Tariffs continue to mess up purchasing for US residents.
The blanket imposition of a series of tariffs on non-US goods in recent months has made quite a bit of a mess for all concerned, including those purchasing desktop 3D printers. The issue is that the vast majority of desktop 3D printers used in the US are not made in the US. Therefore, import duties are required on incoming equipment.
The situation is quite complex, as tariffs differ depending on the origin of the equipment. Some vendors raise their prices to generate funds to pay for the tariffs — paid by the buyer. An example:
- USA price for Bambu Lab H2D Combo: US$2299
- Canada price for Bambu Lab H2D Combo: CA$2599 (US$1864)
That’s about a 20% premium paid by US buyers. Similar results are found with other companies.
In other cases the product prices haven’t been raised by the vendors, but instead they charge extra for shipping, which ultimately pays the tariffs. Sometimes the shipper demands extra fees, often surprising the buyer that thought they had obtained a good deal.
Even for machines that are made (even partially) inside the US, there would be tariffs on the components that were imported to produce the device. This can be extremely complicated for the assembler, especially if tariffs and import sources are changing along the way. It’s hard to nail down a predictable product price when your imported component costs might change due to tariff changes while they are being shipped.
Companies handle the situation in different ways. Printed Solid is a US-based company that is owned by Prusa Research. Prusa Research makes their products in the EU, which were then shipped worldwide. The company had great foresight in nabbing Printed Solid, as that provides them with a US-based company to hopefully avoid some of the tariffs.
But it’s not quite that simple. Printed Solid is not making the machines entirely, but instead assembling components together. They explain:
“Anything purchased from Printed Solid ships from our USA based warehouse in Delaware so those international charges have already been accounted for. A Mk3S+ kit can be between $30 to $50 tariffs bringing it into the country while an assembled printer can be between $50-$80.”
This approach can reduce the effective tariff somewhat, but can be quite confusing for buyers.
I noticed an example of this recently. In a Reddit post, user Past_Scarcity6752 wrote:
“I was in the middle of filling out the shipping info on a new core one and suddenly the price of a core one kit went from 1150 to 1500! I couldnt believe it and called printed solid. They said ‘due to the current economic environment they need to raise prices’
i was shocked and immediately placed an order at prusa instead. i guess trumps tariffs are eating away at everyone.”
This is likely due to the complexities mentioned above. But it gets more complicated. I then checked Printed Solid’s web store to see the current price of the CORE One, Prusa Research’s flagship machine.
I didn’t find it!
Evidently Printed Solid removed the CORE One from their list of available printers, perhaps temporarily until they figure out the latest tariff complications. By the time you read this, it might have reappeared.
This is the now confusing world of desktop 3D printer purchases for US residents.
Via Reddit, Printed Solid and Prusa Research
