Best Places to Buy a 3D Printer

2021 Edition! 12 Different Sellers Ranked On 9 Criteria to Determine WHERE is the BEST PLACE to BUY a 3D PRINTER!

Amazon versus MatterHackers versus BangGood versus AliExpress versus Gearbest, etc

Buying a 3D printer can be a little intimidating. There are so many choices these days – and everyday there seem to be more and more! But then there is also the question of WHERE is the best place to buy your 3D printer. Here we summarize an extensive analysis of the best stores & online websites from which to purchase a 3D printer. We rank each seller on a variety of factors and give each seller an overall score – all with links and notes on our findings. Some factors we used to evaluate the merchants may be more important to you than others – so we provide how each merchant did in each factor in an effort to provide more granular results for those looking for such information.

If you are buying your first 3D printer, are purchasing a lower-end to mid-range printer and are willing to do your own research to determine which is the right printer for you – your best overall merchant to purchase your 3D printer from is Amazon.com. Amazon has a wide selection of the most recommended & popular 3D printers, great prices, a strong return policy, a very good reputation, a comfortable & familiar shopping experience for most people and a lot of reviews & answered questions on the 3D printers they sell.

If you are looking for a mid-range 3D printer or a higher-end one, need or want some guidance in what 3D printer to purchase and want after-the-sale support – MatterHackers is where we would recommend you purchase your 3D printer.

Top-Tier	Mid-Tier	Bottom-Tier
Amazon.com	Home Depot	AliExpress
	Walmart	BangGood
	Target	Gearbest
Best if You Need/Want Guidance	Lowes
MatterHackers	BestBuy
	Staples
	Dynamism

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Overall Summary of Best Sellers for 3D Printers

Analysis Factors	Amazon	Matter Hackers	Home Depot	Walmart	Target	Lowes	BestBuy	Staples	Dynamism	AliExpress	Bang Good	Gear Best
Selection	88	24	12	53	18	6	18	29	18	35	24	29
Prices	85	60	60	50	55	50	45	40	55	60	50	35
Shipping	93	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	91	87
Return Policy	70	35	100	80	80	80	60	60	35	50	55	35
Ease of Shopping	72	67	86	67	71	85	87	81	62	62	64	73
Customer Reviews Available	100	45	90	90	75	75	75	75	0	95	90	100
Customer Service	70	70	100	100	100	100	100	100	70	0	20	20
Sales Support	0	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	100	0	0	0
BBB Reputation	95	90	90	80	100	95	100	100	100	40	40	40
Overall Score	75	66	71	69	67	66	65	65	60	49	49	47

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Results & Methodology for Ranking the Various Seller Websites & Retail Outlets as the Best Places to Purchase Your 3D Printer.

To rank the various sellers we scored them on a number of factors, or criteria, that we felt were indicators of their strength as not only general merchants – but specifically merchants of 3D printers. To do this we first compiled a list of the 17 most recommended & popular 3D printers of 2020 to use as a sample to measure & benchmark the various merchants against each other. In compiling this “Sample Selection List” we reviewed various respected online publications and YouTube channels to construct our list of the most recommended & popular 3D printers of 2020.

1) Selection: Which Sellers Have the Best Selection of 3D Printers?

The sellers that offered the greatest number of printers from our Sample Selection List of 17 – scored the best for “Selection” factor in our ranking system. We simply divided the number of printers from our Sample Selection List that we were able to find on each seller’s website and then divided it by the total number of 3D printers on our Sample Selection List – and then multiplied it by 100.

So for example. Amazon.com had 15 of the 17 3D printers on our Sample Selection List. That represents 88% of the printers on our list and yielded a score of 88 for Amazon’s “Selection” score.

The Verdict:

• The seller with the best selection of 3D Printers was Amazon.com, by far, with a score of 88.
• Walmart earned the second best “Selection” score with a 53, and
• AliExpress was third with a score of 35.
• Although both MatterHackers and Dynamism both offer a broad range of 3D printers – they did not score as well here since the majority of the printers they offer are not really consumer level printers – but rather industrial grade.

2) Price: Which Sellers Consistently Have the Best Prices on 3D Printers?

We went to every seller’s website and priced each specific 3D printer on our Sample Selection List. We only considered new printers and not refurbished ones – to keep it an apples-to apples comparison. Likewise, if there were first time buyer / first order coupons available at the store – they were not factored in either – since not everyone (think repeat customers) can get that price. If shipping was not included – we added the expected shipping cost to determine the total cost of the printer to be able to make a more fair & complete comparison with the prices available at other sellers. We then then assigned a default value of 50 to each seller for the Price factor and awarded a 5 point bonus for each printer they had at the lowest price. In the case of a tie – both sellers for that price were awarded 5 points. In the case that there was only on seller that offered that particular printer – they were also awarded 5 points for the lowest price.

On the flip side – if a seller had the worst price – and it was more than 5% greater in cost than the lowest seller – that seller received a penalty of 5 points.

So in the case of Amazon.com – they had the lowest price on 5 of the printers from our sample selection list. They also tied for the lowest price in 4 instances. So that was counted as 9 pricing “Wins” and a total of 45 bonus points for Amazon.

Amazon also had the highest price for a Sample Selection List printer in 3 instances. In one instance the price that Amazon offered was only 2.5% greater than the lowest sale price for the printer at a different seller’s website – so there was no 5 point deduction for this instance. In the other 2 instances – Amazon’s price was more than 105% of the cost of the lowest price we found for the 3D printer. In those 2 instances – Amazon did receive 5 point penalties for each – leading to a total of a 10 point deduction.

