It's been awhile since I've used Amazon to find high-end 3D printers. Don't get me wrong, some of the best 3D printers can be found there, but you don't normally see the Bambu Labs and Prusas of the world available on the Amazon US storefront. So imagine my surprise when I noticed listings for the Prusa Core One and the Bambu Lab A1 Combo, two of my favorite 3D printers this year.
The first thing I had to do was check that these links were legitimate. For years, major brands have shunned Amazon for their own websites, so I checked in with as many brands as I could to make sure everything was on the up an up, and it was.
It looked legitimate, but I had to check to make sure,
Screenshot by James Bricknell/CNETWhat 3D printer brands are available on Amazon?
With the addition of Prusa and Bambu Lab, almost every major player is now available on Amazon, and almost all of them have next-day or two-day shipping options available. This list is not going to be exhaustive, but the 3D printing companies (that I trust to make machines I would recommend) that are available on Amazon are:
It's not just the machines. Bambu Lab and Prusa have an impressive lineup of materials that have been locked behind long wait times and high shipping costs. Adding these materials to Amazon makes it much easier for 3D printing enthusiasts and businesses to access the materials they want quickly and easily.
It's now even easier to get ahold of most of these printers.
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There are trade-offs
While it's great news that just about every brand of 3D printer is available at Amazon, there are some caveats. Several of these printers are more expensive to buy there than on the brand website. This is often to cover the shipping that the brand would charge on its own website and a little to cover the shipping to Amazon's warehouse.
While the A1 combo -- my favorite 3D printer right now -- is $500 on its own website, the same model is showing at $575 on Amazon. Prusa is similar, though depending on your preference, you might get a better deal. The MK4S is an excellent 3D printer that costs $1,024 when bought on the Prusa website, fully assembled and shipped, but is $1,377 on Amazon when including taxes. It's definitely worth your time to check both places before making a decision. It's also worth noting that the shipping time inside the US from Amazon for the MK4S is just two days, instead of the five to six days that you can expect direct from Prusa. You're paying a premium for the delivery speed.
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