I'm in Business!

[PopRocket123]

I've just launched manufacturing and selling my first 3d printed airsoft accessories. Does anyone else on here do the same? How would you recommend going about it? Building a website, starting an Etsy store or something else? And one for the mods, would you have a problem with me advertising and selling my products in the classifieds?

[Misery]

from what ive seen a wee etsy shop and ebay would be your best bet bud

[Albiscuit]

Yeah I would prefer places where I can browse what is available.

so get listing and post a link   

[rj1986]

I as just thinking about this the other day. There are some cosmetic parts for TM rifles that are a bastard to get hold of, or only come as part of a wider (more expensive) part. If you could 3D print them, I would buy them

[PopRocket123]

7 minutes ago, rj1986 said:

I as just thinking about this the other day. There are some cosmetic parts for TM rifles that are a bastard to get hold of, or only come as part of a wider (more expensive) part. If you could 3D print them, I would buy them

What parts are you after? So far I've done a SCAR M-LOK rail extension, SSR M-LOK rails and some list compensators. I've got a lot more planned though, including some full AEGs 

[Guest DrAlexanderTobacco]

9 hours ago, PopRocket123 said:

I've just launched manufacturing and selling my first 3d printed airsoft accessories. Does anyone else on here do the same? How would you recommend going about it? Building a website, starting an Etsy store or something else? And one for the mods, would you have a problem with me advertising and selling my products in the classifieds?

Look into something like Wix, Shopify etc - simplest and quickest route to getting a "proper" website up and running, with minimal input from yourself.

[alxndrhll]

1 minute ago, DrAlexanderTobacco said:

Look into something like Wix, Shopify etc - simplest and quickest route to getting a "proper" website up and running, with minimal input from yourself.

 

Agree with this as a more 'professional' looking route, a thread in 'Places to Buy' is probably a better fit than putting them in the classifieds imo. Feels like a bit of a grey area in regard to the classifieds, but I'm sure the mods can better advise than I can. Either way, good luck with it!

[Speedbird_666]

11 minutes ago, PopRocket123 said:

What parts are you after? So far I've done a SCAR M-LOK rail extension, SSR M-LOK rails and some list compensators. I've got a lot more planned though, including some full AEGs 

 

Got any example pictures to whet one's appetite?

[DRay]

Could you print a KeyMod vertical grip? (Not the stubby kind, a proper one). I have been looking for one for months. 

[PopRocket123]

1 hour ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

Got any example pictures to whet one's appetite?

Here's what I've done, and some stuff I'm still working on

[rj1986]

2 hours ago, PopRocket123 said:

What parts are you after? So far I've done a SCAR M-LOK rail extension, SSR M-LOK rails and some list compensators. I've got a lot more planned though, including some full AEGs 

 

The little screw in nub on the dust cover on the m4/416. More of an annoyance than vitally needed

[PopRocket123]

27 minutes ago, rj1986 said:

 

The little screw in nub on the dust cover on the m4/416. More of an annoyance than vitally needed

You mean this bit?

Edited March 16, 2021 by PopRocket123

[rj1986]

Yeah, slightly different design on the TM - plastic made and 2 piece (i think)

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by rj1986

[PopRocket123]

13 minutes ago, rj1986 said:

Yeah, slightly different design on the TM - plastic made and 2 piece (i think)

 

I see. I'd have to get the dimensions from somewhere as I don't own a NGRS. With a part that small I doubt printing would work very well though. Personally I just turn the spring round so that it stays closed. 

[Keldon]

I would stay away from Etsy as they have lots of charges and also it's difficult to be seen, have to pay for adds to go up the discover lists. Etsy has changed the past couple of years. 

[PopRocket123]

15 hours ago, Keldon said:

I would stay away from Etsy as they have lots of charges and also it's difficult to be seen, have to pay for adds to go up the discover lists. Etsy has changed the past couple of years. 

Thanks. This is why I wanted to ask before going down that route. 

[hitmanNo2]

I've been researching this very thing on and off for the past couple of months.  Not an exhaustive pros and cons list but here is what I've found.

 

Wix vs Squarespace vs Shopify vs WordPress

I'm sure Wix and Squarespace work fine for some purposes but I read a bunch of reviews and I wasn't really sold.  They seem very much form over function and their flashiness hides problems.  Then due to proprietary management, there is potential for problems should you wish to move on if they can't offer what you need any longer/issues with hosting.  Though I suppose the same can be said for Shopify but Shopify seems considerably more scalable with less hidden costs too and just generally better.  Issues with Wix mobile site scaling seemed to come up quite a bit too.

WordPress is the ultimate goal it seems for e-commerce but requires a significant amount of time/knowledge or funds as you need the WordPress specific hosting (ideally), payment plugins etc.  A bit too advanced for my needs.

 

Etsy store vs own store.  I primarily looked at a Shopify store so will use this.  There are other alternatives but ultimately quite similar in most regards

 

Etsy pros

- Quick setup.  This is a big draw for most people.  Just register.  Put in a small amount of work of writing descriptions and uploading photos and you're good to go as all the infrastructure is in place

- Exposure.  This probably won't effect someone selling 3D printed airsoft accessories but as Etsy gets a lot of general traffic people can stumble on your store whereas perhaps if it wasn't on Etsy, they would have to be looking for it.  Let's face it, the average person scrolling through Etsy probably isn't your target demographic so competition/being seen is largely irrelevant

- Fees are not too bad for low volume selling

 

Etsy cons

- The fees are notable once you hit a certain sales figure.  Better than ebay but you're paying for the privilege of using their system and everything that goes along with it.

- Limited template to sell your things.  For instance, I don't believe you can use videos

- Similar to the previous point, you don't have a lot of control of the look and feel of your brand.  Perhaps more important for some people than others

 

Shopify pros

- More professional looking having your own site

- More control, extra sub categories etc as Etsy can be a bit limited

- Cheaper once you hit a certain amount of sales

 

Shopify cons

- Monthly subscriptions start at $29 (lite plan excluded).  So that's a monthly drain on funds even if you're selling nothing.  Though this is countered by their low payment processing if you're selling enough stuff and no transaction fees if using Shopify payments

- Depending on your skills, it could require further costs e.g. web design fees or adding apps for additional features (though I've not looked into apps so I don't know costs/considered necessary)

- Requires effort to get traffic.  Pay for ads, word of mouth, social media posts, FB ads etc though as mentioned, this will probably be the case for selling niche 3D printed stuff on Etsy too

 

Imo, you're best off starting on Etsy, getting some sales, establishing a brand etc and then start your own web store.  Over time you can funnel the majority of your buyers to your Shopify store and just leave the Etsy one running with minimal/zero upkeep.

 

That is unless you already have a massive social media following on IG or whatever that are itching to buy your products in which case I suppose you could jump straight to a Shopify store.