Shapeways rises from the ashes?

[bc6]

Looks like Shapeways is back again according to this Reddit post. Unfortunately, I can't log in can anyone else login?

https://www.reddit.com/r/shapeways/s/W5yX7p0FnV

https://www.reddit.com/r/shapeways/s/aFDEmamf8p

Edited December 4, 2024 by bc6

[bill937ca]

Isn't that an European based branch? That will still result in Euro shipping charges.

[tossedman]

The Dutch site of the insolvent 3D printing service provider Shapeways is experiencing a rebirth. Under the name Manuevo, former employees and two co-founders have acquired the assets from the insolvency estate and are planning to restart operations in Eindhoven.

 

https://www.3printr.com/manuevo-takes-over-shapeways-assets-new-start-for-3d-printing-service-provider-in-eindhoven-4973087/

 

The restart of the European production capacities in the Netherlands is planned for August 5. Customers from the USA, the UK and the EU will receive their orders without additional import fees. Manuevo currently accepts orders by email, but is planning to reintroduce the API connection for existing customers and is working on reactivating the self-service option.

https://manuevo.com

Edited August 9, 2024 by tossedman

[tossedman]

On 8/3/2024 at 10:04 AM, bill937ca said:

Isn't that an European based branch? That will still result in Euro shipping charges.

It is indeed in Europe Bill. Will have to see what shipping charges are like. I've ordered from Europe before and shipping was less than from the US to Canada.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[cteno4]

I have a vague memory in the early days of shapeways the boxes coming from Europe (I think the Netherlands) and shipping was not horrible.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

Looks like the original shapeways is also reforming, but without the marketplace for now. All marketplace data and software is gone. Looking to try to come back more business oriented, which is smart with the amount of home printers now days, decreasing printer prices, and increasing resolutions of lower end resin printers. Original founders coming back.

 

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/a-letter-from-our-new-ceo-marleen-vogelaar

 

Not a surprise marketplace is not coming back for now. The marketplace was a tough business. Even though a piece could get multiple sales they were really all one offs. Also having to  make customer happy with someone else’s files was a nightmare for customer service. Then verifying and keeping track of all the 3d files. Also lots of work tracking everything and paying the FileMaker as well as full payment and order processing for the customer and even back end paying to some of their printing partners—that’s lots to keep on top of. Even shipping was difficult as many pieces very fragile and requiring careful packaging for shipment. But of online retailer hell.

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

I received the email below this morning:

 

Shapeways is Coming Home

 

I am delighted to announce that Shapeways is coming home.

 

Two original co-founders along with the highly-skilled leadership team from our Eindhoven factory have stepped in to steward the company into its next chapter. After Shapeways Inc. filed for bankruptcy in July, we knew we had to resurrect the company and preserve the digital manufacturing engine we all helped to build - a combination of dedicated, skilled people, cutting-edge machinery and sophisticated software. Moving forward, our focus is on rebuilding Shapeways and leveraging our digital manufacturing engine for our customers’ success.

We regret to inform you that our marketplace cannot be revived as it previously existed, as all marketplace accounts and accompanying data were deleted in the bankruptcy. We still believe in the Shapeways Shops concept and are actively pursuing new ways to replace this service for the Shapeways community. This exploration will take time and we ask for your patience on this journey. We hope to find a solution that allows you to access a similarly eclectic array of unique objects as you came to expect from the Shapeways marketplace. Stay tuned for details.

 

If you are a creator yourself you can upload and order your models here - we’d love to have you back.

 

In the meantime, you can learn more about the new Shapeways in our press release, here. We have compiled a FAQ around the bankruptcy and loss of the marketplace here. And you can learn a bit more about me, the new leadership team, and our vision for Shapeways here.

