Notifications
Clear all

question about Pricing  

  RSS
randolph.l
(@randolph-l)
Honorable Member
question about Pricing

I am putting together an order for the mark3 kit and i noticed something odd if I order (shipping to usa we get $749 plus the DHL shipping at $48.33 fine I understand international shipping is expensive. but if I add a second Replacement PEI Sheet for MK3 (Ultem) SKU : PAR-HWR-MK3-PEI at $9.13 to the order the shipping increases to $ 66.48
now thin metal sheet is not going to change the weight or size of package enough to be noticed so Why is there a $ 18.15 up charge? Are these extra smooth coated steel printing sheets available on the USA side of the pond and if so from who?

BTW the discussions here about the problems attending to the powder coated textured sheet have convinced me not to believe the 3 week time delay for that version and just get the plain smooth version. thanks everyone for the heads up. I am not a novice at 3d printing I have built and used (over25 kilos of filament) a SeeMeCNC Rostock Max V2 Delta but I have a need for a simpler printer while the old V2 is totally disassembled for upgrade to the V3.2 Duet version which will start the day I have the Mk3 kit up and running... Then I will have the Rambo and Steppers from the old V2 (the upgrade is very extensive) to use for another project... thinking of an engraving machine.

Any way Take this as an introduction post and perhaps I can be enlightened why a thin sheet of steel about the size of a magazine cover costs almost twice the cost of the $9.13 item to add to a $ 749.. order
Cheers
Randolph

Posted : 16/09/2018 5:41 am
rob.l6
(@rob-l6)
Honorable Member
Re: question about Pricing

Presumably a mistake in their shipping calculator. I would contact them with the order and explain the issue.

Posted : 16/09/2018 6:32 am
Kcnjamie
(@kcnjamie)
Eminent Member
Re: question about Pricing

I think it is because the MK3 shipping is actually at a steep discount in order to keep the purchase below $800. This makes it so that us in the USA do not have to pay a large tax at customs. When you added the extra item, it made shipping lose the discount.

Posted : 16/09/2018 8:03 am
Peter in Katy
(@peter-in-katy)
Estimable Member
Re: question about Pricing

By the way, you don't want to order the replacement Ultem sheet. You want to buy another spring steel sheet @$29.99.

The Ultem is just a sticker.

Posted : 16/09/2018 12:40 pm
randolph.l
(@randolph-l)
Honorable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: question about Pricing

thanks for the heads up I missed that part about it being a sticker. what sort of custums charge do these kits get these days? I dont expect they will get any better considering the current POTUS 🙁

In other words what do USA folks see as the typical for this stuff (Customers with shipping addresses outside of the EU are responsible for all duties, import taxes and brokerage fees.)
I don't find the $30 steel sheet on the store page do you have a url (or a USA source)?

and other respondents your explanation for the nutty shipping charges does make sense. also thanks.

Posted : 16/09/2018 9:38 pm
Peter in Katy
(@peter-in-katy)
Estimable Member
Re: question about Pricing


thanks for the heads up I missed that part about it being a sticker. what sort of custums charge do these kits get these days? I dont expect they will get any better considering the current POTUS 🙁

In other words what do USA folks see as the typical for this stuff (Customers with shipping addresses outside of the EU are responsible for all duties, import taxes and brokerage fees.)
I don't find the $30 steel sheet on the store page do you have a url (or a USA source)?

and other respondents your explanation for the nutty shipping charges does make sense. also thanks.

https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/mk3-printer-parts/216-spring-steel-sheet-smooth-pei.html

You may need to contact support before you place your order in order to get access to the page. The parts pages are limited to actual customers.

Posted : 16/09/2018 11:35 pm
Kcnjamie
(@kcnjamie)
Eminent Member
Re: question about Pricing


thanks for the heads up I missed that part about it being a sticker. what sort of custums charge do these kits get these days? I dont expect they will get any better considering the current POTUS 🙁

In other words what do USA folks see as the typical for this stuff (Customers with shipping addresses outside of the EU are responsible for all duties, import taxes and brokerage fees.)
I don't find the $30 steel sheet on the store page do you have a url (or a USA source)?

and other respondents your explanation for the nutty shipping charges does make sense. also thanks.

There is only a customs charge in the US if the total order is greater than $800. That is why the mk3 shipping is discounted. It keeps it below 800.

Posted : 17/09/2018 7:54 am
RufusClupea
(@rufusclupea)
Reputable Member
Re: question about Pricing


Why is there a $ 18.15 up charge?

My best guess is that Prusa's ordering system calculates it as two separate packages (though I could be mistaken). Having received a kit, I can't see any reason a second sheet can't be squeezed into the kit box. If contacted by chat or email, they should be able to accommodate you (but of course I can't guarantee--they do a lot of things that mystify me... 😕 ).

That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!

