It could not only solve the supply issue but also become a profitable venture that funds your other ambitions.
Bambu has likely found that doing business in NZ is not profitable, probably due to high shipping costs and low sales volume. The cost of maintaining a separate online “store” just for one relatively small country may not have been worth the effort.
There are many other countries where they do not sell their products, and I imagine there are many other niche products that are not readily available in NZ. Like a “Blue Common Cathode Seven Segment LED”, how many people ever need one of those? There are just not enough NZ people with 3D printers, and even fewer with Bambu printers.
Bambu did not lose your business, they decided they did not want it. I doubt your multiple rants will affect their decision at all.