So the NET bonus points awarded to Amazon for pricing was 35 points. 50 base points plus 35 bonus points leads to a final “Price” score of 85 for Amazon.com.

The Verdict:

• Amazon.com consistently had the best prices on the 3D printers contained on our Sample Selection List and had a price score of 85
• MatterHackers, AliExpress and Home Depot all tied for second place for “Price” score – with a score of 60, and
• Dynamism & Target tied for 3rd with a score of 55.

Prices can change significantly – so please feel free to use the links to check for the most recent pricing.

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3) Shipping: Which Sellers Have the Best Shipping Policies for 3D Printers?

The following grid was used to calculate a score for the “Shipping” factor of our analysis. For this factor we only considered shipping within the continental US. Although most merchants have policies laying out a specific dollar amount threshold for free shipping – that does not always apply if there are other sellers on that merchant’s website selling the 3D printer. So in an effort to better gauge the actual shipping cost you might incur – we simply looked at the printers from our Selection Sample List that each merchant did have listed for sale on their website and whether or not there was free shipping on all of those specific printers.

If all of those printers did have free shipping – then that would result in a score of 100 for the merchant for the “Shipping” factor of our analysis.

If some of those 3D printers on our Selection Sample List were offered from a merchant with free shipping and others from the list did not have free shipping from that same merchant – we simply averaged the results for all of the printers from our Selection Sample List that were available on each merchant’s website.

Shipping $ Threshold		Total Points Awarded
Shipping COST is equal or greater than $100		0
Shipping COST for anything between $0 to $100		100 – (the shipping cost rounded up to the next whole dollar)
FREE shipping (Shipping cost of $0)		100

The Verdict:

• Most of the merchants (Matterhackers, Dynamism, Walmart, BestBuy, Staples, Target, Home Depot, Lowes and AliExpress) all earned top marks here – since ALL of the printers that they offered from our Selection Sample List shipped for free.
• Amazon came up a little short – because 2 of the printers had some shipping costs associated with them. $3.99 shipping for the Lulzbot Mini 2 and $97 for the Ultimaker S3. Interestingly, the Ultimaker S3 was actually listed on Amazon by Dynamism – one of the other merchants in our analysis. We didn’t like that Amazon got dinged so heavily for this – however, Amazon did also benefit on the Selection factor for having the Ultimaker S3 as one of the printers that was available for sale on it’s website..
• GearBest did the most poorly – since there were shipping costs associated with 2 of the 5 printers – with both shipping costs being in excess of $27 each. BangGood – although indicating that there was free shipping promotions still showed shipping costs associated with 3 of the 4 printers they had from our Selection Sample List – until the very last steps of the checkout process. We found that a little confusing.

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4) Return Policy: Which Sellers Have the Best Return Policies on 3D Printers?

If a merchant offered free returns for 30 days, 70 points were awarded to them to for the “Return” factor score in our analysis. Free returns for 31 to 60 days results in 80 points being awarded. Free returns longer than 60 days = 90 points awarded. If the consumer could return the 3D printer to a physical store (chain) +10 points towards the “Return” factor score.

If there is a Restocking fee charged to the consumer returning a 3D printer that results in a penalty of -20 points charged against the merchant with regards to their “Return” factor score. If a customer has to pay shipping to return printer that results in a penalty of -15 points as well.

Return Policy		Points Awarded
Free returns for LESS than 30 days		50
Free returns for 30 days		70
Free returns for 31 days up to 60 days		+10
Free returns for greater than 60 days		+10
Item can be returned to physical store		+10
Restocking fee charge to customer		-20
Customer responsible for shipping cost to return item		-15

The Verdict:

• Home Depot was the clear winner here. They allow for an astounding 180 days to return a 3D printer! And with the ability to return it right to a Home Depot store near you – they put a lot distance between them and the next competitor!
• Walmart & Target just edged out Amazon – largely because with both Walmart & Target you can make returns right at a local store near you.
• Amazon came in 3rd. Very respectable. We did not investigate if a 3D printer could be returned to Kohl’s – but might do so at another time.

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5) Which Sellers Offer the Best Shopping Experience for 3D Printers?

There is, admittedly, somewhat of a qualitative element to some of the aspects used to score the sellers for this factor. The aspects of the shopping experience that were considered for this factor and the points awarded for each are as follows:

Shopping Experience		Points Awarded
The ability to select items & compare on website side-by-side		14
Visual appearance of website. Clean and organized.		1-20
Ability to filter by manufacturer, brand, price, etc.		14
Shopping cart / checkout experience.		1-16
Ability to shop or check prices, shipping, cart without signing in or creating an account.		14
Ability to control the number of items appearing per page.		8
Ability to track shipment of order.		14

The Verdict:

• Best Buy came out on top for best shopping experience. The ability to compare specific items is what helped se them apart from the rest.
• Home Depot was second – and again – the ability to compare items side-by-side is what put them at the top.
• Lowes was in third for shopping experience- and again – it was the ability to compare that really set all three of these vendors apart from the others.

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6) Which Sellers Have Customer Reviews for 3D Printers Available on Their Website Stores?

If the seller provided the opportunity for customers to leave public reviews they were awarded 40 points for this factor. If they offered a Q&A section – they were awarded 25 points. For every printer on our Sample Selection List that they offered for sale in their store for which there were at least 25 reviews of any substance they were awarded an additional 5 points.