Posted : 17/09/2018 4:45 pm
randolph.l
(@randolph-l)
Honorable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: question about Pricing

Thanks, I will ask via the live chat when I place my order this week. I still can't decide if I want to take the risk of an ever delayed order and go with the 2 sided powder coated sheet with its estimated 3 to 4 week fulfillment time frame or go for the get it in less than a week with the smooth steel version. I read a lot of angry messages from folks who have been waiting since January for their powder coated build plates... if I go with that option I would want a plain steel sheet slipped into the kit package though s I can see the usefulness of having both to hand....

part of this indecision comes from not knowing things that I would know if I knew what for example would be the delivered cost of a one kilo spool of the PRUSA orange filament and plain steel plate to a USA address as a separate order and that info is not available to me until I am a customer with an active order as far as I can see...

I am not new to the mess that international shipping can be. I am a home shop machinist and back in the 70s it was sometimes cheaper when obtaining cast iron rough castings for projects from England it was sometimes cheaper to fly to the UK and bring the castings home in my luggage! even for just 20lbs of iron! In one case I had castings held up in customs for a 500% customs charge when the correct line charge should have been 7% took me almost a year to get them to accept their mistake... today international shopping is much better than that though with the current POTUS it seems to be headed back to where it was in the mid 20th century.

I wonder if PRUSA could not benefit from setting up an office in the USA... perhaps near Newark airport and container terminal to have their own distribution center... if not for the printers them selves then for all the little stuff and their own brand of filament. that way they could even run fulfillment through amazon and if it made economic sense but in any case they could take advantage of things like flat rate mailing boxes via USPS

Posted : 17/09/2018 8:24 pm
RufusClupea
(@rufusclupea)
Reputable Member
Re: question about Pricing


part of this indecision comes from not knowing things that I would know if I knew what for example....

Is that another way of saying that you don't know what you don't know? 😀 (Been there.. many times!) 😀

FWIW, I've personally not understood the fascination/obsession with the powdered sheets unless one really wants that particular finish (which is fine--in my own case, I opted for all black printed parts 'cuz I didn't much care for all that orange... 🙄 ).


I am not new to the mess that international shipping can be. I am a home shop machinist and back in the 70s it was sometimes cheaper when obtaining cast iron rough castings for projects from England it was sometimes cheaper to fly to the UK and bring the castings home in my luggage! even for just 20lbs of iron! In one case I had castings held up in customs for a 500% customs charge when the correct line charge should have been 7% took me almost a year to get them to accept their mistake...

I get that. I had similar "Adventures Ordeals in importing" with my business pre-NAFTA. The freakin' customs brokers were... well, sounds like you know as well... 😉


I wonder if PRUSA could not benefit from setting up an office in the USA...

You would not be alone in wondering that. It comes up on this forum quite often.

That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!

Posted : 18/09/2018 6:44 pm
randolph.l
(@randolph-l)
Honorable Member
Topic starter answered:
Re: question about Pricing



part of this indecision comes from not knowing things that I would know if I knew what for example....

Is that another way of saying that you don't know what you don't know? 😀 (Been there.. many times!) 😀

Snip

I wonder if PRUSA could not benefit from setting up an office in the USA...

You would not be alone in wondering that. It comes up on this forum quite often.

Well I just got the notice in email that my order has moved to shipping 😀 and the folks in chat support were quite nice about including an extra plain metal sheet with my order and no extra shipping charge so it does look like an artifact of the special deal usa shipping charge for the kit not allowing for any change in the order with out switching over to the regular DHL shipping charges calculation now to get my build space set up for next weeks build... I am meticulous with projects like this doing things like using old muffin cooking tins to separate each fastener into it own little pile by type, size, and length so don't look for me to set any speed records.

thanks for help gang.
R

Posted : 21/09/2018 7:39 pm
RufusClupea
(@rufusclupea)
Reputable Member
Re: question about Pricing


I am meticulous with projects like this doing things like using old muffin cooking tins to separate each fastener into it own little pile by type, size, and length so don't look for me to set any speed records.

Paraphrasing Chief Brody, "You're gonna need a bigger boat muffin pan" (actually, quite a few...) 😉

We used 3+ organizer trays with (IIRC) about 3 dozen compartments each, and still had a few double-ups.
We used (roughly) one tray for each axis (X, Y, Z, E) with a little crossover (E didn't require an entire tray, while one of the others required more...) You will likely have a few parts left over (in addition to the extras bag) without having missed anything/left anything out.

We had the online build manual loaded onto a laptop to refer to others' build notes, and the pictures were much better as we could magnify them.

At the time, I read the average build time was 3.5-10 hours, depending on one's experience/proficiency. Therefore, we guestimated it would take us 20 hours (doubling the maximum), and we weren't too far off--it took us 24 hours--spread over a few days...

That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!

Posted : 22/09/2018 5:32 pm
Share: