THIS MAKEGEEKS FILAMENT REVIEW IS A MEMORIAL
UPDATE: As of February 2019, MakerGeeks is out of business.
FEEL FREE TO VENT YOUR ANGER IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW
Here is a farewell message they sent to one of their customers:
“Thank you and for sure… unfortunately we had to close our doors officially this last Friday. We tried to keep it going as long as we could however just couldn’t undo the damage done from MakerGeeks growing so quickly.
Even with the new website and trying to get a fresh start we just couldn’t get it going so it’s the end of the Maker Filament… ;( YUK!
We were sort of in a fish bowl being the only large scale direct to consumer filament manufacture here in the US and then bonus being in a very small town all the issues compounded and we just couldn’t get a head of all the bad press.
Everyone loves our product so that’s a good thing, the customer support and trying to scale so fast is what did us in…
If you have a pending February 3D Geek Box please rest assured that we are shipping this out on time and you’ll be getting a tracking number very soon – it’s a good one this final month!
If you are needing a refund for something we don’t have a way to issue a refund nor do we have any filament to ship out so you will need to contact your bank and issue a charge-back.
If you have a pending gift card; you will need to contact your bank and have the original charge disputed in order to have those funds returned to you whether that was a gift card or part of your 3D Geek Box membership.
Thank you again for your support over the years and I hope you have a great day and we wish you nothing but success with your 3D printing for many years to come.
Customer Support
Filament Geeks @ www.filamentGeeks.com
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/atxl7t/makergeeks_officially_shut_down/
Maker Geeks was once a leading American producer of good quality filament. The company purports to sell 100% made in the USA filaments, and boasted about its excellent customer service.
As a one man show, Maker Geeks used to be known for its personal touch. Recently, however, that reputation has been called into question. Across the internet, there is growing discontent with Maker Geeks and the services they provide.
That has made Maker Geeks a brand that you should consider steering clear of. More than a few customers have a virulent hatred of Maker Geeks, even calling for the company to shut down entirely.
Will this trend continue? That is unclear, but if it does, Maker Geeks has already lost a lot of its fan base.
Table could not be displayed.Introduction
Maker Geeks was a leading US producer of 3D printer filament. It was known for low prices and a wide range of specialty colors that are hard to find elsewhere, such as army green and khaki.
Maker Geeks had historically offered great customer service, but that might be changing.
Maker Geeks is a somewhat controversial company in that it’s owner Joshua B Smith is a devout Christian and openly runs his business as a Christian business. As a self described man of God, he says his principles carry forward into how he treats his customers and business contacts.
And for the most part that has been true. In the past, whether or not you were a Christian or however you may have felt about religion in general, Joshua had your back.
If you weren’t happy with your order for some reason, whether it be a shipping charge that you weren’t aware of or a mix up in the order, Joshua was happy to refund you and send you free samples of any filament you would like.
Moreover, being a US producer, Maker Geeks was able to meet customer expectations on shipping times.
However, in the last year or so, this impeccable customer centered business practice has begun to falter. Orders have getting mixed up, refunds have not been processed and customers are not happy. The result was an “F” rating by the Better Business Bureau recently, which shocked many long time fans.
It’s not clear what is happening, but Maker Geeks needs to get it’s act together quickly.
The Filament: Quality, and Color Range
Makergeeks Filament Review: The main thing going for this filament company is its color range.
Maker Geeks has one of the widest range of colors of all medium-sized filament producers on the market. With colors such as ‘Phil’a Mint Green’ (get it?), Soulful Blue, Sun Punch Yellow and Rose Quartz, Maker Geeks offers some of the most innovative colors available.
Beyond these interesting colors, Maker Geeks offers several shades of blue, white and Gray, as well as silver and other metallic colors. Maker Geeks even offers several shades of pink and green.
Quality and Materials
The filaments are also 100% USA made as opposed to imported from China. Filabot is also similar to Maker Geeks in this way.