Likewise, for every printer on our Sample Selection List that they offered for sale in their store for which there were at least 5 substantive Q&A (with both Question and Answer), they were awarded an additional 5 points.

Finally, if there was the ability to filter the reviews and/or change the default sorting to something like “Most Helpful” the merchant was awarded an additional 10 points.

Total points for this factor, as well as all other factors, could not exceed 100.

Customer Reviews		Points Awarded
Public reviews available		+40
Question & Answer (Q&A) section available		+25
25+ reviews for each printer the merchants offers for sale from our Selection Sample List		+5
5 Substantive Q&A (both Question & Answer)		+5
Ability to filter/sort reviews		+10

The Verdict:

• Amazon & Gearbest did the best with this factor of our analysis with both earning a score of 100
• AliExpress was second for the Reviews and Q&A factor with a score of 95
• Walmart, Home Depot and BangGood tied for 3rd with each earning a score of 90 for this factor.

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7) Which Sellers Offer the Best Customer Service for 3D Printer Customers?

Merchants were evaluated on several criteria here as well. For our purposes we considered customer service to constitute answering questions & addressing issues with shopping & returning items to the seller. No expertise in 3D printers was required here to score well. Merchants who prominently displayed a phone number for customer service were rewarded 60 points. Merchants who offered the ability to chat online with customers were rewarded with 30 points. If the merchant had multiple physical stores in a geographically diverse locations where customers could return the 3D printer they were awarded 10 points.

The big box retailers (Walmart, BestBuy, Staples, Target, Home Depot & Lowes) all allow you to designate a local store. Doing so – they provide the hours of operation, address and phone number for that store. That was deemed to be prominently displaying a customer service phone number, and they were all awarded for that accordingly.

Customer Service Metric		Points Awarded
A domestic (US based) Customer Service Phone Number is provided somewhere on their website – or the ability to initiate an immediate call from the retailer’s customer service department.		50
Prominently display customer service number on website.		20
Offer online live chat feature.		20
Physical store presence in wide number of states & communities.		10

The Verdict:

• The traditional big box retailers did well here – because of their infrastructure. Walmart, BestBuy, Staples, Target, Home Depot & Lowes all got 100 in this area – because they had multiple ways that were fast & convenient to provide service to their customers!
• Amazon, MatterHackers & Dynamism were second tier here – since they don’t have physical stores. Amazon Does allow you to initiate an immediate call from a service specialist and live chat. MatterHackers and Dynamism do not offer live chat – but do prominently display a domestic phone number to call for service.
• Gearbest, BangGood and AliExpress did very poorly on this aspect of our evaluations. Both GearBest and BangGood offer a live chat feature. BangGood does also offer a call now number – but it is an international call. Gearbest indicates that a “Call Us” option is coming soon. We will have to wait to see if it is a domestic number for US customers. AliExpress has a chat feature – but it is only a chat bot and is not a live chat with a human.

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8) Which Sellers Offer Guidance & Support for 3D Printer Customers?

To score well in the “Sales Support” factor of our ranking system a company DID need to have some expertise in the 3D printing industry. If they possessed that expertise and offer easy access to that staff having such expertise they were awarded 100 points. This is a big award – but rightly so – since maintaining a sales staff with such expertise is expensive.

Only 2 companies surveyed in this analysis – MatterHackers & Dynamism – specialize in 3D printer sales and actually have staff with any level of expertise that can help provide meaningful guidance to customers in what 3D printer might be best for their particular circumstances and goals. Both merchants also after-sales support as well. Thus they were rewarded for that and earned top scores for sales support, while all the other vendors received “0’s” for this factor.

Both MatterHackers & Dynamism make it very easy to contact them on the telephone – with their sales support / customer service numbers prominently displayed on the tops of their websites.

The Verdict:

• From the group of merchants we analyzed, only MatterHackers and Dynamism offered any material expertise in 3D printing. They were rewarded for that with scores of 100 each in this area.
• No other merchants from our list were able to offer any meaning full guidance or expertise – and thus received scores of 0 for this factor.

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9) What was Each Seller’s Better Business Bureau’s Ranking

We looked up the Better Business Bureau’s rating for each company and used the following scale to ascribe a numerical score for reputation.

Better Business Bureau Ranking	Score
A+	100
A	95
A-	90
B+	85
B	80
B-	75
C+	70
C	65
C-	60
D+	55
D	50
D-	45
F	40

The Verdict:

• Dynamism, Best Buy, Staples & Target all earned the highest score of 100 for “Reputation”.
• Amazon & Lowes each earned the second highest rating of 95.
• MatterHackers & Home Depot came in with the third highest rating of 90.
• The major Chinese online retailers suffered here in particular. All three of AliExpress, BangGood & Gearbest received “F’s” from the Better Business Bureau, and therefore very low scores (40) for reputation in our analysis.

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10) Which Seller of 3D Printers Earns the Highest Overall Score?

Overall score was simply the sum total of all the individual factor scores for each merchant.

The Verdict:

• Amazon came out on top overall, largely because of having the best selection score by far, as well as consistently having the best prices.
• MatterHackers, although being only a mid-tier merchant overall – still became our recommendation for those needing or wanting sales advice with regards to which 3D printer to buy. This was because of the fact that they have expertise in 3D printers and could provide meaningful guidance to customers looking for such. MatterHackers also tied for second place in terms of pricing, along with Home Depot and AliExpress.
• Home Depot was the closest in overall score to Amazon, largely because they are just a really strong retailer. Their return policy is the best, by far, at 180 days. Should Home Depot decide to increase their offerings for 3D printers – they would be a top tier vendor.

