With the release of the new Form 2 I’m excited to see all the new features, but it also leaves me with a feeling of regret for buying the Form 1+ just 2 months before the release of the Form 2. My Form 1+ still works amazingly and has no issues, but it’d still be nice to stay current with 3d printing technology. I hear that I might be able to get a discount if I purchase the new Form 2 because I already own the Form 1+, but I was hoping/wondering if there might be any upgrade system. Some way to trade in your Form 1+ for the Form 2 and just pay the difference depending on the quality of the Form 1+ you’re turning in. I know Formlabs is known for great customer support, so I just thought I’d put this out there as I’m sure it’s on other peoples minds also.
They indicated that there is a $400 discount for current Form 1+ owners, but no ‘exchange’ system.
Hi,
I can understand how you feel.
I received my first working Form1+ 11 days before the Form2 release. The timing is terrible and the price drop stings. I am in Tokyo and Formlabs say they are not planning a Form2 release here untl the end of the year…so…
Background: I purchased a Form1+ and received it on July 2nd, but couldn’t get good prints and black resin never worked for me, so I opened a ticket. Formlabs support was great, but it turned out the Laser was underpowered from the start and so the unit needed to go back for repair. Repairs were going to take until the end of Sep/early Oct before I’d get a working printer. The local distributor decided to send me a brand new Form1+ (great!) which arrvied on September 12. And then I get an an email on the 19th to say Big News! And then on the 23rd the Form2 and the prices drop.
The price I paid in Tokyo in July was a little over $4400USD. Yowch.
I’ve emailed Formlabs and the local distributor to see what they will come back with.
Thanks for all of your excitement. The energy from the Form 2’s announcement has been remarkable, and we’re also excited to get the new machine to your desktops. For users in the current Form 2 shipping range, which includes North America and Europe, you can inquire about loyalty pricing for a Form 2 at formlabs.com/loyalty.
Of course, we love that there are many thousands of Form 1+ printers and users around the world, and we’ll continue working with our users and our partners to sell and support the best selling stereolithography machine. Although I too wish it wasn’t necessary, I’m glad that we’ve been able to help you out with the repair, @Sean_B, and thanks for your continued support. Japan has been an exciting new market for Formlabs, and we’ll look forward to shipping and supporting the Form 1+ and the Form 2 to more parts of the world as Formlabs grows.
Congrats Formlabs! You’ve joined the long list of US companies who indulge in price discrimination or what we like to call - PRICE GOUGING! The Form 2 is priced at US$3499 for all US residents and US$4199 for the rest of us, and that’s excluding shipping, duties, and taxes!
Anthony - the reason the price of the Form 2 is greater is some areas is so we can extend the same warranty to all of our customers. If your printer requires servicing, and you are within our warranty range, we cover the cost of shipping and repair.
I hope this explains the price difference!
Jory
As someone that lives in the US it does not matter to me. But the above explanation of the higher out of US costs does not sit with me either. Shipping such a box does not cost $600.00. FormLabs is saying they are expecting the printer to fail, and you have to prepay the shipping costs to enact/honor the warranty on original purchase!
What about betting on yourselves the printer will have a long happy life and eat the costs on the few that do not?
Tell me how this is not so?
Bill
Working for a company that deals with shipping items all over the world on a daily basis as well as technical and highly sensitive electronics, that cost could very well be $600 depending on the customs charges, the insurance value, and the type of shipping required. You seem to be implying that FormLabs is trying to make a buck or two on people and they have every right to do that. They are a company that is growing and with that is growing pains of product failures. Every product out there fails at some point either a company can bake that potential cost into the parts and labor which goes into the final price or they can make it an external cost to which requires us consumers to pay for it in the end. Its simple, they know that at some point someone is going to need their machine fixed in a quick and timely manner so they are working from their previous knowledge for the Form 1 and Form 1+ machines and services and they feel this is their best course of action.
Thinking that any product you put out is 100% perfect is just reckless they are being proactive about service and repair and I will applaud them for it. So it comes at an extra cost but they are not the first company to require it and I am pretty sure they wont be the last.
When I buy a HP or Canon default paper printer, it prints on my paper. I never was asked by Canon to open the device and do X and check Y before I can use it. No discussion. Not finished product.
You can have my device for half price Form1+ printer (not one year old) for sale #HOT# $500.- for all
You seriously cannot compare a machine that has a Laser and sensitive mirrors to a desktop printer. There is no discussion because a 3d printer is nothing like a 2d printer.
How long has the technology been around for each.
Look at the size of a HP or a Canon company compared to FormLabs.
Cost to build and manufacture each printer for each.
Support staff employed.
What happens when you take your beloved 2d printer out of the box and it does not work? You call a customer service that is less than useful and/or you return the product back to where you purchased it from getting a store credit or a swap out because it is cheaper for a company like that to just take a faulty machine back and give you one for free the to attempt to repair it. FormLabs cannot do that because of the steep cost to replace the machine. That is why they would rather attempt to repair it than just blindly send you a new one.
Jory, thanks for your reply. I understand the issues with warranty. Its a standard excuse all companies use to increase prices for the international market, even when the price increase isn’t warranted. My understanding is that Formlabs have an international distribution and warranty service centre to minimise these costs, but what you failed to address (and bothers me moreso) is the fact that the price of the consumables also indicate price discrimination. Standard resins for US customers cost US$149, whist international customers pay US$179 - a difference of US$30. Build platforms differ by US$20 and resin tanks differ by US$10. Are these inflated prices due to warranty also? If I find a consumable is not up to scratch after using it, can I return it at your cost and have a replacement shipped free of charge? What are the terms and conditions of the warranties on the consumables?
And finally, to add insult to injury, estimated delivery dates for the Form 2 are also pushed back for international customers. As of today, if I order a Form 2 from the North American store, I can expect delivery in December 2015. If I order the Form 2 from the International store, I can expect delivery in January of 2016 - so US and EU customers can jump the queue even if I place an order before them - not fair! Is there no order priority? Please explain!
Please note, i’m not having a go at the quality of the machine. I think Formlabs have done an incredible job with the design of the Form 2 and I congratulate Formlabs for that!
Anthony, we do not have any service centers overseas at the moment, except for in the UK.
Since we are based here in the USA, the cost of providing products across the world is more expensive for us. We do our best to keep prices as low as possible, but when you are shipping to over 30 countries…there are many variables and costs to consider (exchange rates, import costs, ect.). If anything you receive from Formlabs is determined “faulty” we will of course take care of you.
Please note that the Form 2 just became available in the international store last week and we are doing everything we can to keep up with demand and ensure orders arrive as quickly as possible. As much as we would love to ship immediately to every country in the world…we want to make sure we are setting proper expectations based on our capacity.
Jory
If you ever do plan to open up a repair shop in the UK. Drop me a line. Sounds right up my street 
Having some “authorized repair centers” around the globe is actually a very good idea for international customers. Then owners can get repairs without shipping across borders.
I’m from europe and I got my printer repaired in the UK. It was super fast and quite cheap. If I remember right, I only paid 62€ or so for the transport.
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