Pinshape Data: How Designers Can Boost Sales of 3D Printable Models

I’ve been a university professor for the last decade and so just a mention of data collection still excites me. The crunching of numbers, tabulations of columns, the wind in my hair…well, you get the idea.

That’s why when I saw that Pinshape had released the results of their 3D Printing Trends report, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist. Self-examination doesn’t make you a narcissist, it’s just good business practice and if you are trying to sell your 3D work through Pinshape, this report contains exactly the kind of information you need. Don’t worry, you’re not going to have to slog through dozens of pages of graphs and tiny numbers in order to glean what you need from their exercise. Pinshape has put together a quick summary of seven lessons for increasing your 3D print sales.

While some of these ideas may seem obvious in retrospect, the best ideas often do (for example: wheels on a suitcase…why did that take so long??) It’s worth going through the list and checking it against your offerings as a way to make sure you are getting the maximum bang for your buck.

Checklists have been shown to make a difference in the most mundane of tasks. When patients are checked into hospitals where the medical staff uses a checklist to ensure that all of the regular steps in their procedure are attended to, there is a significant decline in the number of post-procedure infections and even the rates of survival increase.

While the internet is a wide open world of (mis)information and the number of “Top Ten” lists, or some variation thereof, multiply at rates that leave even fruit flies speechless, this one isn’t just thrown together as a ten minute exercise. Pinshape has its fingers on the pulse of the burgeoning maker market and is growing at well over 100% each month, so the chances that any one person involved in 3D printing is buying or selling through them is pretty high.

Here’s what they have to say about how to position your listing so that it is working for you and not against you:

1. Lower price makes for an easier sale.
2. Designs in the Home and Toys & Games have the highest sell rates.
3. Be active if you want attention.
4. Be wordy too…listings with 50 words or more are 1.7 times more likely to sell.
5. Photographs! Don’t be stingy, as placing 3 (different!) pictures in your listing increases your chance of selling by 310%.
6. Prove it is printable; designs with proof of print show a 2.7x higher chance of selling.
7. And just in case you weren’t convinced of the power of the photo, combine numbers 5 and 6 for a 7.3-times-greater chance of sale over those that show only computer generated images.

It should come as no surprise that most of the factors they address are related to the design of your design listing. Who knew, right? Design is important! They leave with a final bonus tip: Spread the word. After all, if Pinshape is where you are marketing your goods, the more people who know about it, the better–so let them know.

In other words:

Share this story via Twitter, Facebook, or any other format and you’ll be one step closer to making your next sale!

Let us know if you’ve been using these tips yourself in our Pinshape 3D Designs Trend Report forum thread over at 3DPB.com.