Just keep in mind that Maker Geeks is not in the same league as ColorFabb or Faberdashery. So if you become a repeat customer of Maker Geeks and are buying dozens of rolls from them, you might have your fair share of dud rolls.
However some of this variation in quality may be due to poor packaging. The filament itself is sometimes also simply bad quality.
PLA
The one unusual thing about Maker Geeks PLA is the print temperature. Maker Geeks PLA print temperature is around 230ºC, according to the label on the spool.
Now, the official recommended temperature on the MakeGeeks website is 210ºC. So which temperature should you print with?
Well, at 230ºC some Maker Geeks PLA filaments will string, so if that happens you should definitely drop the temperature a little bit.
In fact, it is probably a good idea to trust what it says on the spool and start with 230ºC and decrease the temperature to 220ºC or 210ºC from there.
The reason is that the website might not be updated often, but the label on the spool comes straight from the latest batch of PLA from the manufacturer.
QUICK NOTE: a number of customers have reported stringing, clogging and otherwise uneven flow while using Maker Geeks filament no matter what temperature they tried.
Website, Packaging, and Spool Design
Makergeeks Filament Review continues…
The Maker Geeks website is ok, but leaves something to be desired. The website, while a good eCommerce storefront, is actually not very easy to navigate through.
It’s not intuitively clear how to find specific filaments that you are looking for especially given the extensive and complex menu lists that are the main way to move around the site. There are too many menus and not enough clarity.
Packaging is also an issue from Maker Geeks. In general, packaging is good but there are some reports of packages arriving without being fully sealed and without being fully wrapped.
This has resulted in many issues with printing and general feeling that Maker Geeks quality is not as high as it should be. But if the packaging is problematic, then reports that the filament itself is poor quality may in fact be related to packaging, not the production quality of the filament.
Website
On the Maker Geeks about page, Joshua boasted that he was named the top 40 e-commerce CEO by Ink magazine. He sold an eCommerce brand to a large retail company after a few years and set off to found Maker Geeks.
But despite this success, the Maker Geeks website is a bit behind the times. While his website used to be much worse, it has actually gotten slightly better recently.
It still suffers from a complicated and burdensome system of drop-down menus. These menus don’t have the sorts of helpful descriptions that would allow customers to navigate them easily.
Instead, you have to guess whether the color you’re looking for or the type of filament you want will be under uninformative brand names and product line descriptions.
For instance, if you are looking for regular black PLA filament, will it be under the Maker Series, Raptor series, or Crystal series polar filaments? They are all different and yet the customer will have no idea how they are different or what these filaments are until they click on the menu item.
So if you are looking for just a regular PLA filament, where do you go? Small improvements in navigation would greatly enhance the website the web browsing experience.
Packaging And Spools
Maker Geeks has great packaging except for the rare occasions when spools arrive in unsealed packages. This results in the possibility of air entering the filament and corrupting its quality.
While all packages do seem to include a desiccant and most packages don’t suffer from the issue of being unsealed or improperly sealed, it is worth being aware that the lack of consistent packaging could affect your prints if you buy from Maker Geeks.
Maker Geeks spools are perfectly suited for almost every type of 3D printer available on the market. The spools are made of a black plastic and are well labeled.
The center hole is also the regular two inches in diameter that most 3D printers are equipped to handle. That means you don’t have to print a new spool holder in order to print with Maker Geeks filament.
Who Owns Maker Geeks?
Maker Geeks is owned by Joshua B Smith, a former oil rig worker and Missouri native. After working on oil fields in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay for many years Joshua started building eCommerce websites.
After selling his first eCommerce website he started Maker Geeks as a “Christian and Christ-centered Company.” He states on his website that he wishes to give 90% of his earnings someday to his church.
The Take-Away: Makergeeks Filament Review
Bottom line: stay away.
Maker Geeks is a fantastic small-to-medium sized producer of regular and specialty 3D printer filament. Produced completely in the United States of America by a devout Christian, Maker Geeks was once known for good customer service, although this has been less true recently.
