Formlabs you need to get your ordering and shipping logistics figured out.Firstly if you place an order and there is a partlal shipment that does not get reflected on the dashboard so you have to call to figure out if something didnt ship or got separated in the mail.
Secondly I had the most bizarre conversation with sales today.I ordered some grey pro resin .It didnt arrive with the tank I ordered (had to call to figure that out as above). I was then told it would ship out that day.It never arrived so 5 days later I called again and was told it was going to ship out that day. It didnt arrive so I called again today and was told wait for it… it would ship out “today”.When I expressed some doubt about that since I had already been told twice it was shipping and it was not I asked to speak to the manager. That is when things got weird. The manager told me it would ship out Thursday.When I told I had been told literally 5 minutes before by her sales team it would ship out today she got a bit defensive and said the sales reps were not lying. I am not quite sure how she thought I had misinterpreted “it will ship out today”, but clearly if they say it will ship out and it doesnt they are not telling me the truth.Now I understand there is some kind of logistical issue-Fine so tell me that-just dont tell me something that clearly isnt true.
We were previously ordering from Formlabs directly, but were told lie after lie by some of the DACH team, while others (EMEA) couldn’t help us because we were not from their region. Parts not arriving, promises of delivery unmet, constant need to take up the phone/write an email because they wouldn’t keep us inform by themselves.
We still have an order pending since october 2018 and despite asking multiple times we never got anything else than wooden language as an answer.
Since the end of last year we started ordering from the national “official” re-seller, which we didn’t wanted to order from because it costs us 10% more to buy resin, even if we order for more than a thousand € each time. We are now receiving resin 2 days after order and we get notice if something is late, plus we can call in advance and check that it’s in stock.
I have found the tech support team to be amazing, and the presence of some Formlabs employee on the forums to be a great help. But the Sales experience has been a nightmare as well.
And that is exactly why you are paying 10% more
We are also buying everything from the local re-seller cause it is much easier/quicker to check-order-recieve plus they also give first hand support, offer demo prints etc.
Maybe that is the point of having a re-seller.
Yes, except I already get all of that from Formlabs. So I’m paying 10% only to be able to get my supplies in a timely and organized manner.
If formlabs is not willing to put efforts into providing proper Sales services they should stop altogether which will reduce overhead and prices, allowing the 3rd party supplier to still get their margin and I’d be paying the same thing.
Where I’m getting at is we’re paying a huge premium for Formlabs resins, and we should not accept to pay 10% more because they’re not able to provide a reliable sales service despite being a premium brand.
True. Actually I haven’t checked if we are paying more, I just assumed so.
Way back in the day, Softimage (3D software) used to forward everything to the locals and interfered only as a last resort. That made all parties happier except, from some rare cases where the local was a total ass.
Still I’d rather drive my Form2 to the local, than ship it to Form Labs. If they can’t fix it, then…away it goes.
Writing on April 25 (afternoon). Placed order on April 19. Dashboard still shows it as processing. No delay in processing my payment, but no warning about the resin being delayed. That “Order Inquiry” button is not really helpful. I sent an inquiry to Sales yesterday and no answer. I asked for Express Shipping because I need it soon (already!!!), and after 4 business days they have not shipped.
I saw the post about ApplyLabWork as a supplier, but they don’t have the type of resin that I need. Cost of some of the other resins is about half of the Formlabs price. If Formlabs can’t get their ordering system working, they are going to lose business. It’s nice to know there might be alternatives, at least for some of the resins. I need to search some more.
The delivery system needs some work for sure.I ordered clear resin and got an email saying it had shipped and then another email saying it was backordered.It arrived 2 days later!! I find it odd that a company can design something like the Form2 and not be able to manage supply of resin in an efficient manner.
