4 Things to Consider Before Selling Your 3D Prints

So, you’ve got a 3D printer and want to make a little bit of that investment back? Me too, and before I started selling 3D printed items commercially, there were several steps I took to prepare. Selling prints can become a full-time business for some, a side hustle for others, or lead to cease and desist letters from lawyers if you’re not careful.

The very basis of selling 3D prints is likely to make money. And, if you’re trying to make money, you’ll need to know how much a 3D print costs. While you can take the estimated gram usage and calculate it out yourself, slicers like Orca, Cura, Bambu, and Prusa, among others, will automatically do that for you. Simply input the cost of your various filaments, and whenever you slice a file, it’ll give you an estimated material cost.

This is only part of the cost of printing an object, however. Suppose you want to get into the nitty-gritty of the cost of goods sold (COGS). In that case, you’ll need to factor things like wear-and-tear of your printer and consumables (like hotends and extruders), electricity usage, and any other ancillary things like glue sticks if you use them. Personally, I don’t track these extra bits because of how I price my products, but some people like to have a very detailed breakdown of costs.

For me, I just want to know how much money in plastic is planning to come out of the extruder.

Make Sure You Only Sell Commercially Licensed Files

Flexi Factory Dan Sopala

This is something a lot of people fail to consider. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at a craft fair, browsing Etsy, or seen people post in the various 3D printing Facebook groups that I’m in, and they ask about selling copyrighted content. I have three simple words for you if you’re considering doing it: don’t do it. It’s not worth it.

I can show you story after story where Harley Davidson, Disney, Stanley, the NFL, the NCAA, and even our own United States government (for things like military symbols) have taken entire stores down and sometimes even sued the owners because they were selling copyrighted content without permission.

There’s a simple formula: if you didn’t make it, and you don’t have express written permission to use it, you likely can’t sell it. Obviously, I’m not a lawyer, and we at How-To Geek aren’t lawyers, so don’t consider this legal advice. Just consider this a friendly reminder that copyright laws exist, trademark laws exist, and nobody is above either.

Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s talk about how to find commercially licensed files, shall we? There are a number of ways to get files that you’re actually allowed to sell. For starters, sites like Printables, Thingiverse, Makerworld, Thangs, and Cults3D have filters that allow you to view models that designers have uploaded with express permission to sell commercially. In fact, I have some files that I’ve designed that allow commercial use of them. And some, I don’t. Whenever browsing any 3D printing site, be sure to look at the license of the file and verify that it gives you commercial use before trying to sell it.

Another place to get commercially licensed files is Patreon. Flexi Factory, for example, includes commercial licenses for all current Patreon members for all files. This gives you semi-exclusive access to the files (they’re only available to Patreon members) and also keeps you in the clear when it comes to selling finished products.

Something else you could consider, though you do have to do some research first, is using a service like Fiverr to hire a 3D model designer. Choose wisely when picking a designer on Fiverr, and be sure to check that commercial use is included with your purchase, but this is a way that you could actually get your own designs to sell while having someone else make them for you.

Now, when it comes to selling 3D prints, designing your own files is one of the safest methods around. You’re still not 100% protected here, but it’s a pretty good starting point. When I say, “You’re not 100% protected…” I’m referencing the fact that if you use the likeness of someone else’s trademark (R2-D2, for example), then Disney still has every right to come after you. Even if you design it yourself from the ground up, you can still infringe on trademarks.

However, so long as you steer clear of other people’s trademarks—if you design a file, you can absolutely sell it! This is actually a two-fold system, as well. You’ll obviously be able to sell the finalized 3D print, but you could also sell the 3D printing file too. I’ve done this for a few years, and while I haven’t made a ton of sales, I’ve still made maybe $50-$100 over the course of a few years from doing it. Worried about how hard it is to make your own 3D modeling? It’s really not that bad with modern software, especially now that AR has been implemented.

Another added benefit of designing your own files is that you can stand out from the crowd. While there are hundreds or thousands of people browsing the 3D printing websites for models to sell, only you have your own designs unless you decide to list them. Selling your own exclusive designs makes your 3D prints stand out among a sea of similar models in different colors and can really help you jump-start your business.

So, you’ve figured out what you want to print, and you’ve calculated how much money it’ll cost you to print. How do you price the item?

My personal formula is extremely simple: time * hourly rate. I know, I know, profound. However, it works for me and many others as well. I used to charge $3 per hour for print time, and now I charge $6 per hour since I have a faster printer. However, figure out what works for you.

3D printing isn’t a fast process, even with a faster printer. So, typically speaking, a 3D print that I sell might take 90 minutes to print. That means I would charge ~$9 for the item (I charge $15 shipped, but shipping costs me $6). Wondering how much it costs in filament? $0.89. After tax. Yep, sub-$1 for the print, and I sell it for $9. That more than covers the wear and tear of my printer, nozzle replacements, filament cost, and electricity; plus leaves a good chunk of change on top for me to enjoy as well.

Selling 3D prints can be a very nice side hustle or even a full-time job if done correctly. And I hope that this post has helped you to see some right (and wrong) ways to do just that.