Filament availability

Hi folks, I was wondering if there are some recommendations for online shops with a good stock of filaments and decent shipping rates for the US. Both Lulzbot and Amazon are “Out of Stock” on various materials/colors I am interested in. Is this just because they don’t want to build up too much inventory or because 3D printing is trendy at the moment. Cause if it is the latter, I should get in the business of producing filaments judging by the lack of available stock everywhere I look :smiley:

What are you trying to order? I just ordered some grey HIPS, red PLA, and natural ABS from AO, and they shipped it right out…

Mark -

Looks like MatterHackers offers a lot of different filaments, but I haven’t used them, so I know nothing about their quality.

https://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d-printer-filament?t=3.00mm%20Specialty%20Filament

One thing to consider is that the ESun filament that AO sells is sold vacuum packed, so it contains very little water content. Many of the filament types are hygroscopic, which means they absorb moisture from the air. Apparently this can cause a problem with the quality of your prints. Consequently they suggest that you store your unused filament in an air tight bag of some sort, (ZipLock?).

Mark -

I order some through inventables.com I have not had any issues with the filament yet, and they have a good set of colors/sizes of PLA and ABS. They ship UPS ground out of Chicago area, so its pretty fast to get anywhere to the midwest, so for me its a 2 day delivery.

I have had good luck with Matterhackers Pro series ABS. I only have one roll of their Pro PLA but it seems good so far. Shipping is included in their prices and they ship quickly.

I would avoid their standard line of filament. It isn’t so great.

Search amazon for esun abs 3mm… Should come back with spools at about $25. Many of the colors qualify for Prime.

Sorry for dropping off the earth for a couple of days. Thanks for all the tips, guys! I just ordered some ABS from Amazon to do some tests and check out the acetone vapor finish technique.