I want to share my recent very negative experience with MakerWorld (Bambu Lab) and warn other creators about how easily your hard work and earned rewards can be wiped out overnight.
The Situation:
I am a long-term contributor to MakerWorld with over 73,000 total downloads. Recently, MakerWorld suddenly blocked my most successful models out of nowhere and deducted 21,063 points (worth approximately €1,607 / $1,750) from my account.
Key Facts & Timeline:
Models Published in March 2024: The affected models were uploaded over two years ago (March 2024) and successfully passed initial approval. Many of them were brought over using MakerWorld’s own official migration tool from Printables, which MakerWorld heavily promoted at the time.
2 Years of Track Record & Thousands of Prints: These models functioned without a single issue for over two years. They accumulated thousands of downloads, hundreds of positive ratings, and community print profiles/makes.
Absurd Retroactive Justification: After two years, support suddenly flagged them for “blurry images” and “bulk uploading low-quality / repetitive models within a short timeframe.”
My Rebuttal to Support:
Photos: All photos were shot specifically for MakerWorld in high resolution. Upon zooming in, print layer lines and surface textures are clearly visible. They are 100% real prints—no AI renders or blurry previews.
Repetitiveness / Timeframe: Each model is a unique design. The concentration of uploads in that timeframe was due to using MakerWorld’s official Printables import tool back in early 2024.
Retroactive Penalties: It is completely unfair and unacceptable to classify successful, community-verified models as “spam/low quality” two years after the fact and wipe all historical points earned from them.
Support’s Response:
After multiple emails and two “reviews,” I only received generic templated replies. They claim the decision is final, points cannot be restored, and they refuse to provide specific evidence or an itemized explanation for which exact model violated what rule. It feels entirely intentional—wiping high-value point balances on top-performing models to avoid payout.
Pripájam aj snímky (I am attaching screenshots of the email correspondence, the itemized deduction table, and full-resolution photo proof of the prints that support claimed were “blurry”).
Has anyone else experienced retroactive model deletions and point confiscation on MakerWorld? How did you resolve it?
Well, I can see why they did it. You aren’t the only one who posted basic shapes and raked in downloads.
On the other hand, those basic shapes can make neat accents and decorations but there’s no denying they are low effort models. How long does it take to draw a sphere or cube?
I think the issue is what could be a legitimate model for decoration has gotten caught up in all the junk others have also posted to cash in on downloads and prints. And looking now, it looks like MakerWorld has been busy. You couldn’t swing a cat before without “calibration” cubes and other primitives out the wazoo. Now I only found one (didn’t look hard) and he might be getting his model pulled soon too.
There really was a flood here of those exact kinds of models and they were as much a nuisance as all the “letter A” models and other dead weight just used to trade downloads on facebook and score points.
It’s maybe not fair but it has been an issue for Bambu and if you had legitimate reasons for posting them originally, the way people abused this place has Bambu casting a wider net.
Now if they would just do it to the AI slop posters.
At second glance, it looks like a massive meme battle: Circle vs. Triangle, with nothing but funny comments. Let’s be honest: This is just some Reddit, Twitter, social media - whatever - meme battle.
Stuffed toy eyes, setting aside how insanely dangerous this would be for small children, absolutely aren’t a “high quality picture”, I call bull on this one, too.
Sharpening steel handle is also suspect. Zero layer lines to be found and I’m not aware of any ASA material that’s matte black with white flecks like that. The" before" and “after” images don’t match either - different looking sharpening steel, different background, and the ferrule doesn’t match. If it was printed, it might have been with PLA. Also, the profile - 2 walls, 20% infill is ridiculous for an application like this, so I’m gonna report this one as a low quality/nonfunctional design and possible safety hazard as well.
I don’t generally ridicule people’s work, but in this case you’re trying to game the system, put in the absolute least effort possible for an outsized reward. MakerWorld is quite frankly being ruined by this behavior, so I’m quite glad to see Bambu taking action against this.
Every time I try to have empathy for makerworld point gremlins, I see a thread like this, with someone really making the claim that a 5-vertex shape crapped out from blender’s side menu and exported must be worth 1000 dollars
Step back for like, one second
Right click, add shape, square
Thats the thing you’re claiming is worth creative dollars. Giggle that you got away with such rot, dont be mad that its taken away
I drew all of it in Onshape, which I can even prove, so keep your observations to yourself. I checked back then to see if anything comprehensive had already been created for teachers and there wasn’t, not to mention that I had already published it on Printables long before that. What can you brag about — what have you created?!
Mr. Basic Shapes, this is a growing moment for you. The kids call it “Taking the L” these days lol. You got away with something patently absurd and of no greater effort than a right click, for almost 2 years while an algorithm-autopilot billion dollar company swooned over your design and showered it with money.
Giggle at the absurdity lol, this is a fun story, not a tragedy
You realize that almost every single comment on those models is making fun of you in some way or another?
You asked for feedback on a public forum. Don’t get defensive when people call you out for your BS.
Its just crazy to think that profile has probably earned 6k to 7k USD, and most of it has come from models that take seconds to design. What is even the point of posting them? You have obviously got success from them, but why?
Dont pull that ■■■■.
We are not stupid. A significant portion of the users here are engineers and/or have years of experience.
I do think that @repair3D is a legitimate designer - he has quite a few good looking models - and drawing up those shapes for teachers is actually very useful. Grade schools probably buy these shapes from other vendors all the time.
I bet the models served and probably still serve a legitimate need. While super simple to kick out spheres and cubes for us - low effort - it isn’t for many teachers who aren’t 3D hobbyists.
But what also happened was others decided to use basic shapes to flood and scam the system and I bet @repair3D was even surprised at how much money they were raking in with all those downloads. His other models aren’t near as popular even as the flat ones that are still up.
So I don’t think the primitive shapes violated the spirit of the rules originally but instead got caught up in how scammers decided to flood and scam. For a while they were a flock of golden geese.
@repair3D - thank the scammers and point traders for all this. The rest of us didn’t accidentally fall into a big pile of money and were instead barraged with spheres and cubes just like we’re getting barraged by AI slop now. Bambu can’t really say your primitive shapes are ok while dropping the hammer on others posting identical shapes.
You mean I have wasted hundreds of hours designing repair parts and little functional enhancements for use around the house, uploading 18 models and earning ~1200 points to date and enjoying my occasional roll of free filament? When I could be uploading zero-effort and making thousands of dollars?
and making thousands of dollars?