Tag Archives: Tesco
eBay Breaks into 3D Printing with iPhone App eBay Exact – Our Review
eBay Exact is an iPhone App for 3D Printed Goods
Leading auction marketplace eBay is the latest major e-commerce company getting into 3D printing, following the recent news by Amazon, Tesco, and others. eBay launched an iPhone app called eBay Exact that lets users customize and order 3D printed goods.
How eBay Exact Works
eBay has partnered with 3D printing companies and designers, including MakerBot, Sculpteo, and Hot Pop Factory, to source 3D printed goods that can be customized and purchased.
Here’s the description from the eBay Exact product page:
Unleash your creativity by customizing select products to create exactly what you want with eBay Exact. Simply select a product, choose a design, and add your own personal flair to create a unique item for yourself or someone special!
With our first foray into 3D printing technology, we have partnered with Sculpteo, MakerBot, and Hot Pop Factory who are leaders in 3D printing technology to hand-select a range of special products including, iPhone cases, figurines, and jewelry.
Take the power of creation into your own hands and download the app now to start customizing right away.
Bring your style to life. Choose from a variety of materials, including plastics, wood and metals. Use the engraving feature to further customize your product.
Be the first to use new technology to create one-of-a-kind iPhone cases, jewelry, and figurines based on self-portraits.
Build your collection. Whether you love jewelry or figurines, eBay Exact allows you to create as many unique products, exactly as you like, based on your personal desires and preferences.
Reviews
There are just a few reviews so far, but some of them are glowing.
“Really cool app that gives affordable access to 3D Printers. I’d love to see more templates to customize and buy. Opening up to user generated content – a deviantart like community for 3D models would really make this a very addictive app!”
“App is beautiful- first company to do something like this, impressive.”
Below is a gallery that shows how you can discover an item, customize it and preview your design before ordering it.
Get the app for iPhone and iPad at iTunes or learn more about eBay Exact at eBay.
Top 3D Printing News Last Week: NASA, Poppy, Win 8, Tesco, Buccaneer
3D Printing News
A roundup of the top 3D printing news from June 24 to June 30:
Wednesday, June 26
- Watershed Moment: Windows 8.1 Offers Native Support for 3D Printing
- Poppy Launches Kickstarter to Turn Your iPhone into a 3D Camera
Thursday, June 27
- NASA and Made in Space Launch 3D Printing Space Experiment
- Tesco Hints at 3D Printing Coming to Retail
Friday, June 28
- Only 3 Days Left to Enter CGTrader’s 3D Printing Competition
- Inside 3D Printing Early Bird Prices End This Week
Saturday, June 29
- Buccaneer 3D Printer Closes Epic Kickstarter Campaign Raising $1.4 Million
- Buttercup the Duck Gets 3D Printed Prosthetic Foot and a Facebook Page
Tesco Hints at 3D Printing Coming to Retail
Will Tesco Introduce 3D Printing?
Retail giant Tesco is giving hints about its potential entrance into 3D printing.
In a blog post by Tesco Innovation Ambassador Paul Wilkinson, he shared his enthusiasm for 3D printing technology and hinted at how it could be introduced at Tesco.
So what does this all mean for Tesco then? Well I’m making no promises, but there are a few things I can predict for the future. We already print photos and posters in many of our larger stores, so why not other gifts and personalised items? How about letting kids design their own toys and then actually being able to get them made. What if we had a digital catalogue of spare parts for items that you’d bought? They could be printed on demand and ready for you by the time you’d finished your shopping. You could even take a broken item in to store; we could scan it in 3D, repair it digitally and make you a new one. The potential for 3D technology to revolutionise the way we view stores and what we can get from them is vast.
We’re pretty excited about 3D printing and we’ll be working hard to see how we might be able use it to make things better for customers. We won’t stop there though and as always we’re constantly seeking out the genuinely ‘next big thing.’ Up next I’ve got a trip to Silicon Valley – the heart of the technology industry, where as well as meeting some of the big names I’ll also be getting together with lots of start-ups and trying to find that idea or product that might just change the retail world. Watch this space to find out more about what I get up to.
With Staples already embracing 3D printing and many other retail shops introducing 3D printers and 3D printed goods on their shelves, will Tesco be the next to join the movement?
Photo of Paul Wilkinson’s desk from his blog post.
