Can you sell 3D prints?
Owning a printer doesn't give you the right to sell everything it can make. Whoever designed the file decides what you can do with it, and they say so in the license that comes with it. Read it before you print anything to sell.
The good news: plenty of designers want you to sell their prints, and say so plainly. That's how we work. Our license lets you sell the physical prints you make, anywhere, as many as you like.
How to read a license
You'll see a handful of common terms on download sites:
- "Non-commercial", "personal use only" or CC BY-NC: you can print it for yourself, but you can't sell the prints.
- CC BY: you can sell prints, as long as you credit the designer.
- A commercial license or membership: selling is allowed, often for an extra fee or a subscription.
- Prints allowed, files not: sell the prints freely, but never share or sell the files. That's our license.
If a file has no license at all, assume you can't sell prints of it.
What to steer clear of
Even with a permissive license, some designs get shops in trouble:
- Famous characters and logos. Movie, game and cartoon characters, sports teams and brand logos belong to their owners, whatever the file's license says. Marketplaces take these listings down.
- Copies of real products. A print that copies someone else's product can break their design rights.
- Food and toy claims. Don't call a printed bowl food-safe or sell small parts as toys for young children without checking the rules first.
What sells
From our own research into what people search for and buy, a few kinds of prints keep coming up:
- Seasonal decor. Halloween and Christmas drive the biggest spikes. List early: shoppers start weeks before the holiday.
- Fidgets and print-in-place toys. Clickers and articulated pieces sell well and print in one go.
- Gifts and jewelry. Earrings, keychains and ornaments are quick to print and easy to ship.
- Useful things. Organizers and holders sell all year round.
Small, fast prints are easier to make money on. You can print more of them, and shipping costs less.
Pricing your prints
Add up four things for each piece:
- Filament. The grams it uses times your price per gram. At $20 a kilogram, our Tentacle Cauldron (about 268 g) uses about $5.40 of PLA. A pair of our earrings uses a few cents.
- Printer time. Electricity and wear on the printer. Longer prints tie up the machine.
- Your time. Removing supports, assembly, packing.
- Fees and shipping. Marketplaces take a listing fee and a share of each sale. Check their current rates.
Then look at what similar items sell for. Price for the value to the buyer, not just your costs.
Photos and listings
- Photograph your own prints. Buyers trust real photos, and they show exactly what arrives.
- Use daylight and a plain background, and include something for scale.
- Say what it's made of (PLA), its size, and the colors you offer.
- Don't use other people's product photos, including ours: they aren't part of a print license.