For designers using the Commercial License program, I’m curious how it’s been going so far. I’m considering trying it, but would love some feedback:
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Nothing so far. I make enough from downloads/boosts to be happy, but the commercial license program is nice for that occasional message I get from someone wanting to sell something I made. I have 1 lone Patreon backer outside of MW, but I haven’t been really keeping up on that very well either. Too many other things on my plate, and most of my joy in the hobby comes from creating and seeing others enjoy what I create, so I haven’t put much effort into memberships at this point.
Dang, no members is wild given your following and the intricacy/vibrance and and quantity of your designs!
that occasional message I get from someone wanting to sell something I made
I get similar messages about once a week, but I do question whether those people have legitimate willingness to pay for commercial rights, or are hoping I’ll just say “go for it.”
I’m signed up for the commercial license program. I also have an existing Patreon. So far, I’ve only gotten one sign up through Makerworld’s program. I think it’s too early to tell for sure how things will go.
I’m established, but my catalog is a little more niche I think. Through Patreon I’ve been gaining/loosing 1-2 members a month, but generally it’s gone up.
So, so far it seems fine for me. I think for those designers that focus on houseware/trendy type stuff, they’ll see more traction. I think for everyone else, it’ll help provide a little extra income, but probably wont out-pace the points/boost.
I also only had one sign up (If you’re reading this hello and thank you!) I think it will take time for people to want to sign up via Makerworld, most are already onboard with on patreon so I guess it’s just easier for them to keep it in one place.
I’ve had one sign-up through MakerWorld and I’m grateful for that support - I’ll be curious to see how it changes over time. I’m not necessarily a good test-case, though, because many of my projects aren’t ideal for sales (too much post-processing)
Dang, I thought the Q1 printer would go to someone with at least 50 subscribers, but that’s rather underwhelming if y’all only have one. Whoever has the highest subscription price wins, I guess
Same here, not much going on in the subscription area. 1 so far.
Unfortunately we live in a world were people bring nothing to the table, expect a lot and not willing to pay for any of it.
The boost system has been revised, so we have to see where that goes…Bambu gives out boost tokens once a week on Monday…so expect boosts on Monday and then???
As for attribution… i do not care if people pay attribution to my stuff as long as they follow the license guidelines.
Much of this portal is reliant on making it to the model-homepage, if you land there you’re in business. Apparently we all have to make knitted figurines of layered sculptures to be successful in that area. I really have no clue what triggers the algorithm, i can’t image that people print 20 different layered sculptures or 50 knitted animals because they love them so much…
FYI my field of models is a niche, stuff for dollhouses and model car garages.
I also haven’t seen much activity even though I received many messages over the last year asking about commercial licensing. I think in order for the program to be a success Bambu Labs needs to promote 3D printing and their featured/exclusive models to businesses in areas that have potential.
An advertisement campaign promoting all the benefits of 3D printing for businesses like distributed manufacturing, easy color/material customization and on demands product creation would open a lot of peoples eyes to the potential of 3D printing for businesses.
So random question to people who have active subscribers, what tools does MW provide for you to verify who does or does not hold a commercial license?
Like, if i were to set up a commercial use tier and 1 person buys it but 12 people start selling the model, how do i know and verify who holds the license?
Does the subscription page ask for a shop URL or a platform username etc?
This is exactly what we are planning Brent! Thanks for the awesome advice!
As many creators here, plenty of users asked for commercial licenses in the past, but now just a couple have joined.
In my case, most of my designs are OpenSCAD designs, so it is quite hard for me to track who is actually using my models.
@MakerWorld something I’m missing is a way to send messages to a specific group of users, for instance to send surveys, show the WIP of future designs…
@MakerWorld I believe there’s some value in reconsidering the language used for this feature. Instead of “commercial” use, something like “membership” might be more effective. Some people may want to support a creator (which many already offer as a tier) but avoid it because they assume it’s only for commercial licenses. This could prevent them from exploring the support options available. It might be worth considering this change.
Expensive, even for highly targeted campaigns. I wonder if there is a 3D printing trade group or association that can do this on behalf of the stakeholders, ie. manufacturers of 3D printers and filaments.
I was secretly hoping the “uproar” about the upcoming firmware thing makes it to major news outlets. But not even close. That would have been a very effective and free publicity for 3D printing, and for Bambu Lab.
At least we are only talking about a small license. Some companies spent a lot of money making products based on what people said they would buy, and then found out not that many actually bought them.
how about a "makerworld selected commercial license program "
makerworld pick few hundred top sale models and put them in a package
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I’ve notice most of the inquiries about the commercial license I got are specifically on few models I designed, and some of the models I’m not willing to let people sell it online while I’m making money selling them exclusively
would be nice if MakerWorld can pick some top sell and put them in a package , or let people paying by makerworld points ( something like 50 points a month ) 
So I just found out this is the portion of what I get:
Subscription fee: 5 USD
That’s almost 25% gone!
I’m now wondering if I should just leave Makerworld commercial license and just stick to Patreon.
When you have higher prices it’ll normally take a larger percent as commission. For example Square has a fixed 25¢ fee and a percentage, so that 25¢ eats into it more if it’s a smaller purchase price. The fees are all stated up front if you read the FAQ.
I mean some people don’t want to use patreon so you’re not really losing anything by just having both, lots of people will just be happy using the one platform
When I saw the fees were higher on MakerWorld, it didn’t stop me from signing up. I just made the cost higher to cover those fees. If someone wants the lower cost, they can join on Patreon instead.