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Individual Report Cards for Each 3D Printer Online Merchant

Here is a individual review, or report card, for each of the online merchants in our analysis. This covers each of the ranking factors in our analysis.

Top Tier Vendors: Where to Buy Your 3D Printer

Amazon.com

Amazon.com	Score	Notes
Selection	88	Amazon offers a wide range of 3D printers. (20+ manufacturers) Low-end – as well as mid-range & some high-end printers are available. 3D printers are sold directly from Amazon as well as through other sellers on it’s website. Amazon offered 15 of the 17 sample 3D printers that we searched and priced.
Price	85	Competitive pricing – but prices do vary. You can use a service like camelcamelcamel.com to track and alert you to price changes. Also, consider buying Amazon Warehouse Deals to save even more money – if you are willing to accept something with the box damaged or something that was returned to Amazon. Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = $1,599.00 Dremel DigiLab 3D20 = $679.00 Creality Ender 3 Pro = $236.00 Creality Ender 3 V2 = $278.00 CubePro Trio = $3,000.00 Qidi Tech X-Max = $1,199.00 Lulzbot Mini 2 = $1,853.99 Monoprice Voxel = $379.99 Monoprice Cadet = $199.99 FlashForge Finder = $299.00 FlashForge Finder Lite = $249.89 MakerBot Replicator + = $1,999.00 xyzPrinting Da Vinci Mini W+ = $199.95 Ultimaker S3 = $3,947.00
Shipping	93	If you are a prime member – FREE SHIPPING on all prime eligible items! If not & you are willing to wait for a couple/few extra days – also FREE for orders over $25 (for eligible items)! All printers from our Selection Sample List that were offered on Amazon did include free shipping EXCEPT for the Lulzbot Mini 2 – which as actually from a different seller on the Amazon website and the shipping was $3.99 (Which we added to the price) and the Ultimaker S3 – which was actually being sold by Dynamism on Amazon’s website with a cost of $97 for shipping – which we also added to the price.
Return Policy	70	Very easy and liberal return policy – within 30 days of purchase for most electronics. If order was wrong, or product damaged – you don’t even have to pay for the return shipping. You can see Amazon’s return policy here.
Ease of Shopping	72	Excellent! Most everyone has shopped on Amazon.com and is familiar with the layout. In many ways it has become the benchmark for ease of shopping.
Customer Reviews Available	100	In most cases there is a vast amount of comprehensive & helpful reviews on Amazon! Reviews can also be sorted by “Top Reviews” and “Most Recent”. There is also a helpful Q & A feature near the reviews.
Customer Service	70	Through email and sometimes phone. Usually provide a satisfactory resolution to any customer issues. Customer service phone number: 1 (888) 280-4331. You can find Amazon’s customer service page here. Here is the link to customer service chat.
Sales Support	0	None really – It is a DIY online shopping experience – where the reviews are your guide.
Reputation	95	A with the Better Business Bureau. They have grown so much for a reason – and the reason is they are relatively easy to do business with. (See profile here)
Overall Score	75	3.75 Stars

Final Notes: As I have indicate in other posts here – overall a great option, & in my opinion the gold standard for most low-end – to mid range 3D printers. One of the only negatives here is that Amazon is a general merchandizer and does not specialize in 3D printers. So you can’t count on any advice regarding your purchase. To save a little bit extra – you might keep your eyes open for a Amazon Warehouse Deal on a returned 3D printer or something with damaged packaging. You still get all the benefits of buying at Amazon – but can save a few extra dollars. Added Benefit: You can use an Amazon credit card and get 3% back on your Amazon & whole foods purchases. See detail here.

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MatterHackers

MatterHackers	Score	Notes
Selection	24	Wide variety – but mostly higher-end & more expensive 3D printers. There are about 19 models offered that are less than $1,000. Printers offered from 17 manufacturers.
Price	60	Offer lowest price guarantee – but you really need to read the conditions & fine print. You can see the specifics here. Creality Ender 3 Pro only offered in a bundle. Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 $1,599.00 Creality Ender 3 Pro = Bundle Only Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available Monoprice Voxel = $499 -Which is more expensive here than at Walmart.com, Amazon.com and Target.com (All $379.99). Ultimaker S3 = $3,850
Shipping	100	Free on orders over $35 in the USA. All printers from our Selection Sample List that were offered on MatterHackers included free shipping at the time of our survey.
Return Policy	35	Unless noted otherwise – 30 day return policy. Shipping cost are the responsibility of the customer as well as 15% restocking fee. See terms here.
Ease of Shopping	67	Fair. I like the question & answer section at the bottom of the page for each item.
Customer Reviews Available	45	No customer reviews. They did have some Q&A for each specific 3D printer. They had at least 5 Q&A for each printer they carried from our Selection Sample List.
Customer Service	70	1 (949) 613-5838 You can find MatterHackers “Contact Us” page here.
Sales Support	100	Yes – the MatterHackers staff will help answer questions & provide guidance.
BBB Reputation	90	A- with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	66	3.3 Stars

Final Notes: Another great option! The single biggest benefit of purchasing through MatterHackers is that they specialize in 3D printers and are familiar with 3D printing and the printers they sell! If you are looking for some guidance and after-the-sale service – MatterHackers is a great option!