There are some drawbacks to Maker Geeks, such as the fact that customers have had issues with printing and packaging in the past. Also, the Maker Geeks website could also be improved in terms of its navigability and intuitive structure.
However, you can expect to find a lot of discounts and deals on the Maker Geeks website.
Still, all of these factors combine to make Maker Geeks a hard pass from us. It remains to be seen whether or not Maker Geeks improves on the downsides mentioned.
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Better Filament Brands You Should Try
THIS MAKEGEEKS FILAMENT REVIEW IS A MEMORIAL
UPDATE: As of February 2019, MakerGeeks is out of business.
FEEL FREE TO VENT YOUR ANGER IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW
Unfortunately I have not had a positive experience with this company. The PLA filament is poor, it gets jammed on the spool so you have to monitor the print job to keep the filament flowing or it gets stuck. The filament has high water content as evidenced by the need to change desiccant often. Great colors but lousy filament. If you want to be constantly monitoring the print job, use this product – if not, stay clear of it.
Poorly wound spools are frustrating. What kind of printer do you have? Also, if you are changing the desiccant often, there might be a lot of ambient humidity where you store the filament. Have you considered buying a dehumidifier to combat the moisture in the air? You can get a small, cheap dehumidifier like an Eva-Dry for less than $20 and they are a game changer.
On the website it says that a roll is $24.55. It’s only $18 if you buy 12 or more rolls.
True! You can also get 4-11 rolls of filament at $21.55. It’s nice to have options.
Are you not aware of MakerGeeks’ “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau?
https://www.bbb.org/stlouis/business-reviews/wholesale-hobby-supplies/maker-geeks-in-springfield-mo-45380
Please note that this file was opened *after* the date of your review, and that complaints continue.
Yes we are aware of the BBB review. The BBB rating is just one factor in our analysis but you are right that MakerGeeks has become a much less reliable company in the last year or so, and the negative reviews are piling up across the internet.
They have a die hard fan base, but something has changed in the last 6 months to a year… it seems like they’ve had some problems: they’ve been shipping the wrong filament, not refunding customers quickly or at all, and generally failing to provide the kind of high quality customer service that made them so popular 2-3 years ago.
We are going to take another look and see if they still warrant the positive reviews they received a few years ago. Check back soon for updates.
If you want to know how we analyze filament brands, check out our methods section here: https://printermaterials.com/methods-for-ranking-3d-printers-filaments-and-everything-else/
Thanks for stopping by!
I used to be a fan of Maker Geeks, but while their customer support has been in decline for quite some time (started a couple years ago they would seem to forget to ship my order almost every time and I’d have to email them repeatedly), recently their filament quality has massively shipped as well. Out of four rolls from my last order, two had variance problems (width suddenly gets as big as 2.5mm) throughout the roll that would jam the printer, and one that wasn’t wound properly so would tie up and stop feeding periodically (to use it I would have to keep an eye on the print, then when I could see it getting tense, unload the filament, and untie the knot around the roll). Maker Geeks never responded to my emails. I’ve also discovered that they also filterout all negative reviews on their website, which is just dishonest. I think it’s past time that you take another look at them.
i bought 6 rolls of film on sale the total for all 6 was $168.58 so about $28.10 each. i received 5 rolls only even though the website till today shows that the my missing roll of filament is in stock. its been almost 3 months now. i sent emails the first month and they responded a couple of times, i asked to have my missing roll of filament sent and i was eventually told it would be in my hands by july 10th or so. that was the last time they responded to my email. this company does not have a working phone number only an email contact. its now aug 24 2018, 2 months and 20 days and not even a response. very sad its only 28.00 but its just not right for a company to act like this. i am not the bad guy , they have MY MONEY i just want what i am owed..