 

Warmly,

 

Marleen Vogelaar, CEO

 

* Print Your Model   www.shapeways.com/login?targetUrl=%2Fmodel%2Fmaterial-configurator%2Fupload

* A Letter From Our New CEO, Marleen Vogelaar   www.shapeways.com/blog/a-letter-from-our-new-ceo-marleen-vogelaar

 

Essential Shapeways Updates

* Dec 3 Press Release: Shapeways is Coming Home   www.shapeways.com/presscorner/shapeways-comes-home-to-trusted-management-and-founding-visionaries

* A Letter From Our New CEO, Marleen Vogelaar   www.shapeways.com/blog/a-letter-from-our-new-ceo-marleen-vogelaar

* Shapeways Marketplace Update   www.shapeways.com/blog/shapeways-marketplace-update

* Shapeways FAQ   support.shapeways.com/hc/en-nl/articles/17209325443484-Shapeways-FAQ

* About   www.shapeways.com/about

* Contact   www.shapeways.com/contact

 

Shapeways is the world’s leading platform offering programmatic solutions for diverse manufacturing industries.

[tossedman]

I received the same email. Time will tell if it becomes what it used to be. It'll be interesting to see what pricing is like.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[maihama eki]

Shapeways is sort of back to life... at least in the Netherlands.

 

https://www.shapeways.com/presscorner/shapeways-comes-home-to-trusted-management-and-founding-visionaries

 

I had become a big fan of the 3D Systems Visijet materials that Shapeways offers for n-scale stuff. The material is very high resolution, smooth, and paintable.

 

https://www.shapeways.com/materials/mjp-visijet 

 

I submitted an order with the new Shapeways. The prices are good for the prints, but the shipping will be more from the Netherlands to the U.S.

[bc6]

Were you able to login and view other sellers items?

[cteno4]

They state the marketplace is gone for now. They lost all the data in the bankruptcy and software was not resurectable. They say for now the marketplace won’t be part of the business. For now it’s just the usual print service, submit your files for your own prints.

 

jeff

[bc6]

Thanks Jeff I didn't know it was that bad.

[maihama eki]

Loss of the marketplace is a real shame. I had purchased a lot of items from there over the years. There was a very extensive catalog of n-scale stuff.

 

Maybe they will revive that model in the future and the sellers will return.

[cteno4]

The marketplace is really a hard/complex business for them to make a decent profit on. I can see why they are leaving that for later and jsut try to get the basic business back on line.

 

its been a mess for a miniaturist friend to deal with as a few of her sources will not let their files out to her and many print services won’t drop ship, so them ordering a print and then sending to her gets even longer to get done and more expensive, especially with shipping rates taking another good jump.
 

Btw if you ship any usps or ups try pirateship.com, I’ve been super pleased with it and discounted rates. Easier to print out labels than usps system

 

jeff

[cteno4]

Interesting new development with Shapeways, they acquired Thangs and looks to be a path to them being the front end to a new marketplace system. Hopefully much easier to combine the two than recreating the whole marketplace system from scratch.

 

jeff

 

Dear Shapeways Community,

As part of our journey this year, we’re excited to share some incredible news: Shapeways has acquired Thangs, the leading 3D model sharing and discovery platform! 

 

Together, we’re building a seamless ecosystem that empowers designers, shop owners, and anyone looking to turn ideas into reality.

 

Two weeks ago, when we announced that we were bringing Shapeways back home—to its team, its co-founders, and its community—we truly meant the community as well. We are deeply grateful that, through this acquisition, we will be able to provide a new home for our community and an optimal solution for the loss of the Shapeways Marketplace.

 

Thangs will be that home as it has a modernized platform for creators with robust IP protection and a team that works very closely with all of their creators. Additionally, this collaboration will bring exciting updates: 

 

-New opportunities to monetize designs with expanded tools and resources.

 

-A stronger, more connected community of designers and 3D printing enthusiasts.

 

Our mission is to enable you to thrive in this rapidly growing space. By combining Shapeways’ world-class manufacturing capabilities with Thangs’ innovative tools, we’re unlocking new possibilities for the entire 3D printing community.

 

Discover the future of 3D design and printing at thangs.com. Learn more by reading our FAQ here.

 

Here’s to an exciting new chapter for our community!

 

-On behalf of the Shapeways Team, Marleen Vogelaar