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Mid-Tier Vendors: Potentially Worth Considering

Dynamism

Dynamism	Score	Notes
Selection	18	Good. But really no low-end printers are available at Dynamism. Cheapest printer on their site at the time of researching this post was around $995 for the Ultimaker Original Plus Kit. Printers offered from a total of 16 manufacturers.
Price	55	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = $1,899.00. Cheaper at MatterHackers, Amazon.com & HomeDepot.com (~$1,599.00). Creality Ender 3 Pro = Not Available. Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	100	Free shipping for continental US. Mostly UPS ground. Details here. All printers from our Selection Sample List that were offered on Dynamism included free shipping at the time of our survey.
Return Policy	35	Can return “most” items within 30 days of item delivery. Return Authorization required. 15% minimum restocking fee on non-defective items. Return shipping is at the customer’s expense. Read compete terms here.
Ease of Shopping	62	Good – I would say just a little better than MatterHackers.com. A Little cleaner and less cluttered.
Customer Reviews Available	0	No.
Customer Service	70	Phone number: 1 (800) 711-6277. You can find their “Contact Us” page here.
Sales Support	100	Yes 1 (800) 711-6277. You can count on some expertise & guidance from Dynamism sales staff.
BBB Reputation	100	A+ with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	60	3 Stars

Final Notes: Dynamism offers unlimited toll-free support to its customers – which is a great benefit for those whole feel they may need assistance after the sale.

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Walmart.com

Walmart	Score	Notes
Selection	53	Decent selection (20+ manufacturers) of low-end and a few mid-range 3D printers.
Price	50	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = Not Available. Creality Ender 3 Pro = $206.99 Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available (Just the X-Plus, X-Marker & X-Pro) Monoprice Voxel = $449.99
Shipping	100	Free delivery on order of $35 or more. You can view Walmart’s shipping policies here. All printers from our Selection Sample List that were available @ Walmart did indicate free delivery.
Return Policy	80	Walmart’s return policy can be viewed here. For other sellers on their website you can see the minimum standards here. When you click on an item for more details from a sales partner – there will be a link to that specific seller’s return policy. Our research indicates that for 3D printers the return period is 30 days and that the printer can be returned to the nearest Walmart store.
Ease of Shopping	67	The website shopping experience is not quite as good as Amazon, and a little more cluttered than MatterHackers.
Customer Reviews Available	90	Yes, technically, there are reviews – but you aren’t going to find many reviews at all like you will at Amazon! They do also have a Q&A section on the item page. You can sort the reviews by “Most Relevant”, “Most Helpful”, “Newest to Oldest”, “Oldest to Newest”, “High to Low Rating” & “Low to High Rating”.
Customer Service	100	You can find their “Contact Us” page here – which is a Q&A page with search. There is another “Contact Us” button on that page that connects you to a person via chat. The Corporate “Contact Us” page is here. You can also call or visit your local Walmart for customer service – or the corporate number – which is 1 (800) 925-6278 (1-800-WALMART)
Sales Support	0	I wouldn’t expect any level of expertise from a call to Walmart about 3D printers. It is, much like Amazon.com, a DIY online shopping experience – where the limited reviews are your guide.
BBB Reputation	80	B+ with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	69	3.45 Stars

Final Notes: Another good option for lower-end printers. Many people are familiar with Walmart and feel comfortable shopping there. It is very easy to return items – either through the mail or at the nearest store. Overall, Target is the better store with a better shopping experience – but Walmart does have A LOT more 3D printers to choose from than Target at the present time!

Added Bonus: If you use your Walmart credit card- you get 5% back on purchases on walmart.com! For more information click here.

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Home Depot

Home Depot	Score	Notes
Selection	12	Home Depot, at the time of this analysis only sells 3D printers from 3 manufacturers. (Dremel, ZMorph & Flux)
Price	60	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = $1,599.00 Creality Ender 3 Pro = Not Available. Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available. Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	100	Free 2-day delivery on over a million items online for most orders over $45. Both 3D printers that Home Depot had for sale that were on our Selection Sample List did include free shipping. You can view Home Depot’s shipping policies here.
Return Policy	100	Most new, unopened merchandise sold by The Home Depot can be returned within 180 days of purchase and such was indicated on the 3D printers we looked up. If you paid with a Home Depot credit card – you generally have 365 days from date of purchase to receive a full refund (some products excluded). Items purchased from a third-party or marketplace seller, but shipped by The Home Depot, must be returned to the selling party in accordance with their return policies. It is advisable that you look at the specifications section of the page for the printer you are considering for purchase – and see what the return policy is for that specific printer. For the printers Home Depot had that were on our Selection Sample List – they all had a 180 return period and could be returned to a Home Depot store. You can see Home Depot’s return policy here.
Ease of Shopping	86	We do like the side-by-side comparison feature available on the website. Less cluttered looking than Walmart.com.
Customer Reviews Available	90	Yes. A respectable amount of helpful reviews for both Dremel printers on our list. There was also a section for Q&A. You could sort the reviews by “Photo Reviews”, “Most Helpful”, “Oldest”, “Newest”, Highest Rating” and “Lowest Rating”. For the Dremel DigiLab 3D45 at the time of writing this there were 65 reviews.
Customer Service	100	Chat feature on website works pretty well. It should show up on the right side of the screen. If not – check to see if you have a pop-up blocker – or uBlock interfering with this feature. Service also available in store and by phone. Home Depot’s customer service landing page is here. Online order support and primary customer service phone number is 1 (800) 430-3376. (1-800-HOME-DEPOT).
Sales Support	0	You can not really expect any sales support or guidance from The Home Depot when it comes to 3D printers.
BBB Reputation	90	A with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	71	3.55 Stars

Final Notes: Home Depot appears to be tested the waters with regards to selling 3D printers. They are a strong retail brand with a lot of locations and a great return policy – so it will be interesting to see if the augment their offerings and remain committed to selling 3D printers.

