Why You Can Trust CNET Should You Buy a 3D Printer on Amazon's Big Deal Days?
Amazon's giving us another chance to buy up a 3D printer at a heavy discount this October
- 6 years working professionally in the 3D printing space / 4 years testing consumer electronics for large websites.
Short answer: Yes. Amazon's annual Prime Day event, called Big Deal Days this year, is a great time to pick up your first 3D printer or expand your collection.
While there are always budget options for 3D printers, Amazon's Big Deal Days -- Oct. 10 and 11 -- is one of the best times to jump into the hobby. Major brands like Elegoo, Anycubic and FlashForge often have significant savings on the most popular printers and big discounts on the stock they're trying to clear.
There are some generous discounts on Big Deal Days, but make sure the savings you're getting are real. More than one company raises its prices on or just before Big Deal Days only to reduce them back down and call it "savings." It's a dirty practice, but one we're constantly aware of.
In addition to making recommendations, we track the prices of these products to offer the best advice for Big Deal Days. Our 3D printer deals page will have the latest verified deals, so keep your eyes out in the coming weeks.
Which 3D printer should you buy on Amazon's Big Deal Days?
There are a lot of major 3D printer brands that will likely cut prices during Big Deal Days, and which model you buy will depend on what type of 3D printer you need. Most of the sales will center around the more common FDM printers -- these create 3D prints from rolls of plastic filament rather than liquid resin -- so you'll see the biggest discounts there.
Anycubic and Elegoo have recently refreshed their lineups, so you can expect to see discounts on their previous-generation 3D printers and smaller discounts on the latest ones. I'm hoping that we see a discount on the Anycubic Kobra 2, as it is one of the best fast 3D printers available right now.