Of course the best designers are the ones who care about the customer's needs. Since we're trying to ensure that the system as a whole works, we have to break things down for troubleshooting purposes. So if there is a problem with uploading files, posting products, or payouts then that's a designer side issue. If there's a problem with browsing, purchasing, or printing then that's a customer issue to troubleshoot. We're working hard to have the system function smoothly for both parties, so we're constantly looking for feedback.

I don't see how the customer is being inconvenienced. If anything digital delivery is the most convenient distribution of physical goods possible. Plus it saves on shipping costs and packaging materials harmful to the environment.

That along with a full refund and comped product policy removes all the risk for the customer.

We want the designer's life to be as easy as possible, so the print fails or any problems we see as our responsibility to hash out. That's why we test every model before we allow it to be listed. We just want the designers posting quality content for people to enjoy. We take responsibility for any issues that arise from the marketplace.

I always welcome fresh opinions, but the designers we have talked to express concern about their IP being behind some layer of protection. At CADsurf, we are designers ourselves. We came to this venture after years CADing and prototyping in SolidWorks, Maya, and Inventor. We want to build a service that we ourselves feel happy using. The benefit of streaming is that products can be fairly priced to encourage a Pay-per-Print business model that mirrors the normal purchasing process for physical goods with the added benefits of digital delivery.

I think I read on another post that people we're outraged that a product was listed for over $100 when the material cost to print it was a tenth of that. We are not allowing that kind of listing on our site. I should also note that we charge the same price for a model if it's 2in or 10in scaled. That way the customer does not have to pay more to us when they are already paying more for filament to print the larger version of the model.

Of course this tech is new, so there will be hiccups along the way and we are working everyday to remove those and create a smooth functioning platform for everyone involved. Also as the printers improve their technology and reduce their failure rates the system will grow increasingly beneficial.

Since this is a new venture and we just recently launched, as I told Geoff, I'd be happy to have you try out our service for free and give me specific feedback about it. That goes for anyone else on this site as well. We are not building our marketplace in a vacuum, so specific feedback from experienced users is key.

Here is a link to a $0.00 model, and I'd love to hear your feedback about the whole process. https://cadsurf.com/products/18

Thanks,
Eric
CEO, CADsurf.com