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Target.com

Target	Score	Notes
Selection	18	Very limited selection! Monoprice (3D printer manufacturer) has partnered with Target is selling their 3D printers & parts on Target’s website. There is also one Dremel (3D20-DR-RT) is available too. I would expect the selection to improve as more partners are added.
Price	55	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = Not Available. Creality Ender 3 Pro = Not Available. Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available Monoprice Voxel = $449.99
Shipping	100	Free standard shipping for orders of $35 or more, or when you use your RedCard™. Both Monoprice 3D printers that Target carried from our Selection Sample List did include free shipping. You can see Target’s shipping policies here.
Return Policy	80	Item must be returned within 30 days of the in-store purchase, ship date or online order pickup. This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com. You can read the specifics of Target’s return policy here.
Ease of Shopping	71	Really good – I like the Target website and it is relatively easy to navigate. Not too cluttered. Pretty clean overall and things are where you expect to find them.
Customer Reviews Available	75	Yes, technically, but you aren’t going to find many reviews at all like you will at Amazon for 3D printers! There is also a Q&A feature near the reviews – but likewise, there are very few actual Q&A. You can sort reviews by “Most Recent”, “Highest to Lowest”, “Lowest to Highest” and “Most Helpful”.
Customer Service	100	1 (800) 440-0680 press 2, then 1, then one to get to a human as fast as possible! You can find Target’s “Contac Us” page here.
Sales Support	0	Not really. Probably need to contact Monoprice directly.
BBB Reputation	100	A+ with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	67	3.35 Stars

Final Notes: Target is a strong vendor for sure – but just not in the 3D printer arena. Great reputation, great shipping and returns – just not enough selection when it comes to 3D printers! Target (as well as Walmart) have adopted a business model very similar to Amazon’s model – where other sellers are often selling products on the Target / Walmart website.

Added Bonus – if you purchase with your Target REDcard you get 5% of the purchase price back!

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Lowes

Lowes	Score	Notes
Selection	6	Lowes only sells a few models of Dremel 3D printers at this time.
Price	50	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = $1,899 Creality Ender 3 Pro = Not Available. Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	100	Free standard shipping (1-4 business days) with orders of $45 dollars or more. The one 3D printer from our Selection Sample List that Lowes did have for sale did indicate free shipping. Lowes’ shipping policy can be viewed here.
Return Policy	80	Generally returns on 3D printers are considered “Electronics” and are allowed at the store within 30 days of the original purchase date with receipt. The 30 day limit does not change even if using your Lowes credit card for the purchase. You can view Lowes’ return policy here.
Ease of Shopping	85	Larger images, very uncluttered. Nice shopping experience -other than the fact it was very difficult to locate all the various models of 3D printers they currently sell!
Customer Reviews Available	75	Yes, there are customer reviews on the website. At the time I was researching this there were 32 reviews for the DigiLab 3D45. There was also a section for Q&A. You could sort the reviews by “Most Relevant”, “Photo Reviews”, “Most Helpful”, “Oldest to Newest”, “Newest to Oldest”, Highest to Lowest Rating” and “Lowest to Highest Rating”.
Customer Service	100	Chat feature on website works pretty well. Service also available in store and by phone. In the lower right hand corner of the screen there is a “Chat Now” box with a persons face. As with Home Depot – it is first automated bot that responds. It was a little more work to get an actual person with the Lowes system as compared to the Home Depot one.
Sales Support	0	Questionable about the level of help you would actually get from a Lowes representative with regards to 3D printers.
BBB Reputation	95	A+ with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	66	3.3 Stars

Final Notes: Lowes seems to be testing the waters, as well, with regards to selling 3D printers. It was difficult to locate all the models of 3D printers that they sell – with even a website search for “3D Printers” yielding only 1 printer. You need navigate to the Tools / Home 3D printers & Filament / Home 3D Printers page to see all the models they currently sell. Both Home Depot and Lowes are offering Dremel 3D printers – and at the time of this analysis – Home Depot offers significantly better pricing on at least the Digilab 3D45 by about $190.

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Staples

Staples	Score	Notes
Selection	29	At the time of my research, there were 3D printers available from 5 manufacturers – MakerBot, XYZprinting, Dremel & Raise3D. They do have a couple low-end machines and a couple mid-range ones as well.
Price	40	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = $2,048.99 Creality Ender 3 Pro = Not Available Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	100	Generally free shipping – with no minimum. Free shipping was indicated on all the printers we viewed that were in stock. You can see the details on Staple’s free shipping here.
Return Policy	60	If you aren’t 100% satisfied with your purchase you may return it or exchange it for free. Simply bring it back to any Staples store or mail it back to us with a free, pre-paid return label. For technology purchases – you have 14 days from when you received the product and you will need your receipt or packing slip. You can see the details of Staple’s return policy here.
Ease of Shopping	81	We think the website is easy to navigate and pretty clean.
Customer Reviews Available	75	Yes – but there were very few reviews available, if any, for the 3D printers we viewed. There is also a Q & A feature near the reviews – but likewise, there are very few actual Q&A. You can sort reviews by “Most Recent”, “Highest to Lowest”, “Lowest to Highest” and “Most Helpful”.
Customer Service	100	There is a live chat option available on the website – available from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm (Eastern Time). Window pops up automatically when shopping – so a little more proactive than others. Customer service is also available from within a Staples store. Phone 1 (800) 333-3330.
Sales Support	0	You can’t really count on getting any particularly useful guidance or insight for 3D printers from a general merchandiser sales staff.
BBB Reputation	100	A+ with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	65	3.25 Stars

Final Notes: Staples is yet another traditionally strong retailer that is just dipping it’s toes in the water with 3D printer sales. Worth checking – and comfortable and familiar buying experience – but prices aren’t great and selection is just ok.

