I had watched enviously for several years while some of my more engineering minded friends mucked about with their 3d printers. Each time one of them proudly displayed their latest creation, the hunger in me grew. It was painful. I had a need to use this new tool of creation. Finally, it came to a head. I was going to dabble in 3d Printing and maybe add it to my business venture.
As we moved from point A to B in the above paragraph, on on to C below; I did a ton of research.
I watched videos. I read reviews. I stalked people with 3d Printers. I combed forums. I price and comparison shopped. When I got enough information to make a decision, I knew a few things:
- Dad’s tool rules still apply. Don’t buy junk unless it is a use it once throw away (and think on it then). If you do, you will work on the tool as much as you work with the tool.
- Technology was moving quick so I wanted as much tech as I could get and still have solid quality.
- I loved and desired industrial level machines but I am not quite ready for that price point or production need, so….
It came down to the same two machines everyone said between then and about 6 months ago.
Its either the Bambu or the Prusa.
I decided that the track record and open source ethics of Prusa were a better fit for me and on October 11th 2023, I ordered my Prusa Mk4.
On paper, this was a sweet spot for ordering it. The Mk4 had been out for a bout a year and they were already getting the new settings right…but they had worked through the initial order backlog and only had a 4 or 5 week turn at the time.
On paper.
Even though Prusa appears to be very transparent with all of their shipping times, once you order a machine you find out it is much more vague. You get target shipping for purchase groups. Vague answers that turn out to not even be close in my personal experience.
Here is the full timeline.
October 11th 2023 – I ordered my Prusa Mk4. All orders at Prusa are PREPAID. So keep in mind they are holding my money during every step of this every time it happens.
December 6, 2023 – Being several weeks passed the expected delivery with no shipping notice of any sort, I emailed the company.
December 7, 2023 – Received a follow up email letting me know they were investigating.
December 8, 2023 – They notified me that my order was on track (even though my purchase group supposedly shipped several weeks before) and that it was going to be shipping this week. What a happy coincidence. But its a popular machine and everyone misses a deadline now and then right? I let it go.
December 18, 2023 – I get a shipping notice from Prusa and one from DHL that the order shipped and entered customs that day. Only about 3 days more than they told me….still no big deal. I am excited.
December 19 2023 – I get the notice of my import duty. You know…the taxes that foreign governments are supposedly paying….hahaha
December 20 2023 – The shipment arrives, 2 months and 9 days after I paid for it. Not bad by Prusa standards….but I hadn’t learned that yet.
That came later in the year.
That came when I finally let Prusa hound me into buying the MK4s upgrade. Well, my own ridiculousness caused that. I left the machine unattended and got a pretty bad blob, so I needed to get a new head just in case it was damaged (as they tend to be after these events). Besides I wanted spare parts. They had been abusing me with MK4s ads…so this seemed like a good time to pull the trigger. I also ordered an obxidian nozzle. It is important to note up front that the nozzle was in stock when I ordered it. I had just got my restock notice from my prior attempt to order one.
September 17, 2023 – Placed the order mentioned above for the MK4s upgrade (5 weeks out again)some minor peripherals, a spare parts kit, and the Obxidian nozzle. Once again, I prepaid the order as is Prusa’s policy.
October 25, 2023 – Prusa announces it is now making MK4s in the US (but not if you buy online?)
December 10, 2023 – If you were hoping I was receiving my upgrade kit, well so was I. No. This is when I reached out to Prusa via their chat. I was angry and frankly hoping they were at least going to give me something in exchange for holding my money without shipping the product for the second time in a year. So I broke down the whole story. (My texts are blue, Prusa’s are the on brand orange.)
Hello. I have what seems to be a recurring problem.
I ordered the mk4s upgrade for my mk4 along with some needed repair items on Sept 17. Based on your shipping information page it should have shipped 4 weeks ago, but I still have not received a shipping notice. I thought I was taking a short break while waiting on a part. Instead I am sitting out the holiday season. This also happened to me on order 1721126196. Please tell me my order has in fact shipped.
let me check it please
1721126196 – seems to be already delivered. Regarding 1726609788 – Prusa Nozzle brass E3D HF ObXidian – 0.40mm currently not in the stock
So after being backordered for one item, they got it and now after over 2 months were holding my order for a different backordered product that was IN STOCK at the time the order was made…and they new it was a high turnover item as they had just sent out a restock notice email. So I replied.
Funny, it was in stock when I ordered the back stocked printer upgrade.
When I first got involved in printing I decided based on reputation that I would go with Prusa. While the quality of the machine has been solid…this order process and supply chain issue makes it not worth it. I would be better of with two substandard machines and alternating their use while I fixed them.
I understand your frustration, and I’m really sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. The supply chain issues have indeed impacted stock availability, and I know this delay is far from ideal, especially during the holiday season.
I can assure you that we are working hard to fulfill all orders as quickly as possible. If you’d like, I can keep checking on the status of your order and give you updates on the shipping as soon as the parts arrive.
So why did you sell a nozzle that I had already bought? That nozzle was in stock when I bought the machine upgrade and should have been set aside. The initial delay to sell the machine is just a bad habit by now, but to sell a part that was already purchased twice and then telling me “sorry” when my machine has been down and waiting on parts for 3 months in 5 days and it is extended because of an ethically dubious inventory practice…well two actually.
I need more than your assurance.
Please replace you with Prusa in my writing. I do not mean to indicate you personally are at fault.
But I am more than a little frustrated here, and I have been patient with these issues in the past, and until now.
from what I can see in the system, the nozzle you purchased is currently out of stock, and unfortunately, this has affected the shipping process. Technical support does not have access to the production or restocking process, so we are unable to influence these delays directly. If you would like to receive your order faster, you can opt to remove the nozzle from your order and request a refund for it. This should allow us to ship the rest of your order sooner. I know this situation is not ideal, and we appreciate your patience as we continue working to fulfill orders.
If I do that I have to pay for the shipping twice and it is overseas. I need for this issue to be escalated to someone who can address these issues more directly. Do you need an email address for follow up or is it available in my account?
Actually, lets do this.
Cancel my order and give me a refund. As this was a credit card purchase I will need to be compensated at the prime lending rate for the time Prusa Research held my money.
you can cancel or your order or remove it yourself:
Yeah. You read that correctly. “You can cancel the order or remove it yourself.”
I don’t blame the employee.
For one, they are a help desk person. They should not even be fielding chats about shipping…but that is how the chat was routed.
Also, to be fair to the employee, I was kind of a dick. But I think I was satisfactorily restrained given the companies approach to exchanging goods and services for money.
I do blame the company. Which leads me too…
Final review of the Prusa MK4 to MK4s upgrade:
I really have no idea, because I followed their customer service reps suggestion and cancelled the order. I fully expect that the upgrade is well documented and manufactured and that it probably will do everything it is supposed to do better than 98% of the competition.
But you have to get the damn thing to find out.
Besides the time they held my money without paying interest and the sheer annoyance of customer service this bad, Prusa cost me money. I was out of production for the entire Christmas season with a first year company because I expected a level of service that is not provided by this company.
I take responsibility for that.
Part of that responsibility is telling you what you can expect if you choose to do business with Prusa.
I haven’t decided what to do with this machine, but I will be going with an American made company when I move up to a proper commercial machine. Prusa isn’t the caliber of business I want determining my production capabilities.
