Supplies:
⇢ Bambu H2D with Laser Combo
⇢ Bambu Filament Starter 4 Pack Bundle
⇢ 49 Piece Bambu Laser Project Starter Pack

Project Files:
Skull Shelf
Moon Planter
Spooky Cats

If you are trying to sell 3D prints straight off the build plate, or engraving a plank of wood and calling it done, you are missing out on some serious money.

Selling a 3D printed articulated dragon at a comic con just isn’t going to cut it anymore, so let me show you how to turn a $2 print into a $40 product that doesn’t look like a kids craft.

Let’s dive in!

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Build a Business Not a Craft

This is my first 3D printer and things have been going really well, but I think it’s time we take our relationship to the next level – Let’s start a business together!

And as the CFO, customer acquisitions lead and creative director in our new business, the last thing you’ll catch me selling is a raw pull straight from the print bed.

Sorry. I’m here to profit and profit we shall.

And, I’m not trying to talk you out of making clicker keychains and selling them at a craft fair. That’s all well and good, keep it up! My goal here today is to get you to think a little outside the box and show you that you can take something simple and make it magical.

For the hopefully inspiring things I am about to show you, I’ll be using the Bambu H2D. It’s an incredible machine. It 3D prints, it laser cuts, it does plotter knife work — it’s basically a small business in a box.

But here’s what nobody tells you in a handcrafted business: the machine is only half the equation.

When you are building a business, especially a crafty business, you need completed products, not ingredients. Unless you sell craft sets, which is a whole other topic and business model! We’ll touch on that someday soon.

For now, let’s focus on the customers perspective.

When you sell a raw print AS A FINISHED PRODUCT, customers see the visible layer lines. The unsanded bloopy part sticking out the side. That support you forgot to break off.

It looks like… a raw 3D printed thingy. And I’m not knocking it; some things make total sense to sell like that.

But, you’re only ever going to be able to get craft-fair prices for it. Dollars. And as the costs of markets and online sales continue to rise, the things we sell needs to be amazing.

The profit isn’t in the printing. It’s in the finishing.

MOON PLANTER ($3 → $40)

So, I printed these on the Bambu H2D. The print itself costs me about $5 in filament for both of these. Maybe fifty cents of electricity. So we’re in for what, three bucks and change each piece?

If I sell this raw, I might get $10 at a craft show. Maybe $12? When you consider the time of your life you need to spend to stand behind your table to try to sell this, that’s barely covering it.

But watch what happens when we finish it.

First, a little bit of sanding. Then a little bit of paint. And this isn’t a super techical method of painting. You can spray paint it, I like just cheap ol’ acrylic bottles of paint.

Then the gold. I’m using this pink-gold paint I had laying around. You could use gold leaf if you want to get fancy, but honestly, a $2 bottle of craft paint works dang better than you’d think.

Can’t paint? Sell craft sets. Or even better, if you do in person markets, set up a paint table and invite people to pick out a blank and then paint it right then and there! That would be super fun.

The overall point here is to think of ways to add value to the products you sell.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, look at this.

I’m just going give the whole thing a little spritz of clear coat.

Here’s the before – and the after.

One is worth $10 the other is worth $40, especially if I stick a little plant in there.

That’s a dang piece of art.

This “finishing” process took no time at all, and I could easily batch paint 4 or 5 of these an hour.

This is what people are willing to pay top dollar for. At a market. On Etsy. At a local boutique. Forty freaking bucks. Same product. Same print time. The only difference is the finishing.

Just wait till you see their expression when you tell them it’s 3D printed. And that they are all hand painted. That is the kind of craftmanship customers crave.

SPOOKY CAT CLOCHES (50¢ → $25)

Here’s where it starts getting fun. This one is my favorite because it takes the finishing concept to a whole new level.

I printed these little spooky cat miniatures on the Bambu H2D. All 6 printed cost me about .58 cents in filament. And if I tried to sell these as-is? I’d get… I don’t even know. A dollar? Two?

They look like little white plastic ghosts of what they could be. Which kind of makes sense, but stick with me here.

If you are into DnD or Warhammer, you are going to love this.

As you already guessed, yes, I’m going to paint these up. But wait – there’s more!

I put each one inside a little decorated cloche. You can get these domes at the dollar store, or even nicer real glass ones on Amazon.

A little moss, a little base — and now you’ve got a display piece. A finished, gift-ready product.

These easily sell for $25 each. At a comic con? They fly off the table. At a Halloween market? Gone. Same 50 cent cat. The cloche, the moss, the paint — we’re maybe five dollars total in materials. That’s a $20 profit margin on a product that took you fifteen minutes to finish.

Not only that – it’s a one of a kind! It’s collectable! It will make people follow you on socials, just to see what you come up with next!

Or again – make this concept a DIY station at your booth! Or a kit to take home and complete! If you are not crafty, or hate painting, or have shaky hands, etc. Then make it a craft set!

For me, I’m usually lasering things and finishing them up, so let’s laser something else with a 3D printer, why not!?

LASER-CUT DECORATIVE SIGNS ($5 → $35)

Let me switch over to the laser module. The H2D makes this super simple.

This will be a layered sign. The bottom layer will be just regular cheap ol’ birch.

Engraved, cut, done in minutes. The 40w laser head makes fast work of it. But here’s the thing — if I sell this raw, it looks unfinished. Do you expect your customer to stain this? Are you selling DIY blanks or a ready to hang decoration?

I sell completed decor, so I’ll stain it. The birch gets a black stain — takes a whole minute to apply, maybe five minutes to dry. The fancy “however you say it” wood gets a little of this neutral stain.

And suddenly that piece of burned birch looks like it came from a boutique. The grain pops. The engraving is crisp. The edges are clean and soot free.

I sell things like this all the time. In fact, this is just going in my pile of wares for my next craft show!

These sell for $30-$45 depending on the size. I’ll put this one at $35.

For a sign that cost me maybe 5 bucks in wood and about fifteen minutes of finishing. That’s the kind of margins you can make a living off of.

BUSINESS MATH

So, here’s the delicious profitable math.

Moon Planter – $3 cost, $40 selling price – $37 profit

If you were selling the raw 3D prints of these for $10, even at a $7 profit a piece you’d need to sell more than 5 of them to make the same profit. 5. Or take the 15 minutes time to paint one and make $37. Up to you.

Spooky Cat Cloche – $2 cost, $25 selling price – $23 profit
Decorative Sign – $5 cost, $35 selling price – $30 profit

You have to stop thinking like a crafter and start thinking like a profitable business. Or at least a person trying to wipe out a few bills in as few orders as possible. That’s the real goal here, right!?

The Bambu H2D gives you three machines in one — 3D printing, laser cutting, plotter knife. But none of that matters if you’re selling unfinished products. The machine makes the thing. The finishing makes the money.

If you are ready to start making maximum profits for yourself and standing out from the all the other 3D printers out there, check out what Bambu has on sale! They are having their 4th anniversary sale until July 15th, and you can save some serious money on 3D printers and filament right now with my link down below!

And if you want to see how the Bambu H2D holds up with a laser attachment and get even more crafty – yet – profitable product inspiration, then check out this article next.

Thank you so much and Happy Crafting!