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Best Buy

BestBuy	Score	Notes
Selection	18	At the time of my research, there were only 3D printers available from 4 manufacturers – MakerBot, XYZprinting, Monoprice & Silhouette. They do have a couple low-end machines and a couple mid-range ones as well.
Price	45	Best Buy does offer a price match guarantee. You can see the details of that here. There are some exclusions – so see the list. It does look like they will price match on all, or almost all 3D printers. Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = Not Available Creality Ender 3 Pro = Not Available Qidi Tech X-Max = Not Available Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	100	Generally free shipping on orders of $35 and more. Free shipping was indicated on all the printers that Best Buy offered from our Selection Sample List. You can see the details on Best Buy’s free shipping here.
Return Policy	60	For non-members of the My Best Buy Elite & Elite Plus programs – 15 days from the day you receive the 3D printer. 31 days for My Best Buy Elite members and 45 days for Elite Plus members. You can see the details of Best Buy’s return policy here. Items can be returned to the store – or by mail – with free return shipping if you use the pre-paid shipping label the website will generate for you after logging into your account. During the check out process you will be informed (and need to check for acknowledgement) if there is a restocking fee for the 3D printer.
Ease of Shopping	87	We think the website is easy to navigate and pretty clean.
Customer Reviews Available	75	Yes – but there were very few reviews available for any of the 3D printers we viewed. They do also offer the ability to sort reviews by “Most Relevant”, “Most Helpful”, “Most Recent”, “Oldest”, “Highest Rating”, and “Lowest Rating”.
Customer Service	100	There is a live chat option available on the website. I was disappointed to see that I was 63rd in line when I used the chat feature and my estimated wait time was ~16 minutes (actually took >60 minutes to get a live agent). Customer service is also available within the stores themselves. I did like the organization of the customer support landing page, which you can see here. Phone 1 (888) BEST BUY or 1 (888) 237-8289. Best Buy’s “Contact Us” page can be found here.
Sales Support	0	You can’t really count on getting any particularly useful guidance or insight for 3D printers from a general electronics and appliance merchandiser sales staff.
BBB Reputation	100	A+ with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	65	3.25 Stars

Final Notes: The FEW units that Best Buy carries do seem to be competitively priced.

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Bottom-Tier Vendors: Where to AVOID Buying Your 3D Printer!

Gearbest

Gearbest	Score	Notes
Selection	29	Good selection of low-end range 3D printers and a few mid-range printers.
Price	35	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = Not Available Creality Ender 3 Pro = $317.35 Qidi Tech X-Max = $1,299.00 Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	87	There are different sellers on the Gearbest website and you have to look and see if the seller you are buying from offers free shipping. Some do, others do not. The CrealityEnder 3 Pro and the XYZPrinting Da Vinci Mini W+ had shipping costs associated with them ($27.36 and $34.37, respectively). You can find Gearbest’s shipping information page here.
Return Policy	35	Hum, kind of confusing. DOA returns require RMA authorization prior to returning item. Shipping fees for returning items is at the customer’s own expense. Shipping expense may be refunded if item proves to be defective. All other returns appear to be at customer’s own expense. It looks like it is really difficult to return an item to Gearbest – if the item doesn’t meet your expectations. Seems like it has to be DOA within 7 days – full refund and Gearbest reimburses you for shipping. Or you can return unused or unopened items within 30 day – but you pay the return shipping. Or, you can return faulty/defective items within 45 days – but again – at your own return shipping expense. You can find Gearbest’ “Warranty & Return” page here.
Ease of Shopping	73	meh… Cluttered and functional, but not particularly enjoyable.
Customer Reviews Available	100	Yes – but many of them will be in a foreign language. You can sort by “Hottest”, “Most Helpful”, “Most Recent” & “All”. There is also, for SOME vendors, a helpful Q & A feature near the reviews.
Customer Service	20	You can find the Gearbest “Contact Us” page here. They do offer a “Live Chat” feature. There is also a “Call Us” button in the service area and it indicates that the feature is coming soon.
Sales Support	0
BBB Reputation	40	F with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	47	2.35 Stars

Final Notes: Not particularly good pricing – especially considering the other compromises one must endure to shop at Gearbest. Very poor BBB rating and shipping costs are in addition to the price indicated – when most other sellers have gone to free shipping. Also, relatively speaking – a weak return policy. Best to look to one of the other stronger sellers to purchase your 3D printer from!

