Just curious about how you guys are spending your points.
I’m currently trying to figure out what my strategy should be for myself. I do like that from BL I can order filament refills and get the RFID-ness, but I tend to feel like it’s not a very effective use of points (because comparatively, BL filament tends to be a bit more expensive and setting filament type/color is trivial to do).
Conversely, I’m not sure I should hoard points to eventually get a printer. At my earning-pace it’ll take me a good while. As of right now I’m quite content with my A1 mini. For the things I make I have not found the need for a larger plate or the more advanced materials. And weirdly, I do like the the A1 mini takes up so little space.
A second printer would definitely speed up the prototyping process… That might the motivation to save up the points.
I accumulated a couple of extra printers so I now have two P1S and an A1. Three printers is surely the max one person should need, at least for personal use. It does speed up the workflow a ton, especially having multiple AMS, since I can print from 9 different filaments at any given time.
I don’t mind using the rest of my points for Bambu’s filament to support the company, it’s sort of a cycle of helping each other out.
I usually don’t buy anything until I have 2 gift cards.
I bought mostly extra parts for my A1 Mini at first.
This time I bought filament, screw kit & the built plate kit.
Also keep in mind that you can only redeem a maximum of 6,988 points per week. So if you are planning to wait for sale make sure you get those gift cards early like RetroSharky said.
I saved a lot of my points to get more printers at first. After that was completed, now I just use them for spare parts. Safe to say I’m stocked up on complete hot ends and have a few spare extruders lol.
Yeah no doubt. The reward system is amazing imo. I started shortly before they reduced the rewards, but it still seems really generous to me. It’ll definitely take me a bit to save up for a printer. Unless I make it another A1 mini (which wouldn’t be bad at all!)
I have been gaining rewards since MW came online, so I accumulated around 10,000 points in that time span, I was about to be able to purchase the A1 Combo for my nephews, but the recall happened. So I kept gaining points and the first day the A1 came back on sale I ordered it with a bunch of filament.
Now with the new reward system I’ve gotten 2 gift cards that I bought 3 complete P1S hotends .2, .6 and.8. I have a few extra nozzles I bought with my printer, but I don’t like the idea of migrating the electronics, so I rather have complete hotends ready to rock at a moment’s call.
Gift cards expire after 1 year if not used. Points may take time to confirm, so if you think you might buy, convert them at the beginning of sale. But if you don’t, I’d actually hold them because you don’t want to be locked in to spending within a year if you decide not to. Obviously up to the individual user, but I think it’s useful to keep the expiration in mind.
Admittedly, I have the same feeling. I keep thinking we’ll see point-inflation strike soon. The current reward system is just too generous to be sustained indefinitely. As the userbase grows and MW becomes an established platform, it’ll hit a point (oOOo a pun!!!) when the money BL spends rewarding designers outweighs the community-building benefits.
I don’t think Bambu would adjust the value of the points themselves. If anything, they’d adjust the rate at which one earns them. (as more or less already happened). I say this because with the boost system. Originally it was like 10 points per a boost, but they upped it to 11, and retroactively rewarded those extra points to anyone that already redeemed.
They haven’t done anything that would hurt or later adjust earnings/rewards in a way that would cause them to go down. They only adjust the earning rates. I think they’re aware enough to know the trouble it’d cause if they tried to adjust the actual value.
Are you guys aware that by keep saying MW’s reward system is too generous and you expect them to reduce it in one form or another, you are giving MW the greenlight to reduce it and therefore making your prediction a self-fullfilling prophecy?
Any honest designer knows that it takes a lot of time and skill to create a model. While MW’s reward is the highest among platforms, on average it doesn’t come close to make up for the cost (time, material, skill acquisition). One could make a lot more money for the same hours by flip hamburgers at a fast food joint.
It’s not that MW’s is too generous and needs a reduction, but that others’ are too stingy. This is a continuation of the long-running unfair practice of undervaluing creative works. The society has been unwlling to compensate artists.
I say it should be the opposite: MW should continue to take the lead to right the wrong and provide even better rewards.