I ordered last month’s “3d geek box” from them. They claim they “fulfilled” it Oct 4th but today (the 25th) it still hasn’t arrived. And unlike almost everyone else, they don’t provide tracking for shipments. I’m guessing they strapped it on the back of a turtle and pointed it in my direction. No, wait, a turtle would have gotten here by now… It’s a shame, I like “Buy American” but not if I can’t get the company to ship.
I hate to tell you but the marked all open orders as shipped on Oct 4. They did it to me and they did it to many other customers who I have cheated with. I think they just did a blanket ship for all open orders and hope people loose track of what they are owed
They listed every open order as fulfilled on Oct 4. All of my orders and anyone you talk too will tell you that. I think it was a big scam to confuse people to show they shipped something and to only admit they haven’t shipped if you complain which does not get you anything anyway. I have been trying to get my orders filled since July.
MakerGeeks has become a serious SCAM. They no longer resemble a legit business at all. They are taking money without any intention of shipping anything anymore. A year ago you could get something. Probably not what you ordered and not without a few months of writing emails but you would eventually get something. Something went terribly wrong around July when they stopped shipping out stuff altogether. You might get one or two rolls but the majority of what you ordered was not in stock the day you ordered it. It then became a game of changing your order around to what they had in stock and then not getting anything and then contacting them again and changing your order again and repeat until you finally got something or do a charge back on your credit card. You really need to update your article to tell people to stay away and not buy anything from them. Also they are shipping unusable product at this point if you do get something. They have no quality controls left at all. Color, Size, Moisture are all random and rolls are unusable.
This article is a circle jerk. How many times can you praise the company and their trash filament and blame the user? I have over a dozen spools of MG PLA. High quality? No. Of those dozen plus spools I have had three that print well. Three. If the filaments weren’t in their geek box (avoid unless you like poor customer service…) I wouldnt have so much.
User error? Hatchbox, eSun, AIO, all print flawlessly. No other PLA gives me so many jams and clogs. Or any jams and clogs. I just tried some -again- last night. The print was perfect for ¾ of the 8 hour print. So how is that user error? Heat creep? After 6 hours? Not likely. Bad retraction? How does ¾ of a part print perfectly with bad retracts. That issue is obvious very early in the print.
They have become even worse. Placed an order on November 1st. Decided to give them a break since they had tons of sales. On December 13th I visited their site and it showed my order was fulfilled on December 11th. I received no e-mail with this info. I emailed them and they responded 2 days later stating they were packed but not shipped, will get me a tracking number “soon”. Here we are at the new year and nothing. I emailed them again before the 20th for a tracking number and have been flat out ignored. Come to find out, there are others who had their orders fulfilled on the same exact date with nothing received.
I am still waiting on one roll of their newfangled magnetic filament (as is everyone else who ordered the June/July Geek Boxes?) and have had non delivery of other boxes.
I also sent a simple e-mail asking about their discount code for new accounts on a different e-mail and received no response their either. Luckily I used a credit card from a military credit union and they will be more than happy to get any and all monies returned to me. Pure Fraud
Personally, I averaged less than 15 dollars a roll with the constant deals (even with one of my orders never being shipped from November 2018) and had no trouble printing with them for the ~year I used them (Using Robo 3D R1+)
They seemed to have had issues with large orders – if one item was out of stock, which they didn’t track on the website, the whole order would be stuck in limbo for eternity.
I do understand I seem to be the lucky minority with my relationship to them, though.
They’re the only filament I knew of that could be left on the printer for weeks without snapping.
Anyone know of any other brands like that? I tend to iterate on a functional design over about a month and like to use the same filament for it throughout to ensure there’s no weird issues caused by different print requirements, but re-feeding the filament every morning is kind of a nuisance.
Ill have to second the quality control going to hell. Just got around to trying 4 rolls that I had bought in summer and BF 2018. All 4 rolls have massive filament diameter variation. They range from 1.62 to 1.87 over a couple of feet. Forget getting accurate dimensions, at 1.87mm they don’t even feed. I would avoid any used spools laying around as well.