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BangGood

BangGood	Score	Notes
Selection	24	Mostly low-end range 3D printers and one mid-range printers. Only 4 of our sample of 17 printers we searched for and priced.
Price	45	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = Not Available Creality Ender 3 Pro = $206.00 Qidi Tech X-Max = $1,399.00 Monoprice Voxel = Not Available There are often coupon (sometimes as much as $20) for new users – which were not factored into pricing for our purposes.
Shipping	91	Some vendors on the BangGood website do offer free shipping. Sometimes you will see that there is free shipping as a promotion. Out of the 4 3D printers (of our 17 sample size) that BangGood had – all 4 of them “offered” promos for “free” shipping. On the ones where the “Free Shipping” promo was offered – they still listed a shipping cost – which we found somewhat confusing. Creality Ender 3 Pro ($13.23 shipping cost), Creality Ender 3 V2 ($17.43 shipping cost) and the Artillery Sidewinder X1 ($2.99 shipping). It wasn’t until we placed the items in our cart and proceeded to the check out that we were certain that the shipping costs were being cancelled out because of the free shipping promotion. BangGood’s shipping guide can be viewed here.
Return Policy	55	For DOA items – must request RMA withing 7 days of order being received. Shipping costs reimbursed. 30 day “No Reason Returns” – but shipping cost is at the customer’s own expense. You can view BangGood’s return policies here.
Ease of Shopping	64	To contact them you must create an account. There also appears to be a near infinite scroll – which makes it difficult to get to the footer.
Customer Reviews Available	90	Yes, and there are a lot of them – but many are written in different languages. We did like that reviews can be sorted by “Top Reviews”, “Most Helpful”, and “Most Recent”. There is also a helpful Q&A feature near the reviews.
Customer Service	20	The BangGood “Contact Us” page can be found here. BangGood does offer a live chat feature and a “Call Us” button. But when the “Call Us” button is pressed it displays an international phone number – and not a domestic (US based) one.
Sales Support	0
BBB Reputation	40	F with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	48	2.4 Stars

Final Notes: A little bit better than Gearbest – but that is not saying much. We liked the website more than the Gearbest website – and the return policy was slightly better. Not particularly good pricing – especially considering the other compromises one must endure to shop at BangGood. Very poor BBB rating and shipping costs are in addition to the price indicated – when most other sellers have gone to free shipping. Also, relatively speaking, BangGood’s return policy is weak. Best to look to one of the other stronger sellers to purchase your 3D printer from!

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AliExpress

AliExpress	Score	Notes
Selection	35	Wide selection of low-end and mid-range 3D printers – but only 6 of our sample of 17 printers we searched for and priced.
Price	65	Examples: Dremel DigiLab 3D45 = Not Available Creality Ender 3 Pro = $196.00 Qidi Tech X-Max = $1,099.56 Monoprice Voxel = Not Available
Shipping	100	Free Shipping (if indicated by seller). You need to check this when you are viewing the item you intend on purchasing. All the printers we viewed from our Selection Sample List that were available from AliExpress indicated free shipping at the time that we did our research for this analysis. You can find AliExpress’ shipping policies here.
Return Policy	50	Free returns within 15 days of receiving an item. If the seller offers Free Return, it will be clearly marked on the item details page (“Free Return” icon). Items must be in original condition and complete with original packaging. You can see AliExpress’ return policy here & here.
Ease of Shopping	62	Too busy & crowded for me. Looks cluttered. Things keep flashing & moving… Many of the images displayed on the initial search page are thumbnails of ads as opposed to just images of the item searched for.
Customer Reviews Available	95	Yes – for most printers we viewed. Not as organized as Amazon’s reviews, and no ability to change sorting to something like “Most Helpful”. Default (and only sorting) is “Sort by Latest”. There was also a Q&A section available with SOME of the sellers – not all. Looks like the AliExpress store platform offers the ability for both reviews and Q&A – but that some sellers on the platform don’t utilize these features. They don’t make it very easy to find the Q&A – you can only see them from the overview tab.
Customer Service	0	You can see AliExpress’ customer service landing page here. You need to create an account and sign in for customer service. Online service only and only a chatbot at that. No live chat, no phone number and no physical stores.
Sales Support	0
BBB Reputation	40	F with the Better Business Bureau. (See profile here)
Overall Score	49	2.45 Stars

Final Notes: AliExpress offered the best pricing on some items (Creality Ender 3 Pro, Creality Ender 3 v2, Qidi Tech X-Max & Artillery Sidewinder X1) but AliExpress was significantly MORE expensive than Amazon for both the FlashForge models we searched for in this survey. Only the most price sensitive buyers should really consider shopping here. I would recommend looking for Amazon Warehouse Deals (returned items & damaged packaging) before shopping here @ AliExpress.

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Other Potential 3D Printer Vendor Options (Not Evaluated Yet)

3DUniverse	CDW	Creality
3DPrintersOnlineStore	Grainger
Ebay	PrusaResearch

If you know you are interested in a specific brand like AnyCube or Creality, for instance, you may be able to buy directly from the manufacturer. In some cases – such as with Prusa, you can only purchase their 3D printers directly from them.

Conclusion

As you can see – there are many options out there in regards to WHERE you can buy a 3D printer – and I would anticipate that there will be even more with each passing day and the growing popularity of 3D printing.

There are some vendors that have significantly better reputations than others, some that are strong national retailers, some that offer more of a selection, and finally some that can & will offer you guidance and after-the-sale support.

Amazon.com, although having significant room for improvement, is the strongest 3D printer merchant out there right now according to our analysis & ranking system. Amazon.com is the merchant that would, in most circumstances, be the best place for the average home user or 3D printing enthusiast to buy their 3D printer from at this time. When looking at all the factors of our analysis, in total, Amazon.com stands head & shoulders above the rest. They offer the best combination of price, selection, shipping, returns, and ease of shopping experience.

We have endeavored here to help you expedite the process of choosing the right place for you to buy your 3D printer and better understand the particular strengths and weaknesses of each of the major vendors out there.

Sincerely,

P.S. I would like to thank my lovely wife Melani – for her help in creating this post and the analysis that was required to put this together!

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