Signing up to receive monthly subscription boxes is a great way to find new products, receive unique items that you typically wouldn’t purchase for yourself, and even get exclusive, limited edition products. The way they work is pretty simple: you simply sign up for the service, pay a flat, monthly rate and you’ll receive a secret box full of new products and cool stuff every month. The gimmick is that you’ll never know what’s in the box until it shows up on your doorstep, and some months the contents’ value could cost a little less than your monthly fee and some months the value would exceed the monthly fee. Although in my experience the contents of the boxes tend to be far more valuable than what you actually end up spending on them, plus it’s just fun to get a new box full of surprise goodies every month.
You can find a monthly subscription box for just about anything these days, from toys to comics to make-up to shaving products and there is even a monthly box full of bacon products. Oddly, 3D printing has been largely absent, which now that I think about it seems strange considering how many different types of filaments and accessories there are available these days. A few months ago, we saw CubeForme launch on Kickstarter (funding was unsuccessful), offering 3D designers’ collections in subscription boxes. And now that Maker Box is preparing to launch, other makers their very own monthly 3D printing subscription box. Finally, 3D printing professionals, enthusiasts and hobbyists can receive a monthly box of surprise 3D printing goodies.
“We know you are too busy learning and tinkering to continuously keep up to date with the latest 3D printing filaments and tools, so we created a box that showcases the most exciting materials from the top filament brands each and every month to your doorstep. Inside each box you will also find handy maker tools, 3D downloads, reference guides and exclusive surprises. We do our part to ensure that our chosen filaments are both environmentally friendly and thoroughly tested before entering our maker’s toolkits,” Maker Box explains on their website.
It’s pretty easy to sign up to receive a monthly Maker Box, just head on over to their website and subscribe, making sure to select the correct filament size that your 3D printer uses. Maker Box is available in a 1.75 mm filament option and a 3.0 mm filament option. Each box costs $69.99 a month and that price will include shipping. The new box for the month is shipped out near the beginning of the month, and currently Maker Box expects them to arrive by the 15th of each month depending on your location.
Sample Maker Box.
Each Maker Box will include samples of high-quality 3D printing filaments, including many advanced and exotic materials like Glow in the Dark, Metal, Wood, Bronze and Carbon Fiber filaments. They will also have other 3D printing products like cool prints, maker tools, reference guides, coupons for 3D printers and services, and exclusive samples and freebies. Some of the filament manufacturers and 3D printing companies that they have already lined up to work with include NinjaFlex, 3D Masterminds, Made Solid, taulman3D, 3D Fuel, 3DShoes.com, ColorFabb and 3Dom.
The Maker Box is now open for orders and the first set of subscription boxes is scheduled to ship out soon. They are also offering a pretty amazing deal for any founding members who sign up before the first box, Just enter the coupon code “3DXMAS” and you’ll receive 10% off of your Maker Box for life. The offer ends on December 26th, so sign up now if you want to save that extra cash.
Have you tested out this subscription-based service? Let us know your thoughts in the Maker Box Forum thread on 3DPB.com.
