Best 3D Printer Store Front Business Ideas

[Larry]

I know there are a few threads about opening 3D printer business's. This thread is a bit different. If someone gave you $250k and said, use this to open up the most clever, profitable, highest growth potential 3D printing related store front, what would you open?

Think outside the box. What would people really want? Would you sell Printers, printed items, both, or make your money some other way perhaps? Who would be your main customers?

Let's get the ideas flowing.

[JohnA136]

I would set up a high end printing and scanning kiosk! Full Body capable with a sandstone printer.

[Luke]

I would use 250K to print all the small plastic surgical disposals and help lower healthcare costs.

[Compro01]

I would use 250K to print all the small plastic surgical disposals and help lower healthcare costs.

Those disposables are already made en masse via injection molding at far cheaper costs than 3D printing.

[PhotoSteve]

Hello
I'm new to the board and still getting my feet wet in 3D printing. But I would open a shop like a Apple store(just a example). A 3D print bar if you will.......printing, selling and test driving all things involved in the industry.

PhotoSteve

[Larry]

Do any of you guys know of any store fronts for 3D printing in your neighborhoods? If so, where do you live?

[cjackson61]

The University of Illinois has a neat little thing going on called MakerLab. They have a dozen Makerbot Replicator 2s lined up and you can come in and browse Thingiverse or come in with an STL of your own design and choose from a wide array of colors and a few experimental materials and they help you set it up on the printer. You can hang out while it prints or if you're doing bigger things you can just come back the next day to pick it up. They charge 10 cents per gram for students, 20 cents per gram for members of the public, and double that if you just want to email them the file and come pick it up later (so that they have to slice it and set the printer up themselves). It's a cool environment and I like hanging out and seeing what other people are printing.

I don't know if they're profitable...I feel like all the money they spent on those nice Makerbots will take a long time to pay off. But, they've got a campus full of architecture and engineering students printing off prototypes everyday, so if I was to open a 3D printing store of my own I'd definitely want to be located smack dab in the center of a campus town.

[cjackson61]

Personally I like the idea of full body scanning and full color sandstone printers. Those little mini-mes are the coolest. I would also offer commission services for replacement plastic parts and board games and stuff.