So I got my M200 and it seems to print pretty well, so I thought I'd order some more materials and colors.
And they are all over the map. Zortrax store in Poland has one price, Zortrax US (aka 3DProShare) has another, various vendors on Amazon have other seemingly random pricing, including Zortrax on Amazon, various vendors have some colors but not others, free shipping or expensive shipping,
Is this a result of filament being produced in Poland and occasionally shipped to the US by the container-load, and the rest of the time going air freight, or is there something else going on here?
Is there a one-stop shopping option for all materials in all colors with a fixed/reasonable price?
Price fixing is illegal in the US so we have variances, not just that but the pricing from each reseller should generally be the same give or take some currency. It all stems down to who is closest to you and who can provide you the best service. Competition will always provide better service and prices for the customer.
Zortrax (Poland) will always have better pricing because they choose to have a smaller margin to work with effectively taking customers from their resellers, smaller margin with a larger buyer base produces more income. not just that but they do not have to worry about container shipping like the US or our friends down under. The pricing in the US has to do with each companies ability to ship the product and what margin they are comfortable with.
If you want a one stop shop for all materials at a fixed price then go to any reseller in the US (I believe you are in the US based off your reference of Amazon and Proshare) and stick with who can provide you with the best price and is able to keep the filament in stock.
I have a bias on this matter so please look for more opinions other then mine. Ask different users where they get their filament and what they think about the company they get it from.
You really have to watch out for shipping costs, too, and maybe customs fees in some countries. Here in the US, a roll of ABS costs me $21.90 + $18 and change for shipping. Bump the order to 10 spools and the shipping cost drops to $9 per roll. Shipping costs for US resellers, other than Amazon, seems to be somewhere in between those two extremes. When the shipping cost nearly equals the filament cost, one is tempted to try non-Zortrax filaments, especially for the more expensive Zortrax filaments..
I also buy most all my plastics from Octave then Makerbot and a few other distributors here in USA.
Just to let you know buying from Octave is just paying a little more for ordering through 3D ProShare. From what I know all filament sold in the US is from 3D Proshare which is why they generally have the best price.
I’m not trying to steal any business but I will always keep in good contact with my customers. I try to stay up to date with everything going on. One of my customers keeps me on top of that (thanks Josh) lol. www.exoticdesigns3d.com is my site. I also stay right in line with Zortrax USA. Same pricing. If I ever have a different price feel free to let me know and I will get it taken care of.