It looks like @NeverDie called this one in the post on the discontinuation.
All I can say is that competition is good. But Bambu still isn’t getting it, or maybe they think they can command a premium of 50% to 90% just on the basis of an RFID and a fat spool that “promises” not to clog the AMS. Or maybe they just don’t care since they don’t keep sufficient stock. Perhaps their business model is to “skim from the top.” Filament may not be their focus, so why not just service those customers who don’t look at price and take only the top 10% of buyers? It’s a strategy that Wall Street loves.
Let’s do a comparison. Bambu, consider this market feedback at no charge.
I am using two competing filaments of like-quality that I have recently used numerous times and posted about. Note that these makers have similar direct service from their websites as Bambu but at a lower cost. For this purpose, I am using only Amazon terms and conditions for comparison.
| Single Spool | Multi 4 Spools | US Shipping | Ship cost | Return Policy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bambu PETG HF Spool | $25 | N/A | 3-10 days | $7 | No published policy but anecdotal data posted on this forum states only unopened and only at Bambu CS approval which can take weeks. Also noted was that customer pays return freight. |
| Bambu PETG HF Refill | $20 | $60 | 3-10 days | Free for bulk orders over $49 | No published policy but anecdotal data posted on this forum states only unopened and only at Bambu CS approval which can take weeks. Also noted was that customer pays return freight. |
| Elegoo Rapid PETG on Amazon | $13 | N/A | 1-2 Days | $7 or Free for Prime members | No questions asked. Open and partially used accepted |
| CC3D PETG | $14 | N/A | 1-2 Days | $7 or Free for Prime members | No questions asked. Open and partially used accepted |
Bambu continues to charge a premium of between 50-90% higher with unfavorable, vague, or questionable return privileges, as well as the legendary poor response time and poor freight carrier performance. Not to mention the unfavorably long shipping windows, frequent unavailability, and inconsistent quality, as has been noted numerous times in this forum. One has to wonder what they are thinking.
I guess the same goes for folks who buy the product two. Why pay 1-2X for something you can buy elsewhere with fewer downsides? Of course AMS users exempt.