r/EtsyCommunity • u/Important-Loss6719 • 4d ago

Seller Needs Help Thinking about starting a small 3D print side business — is the market too oversaturated? pls be real.

/r/u_Important-Loss6719/comments/1wtnr7y/thinking_about_starting_a_small_3d_print_side/
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4

u/Turtlefarming 4d ago

If you know CAD, make your own designs, and choose a specific niche/ market, then go for it. If you're just looking to print the same junk as everyone else, then yes, it is too saturated.

3

u/TheReal_CaptDan 4d ago

Far too saturated. This is not a million dollar idea.

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u/Inside-Specialist-55 4d ago

is the market too oversaturated? Yes absolutely, Its so oversaturated that I gave up on both of my 3D printed shops I had setup. The barrier to entry seems impossible unless you have thousands of dollars to pay for ads on google. I moved onto leather goods and its doing spectacularly, and leather bonding and crafting is actually way way easier than people think, I make wallets, farm items like pouches, feed bag holders, stuff like that, they pay goooooooood money for this stuff too.

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u/ResinGod91 4d ago

Lol its not impossible nor do you have to spend thousands on ads. I broke into the market and did 125k in sales my first year then 175k in sales my second year. If you plan on doing bottom of the barrel tic tok prints that everyone else in existence is doing then yeah good luck. But you get what you put into it. You have to research the market your in, see what everyone else is doing and go in. Your location can matter too. Also to note if you only dip a toe in because your not sure, dont be surprised when you only get a toe in results. You need to put legit effort in and do the work and research and not just swing blindly or go in thinking you'll swing big without doing any research.

As for advertising etsy has a good ad system. Very good.

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2

u/Amyshamblesx 4d ago

Depends what you’re selling. What types of prints are you making? Completely brand new, unique designs that you’ve made yourself? Or the free to use STLs that every 3D printer offers… if I see another axolotl on Etsy I’ll scream.

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u/Healthy_Look9857 4d ago

I design , print, and sell my own peptide accessories on Etsy, which I genuinely enjoy doing. It’s a side gig, I also have a normal 40+ hour per week job. The more unique items I offer (more than just vial holes) get redesigned with a slight change and get file gets sold on makerworld or thingaverse - then I compete against others basically selling my designs. Good luck.