Top 5 places to sell 3D models
Lately, my friends, colleagues, and people around the world have been asking me, what are the best 3d marketplaces for selling. I have responded a couple of times and then decided to stop repeating myself and write a useful guideline based on my experience. Cause I believe it can help someone else as well.
I’ve started to create 3d models a few years ago. I’ve tried plenty of 3d stock markets starting from old companies to local startups. And now I can tell you about the pros and cons of each of them.
Turbosquid
This is platform one of the oldest, the most well-known, and huge on the 3d models market. They sell stock 3D models used in 3D graphics to a variety of industries, including computer games, architecture, and interactive training.
Pros:
- There is the largest database of 3d models.
- They support payments through wire, cheque, Paypal, and Payoneer.
- Turbosquid has a certification program. They check the quality of models and can mark them as Certified, which then displays in the marketplace.
Cons:
- The worst royalty — 40%, but if you apply on their guild program, the royalty can be up to 80% in exchange for exclusivity.
- From my perspective, the UI/UX of the user account (for sellers) is not user-friendly and complex.
- Extremely competitive marketplace.
- Turbosquid doesn’t allow the sale of 3d models of firearms that are ready for 3d printing.
- They ban 3d models for 3d printing with copyrighted names. For instance, you cannot use keywords or names with Ford.
I have a funny story with this platform. As I have mentioned above, their royalty isn’t good. And because of this fact, I tried to increase the price for some models on Turbosquid. Afterwhile I received the notification regarding lowering the price for those models because they found these models were cheaper on other marketplaces.
CGTrader
In my opinion, CGTrader is one of the best marketplaces for VR/AR and CG projects and the professional 3D designer community.
Pros:
- The website is growing fast and has a huge database of models (~1 320 000).
- They have their own loyalty program which is one of the highest on the market and it can be up to 80%.
- CGTrader has an assertive marketing strategy. For instance, they organize frequent sales a few times per month, which helps you to sell more models.
- Here you can be hired as a designer for a custom job.
- They provide convenient visual statistics of your profile. And also they show tips for upgrading your models/account.
- Great customer support service (quick response).
- They have a modern website design with friendly UI/UX, great filters for searching.
- There is a possibility for customers to lower the price on the marketplace. You can accept or reject the customer’s offer but also you can set up a new price exclusively.
- They support a few payment systems: Payoneer, Webmoney, and bank transfer.
Cons:
- They ban 3d models of firearms that are adapted for 3d printing.
- They prohibit communication with the customer outside the platform and can punish you with points and ratings. It means you cannot share your contacts with any buyers.
Cults is another great marketplace that allows designers, makers, and other users to share free and paid models meant for 3D printing. Also, It’s a social network where 3D printing enthusiasts can interact.
Pros:
- There are great and large database models for 3d printing.
- The site gets a lot of traffic which means it’s a good place for you to get visibility and sales.
- Cults has a modern and pleasant website design.
- The royalty is up to 80%.
- They show some statistics for potential buyers regarding how many times models were bought or downloaded. I think it helps you to increase your sales, cause it gives rise to others buying.
Cons:
- Officially they support only Paypal as a payment system. However, if you have some issue with Paypal you can ask them directly regarding alternatives such as Payoneer & etc. But mostly the transaction fee will be higher.
- Cults has a monthly delay after purchasing your item. It means the money will be accessible after one month, you can check it under the section Remaining to transfer.
- As I remember there weren’t any sales campaigns on the Cults.
Etsy is a global online marketplace, focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. But don’t be surprised, they provide the possibility to sell digital products as well, which means you can also post your 3d models here.
Pros:
- They have a great rating and feedback system about sellers.
- There is a transaction fee of 5% on Etsy.
- Etsy provides the possibility to set up an advertising campaign for your products. However, it’s a paid service.
- Also, there is a referral program that gives you free listings.
- Etsy accepts payment by credit card, debit card, Etsy Gift Card and Etsy Credit, PayPal, some bank transfer services, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Cons:
- There are limits for uploading files (size and number of files) for one listing.
- Etsy will charge you a listing fee of $0.20 USD for each item that you list for sale. But after registration, they provide 40 free listings.
- They have new tax and payment programs. Lately, a lot of shops were banned automatically for some reason. In addition, some countries also were excluded from the seller list. It means if you are from that country (for instance, CIS countries) you cannot create a new account.
RenderHub is the artist-friendly marketplace for 3d models, seamless textures, materials, and more. It is a young and fast-growing company.
Pros:
- They support plenty of payment options including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.
- RenderHub provides a one-time bonus of $500 if you post more than 1000 items.
- Royalty starts from 55% to 70% and depends on the number of your models.
Cons:
- All models should be moderated before being published.
- There is no big database of 3d models (less than 80k items).
I hope this list was useful for you. Next time I’d like to share the top 5 alternatives that can help you distribute your 3d models with fewer competitors. Stay tuned.
