The Impetus: Creality

Companies don’t treat customers like customers anymore. It’s an unfortunate fact about the world we’ve created for ourselves. Companies get away with it because enough people still purchase their products. Until more people vote with their wallets, companies have no pressure to stop. What follows is the experience I had with Creality that served as the impetus for the creation of this site. I wanted to share my experience to make other consumers in the market for a 3D printer aware, but that seems to be impossible to do on some social media platforms (more on this below).

In January 2025, I ordered a K2 Plus Combo (3D printer bundled with the CFS multi-filament system). I used the printer pretty minimally. Probably less than 50 print jobs but definitely less than 100. In October, a print failed very shortly after it started, evidently, because there were only a few layers adhered to the bed. I didn’t notice the failure until over an hour into the print, so you can imagine the mess that was created. One of the key features that make this a “flagship” printer is a dual AI camera system that is supposed to detect print failures and stop things before they get out of hand. From the product page: “If any irregular activity is identified, the sensors will notify you immediately.” This never kicked in, so one of the main features of the system failed. As a result of that failure, molten plastic built up all over the print head, covering the electronics, getting into and stopping the fans, etc. It was such a large blob of plastic that it pushed the magnetic front cover off of the print head and the AI still did not detect anything wrong.

I got on Creality’s website and contacted support. I was logged into the website on the same account I purchased the printer with, but I had to go look up my order number, order date, take and send pictures of the printer’s serial number, etc. Companies track and collect obscene amounts of data about their “customers” but immediately develop amnesia the moment we contact them. I sent all of the requested data along with photos of the state of my printer.

A few days later, I got an email response from support… telling me to fix it myself. The instructions were to use heat gun and use it to soften and cut away the plastic. I resisted telling them that I’m not a 3D printer technician and am in no way qualified to do this and I don’t own a heat gun. I wanted to send the printer to them to repair, but they outright refused my requests.

Eventually, I gave in and did as they requested which, in the end, resulted in the entire print head being removed and disassembled in order to get all of the plastic from where it had oozed internally and around the electronics and wiring. I had no idea how I was going to reassemble the mess I was left with and sent them photos of the disassembled parts asking if I could send the print head parts in to have them reassembled and shipped back to me. Again, they refused and I’m left with $1600 of still-under-warranty equipment destined for the landfill along with spools of filament sitting in the CFS deteriorating.

The whole experience is the worst customer service I’ve ever had and I’ve summarized the exchanges, and toned down the frustration, that happened over a 3 month period of seeking resolution. It has left me feeling helpless, abused, and frustrated with no obvious recourse. It’s not like I’m going to try paying an attorney thousands of dollars in an attempt to get $1600 back.

There are a few other things from the exchange I thought were noteworthy:

First, I was told the warranty for the print head was only good for 3 months after purchase. In the same email, I was told that they do not have replacement print heads available for purchase. The main component of their current “flagship” printer, which is still available for purchase, is intended to fail after 3 months with no way to replace it. Keep in mind, the print head wasn’t necessarily in need of replacement before they forced me to disassemble it.

Second, I’ve tried to leave a review on their website multiple times. I’m logged in and can see the printer purchase in my order history but there is no way to submit a review… but there are reviews of the product… so where did those reviews come from? I asked about this and they played dumb as though the functionality should be there for me. I suppose it’s possible they are as awful at website development as they are at printer manufacturing and customer support and something technical causes the functionality to not work in Safari, but that’s the only browser I use outside of work (and I don’t do personal stuff on my work computers). Given their dishonest and shady treatment of me, I personally believe the reviews on their site are not legitimate.

Third, I tried to share my experience as a warning to others by leaving feedback and comments on other platforms. There have been recent allegations that Creality pressures creators they sponsor to remove any negative feedback. I can’t say that the allegations are true, but I can say that many of my comments were removed from platforms by the creators. My comments were not hostile or vulgar or inappropriate in any way that would warrant them being removed.

That last point is the main reason I decided to create this site. That, and as a (hopefully) cathartic, healing activity where I can get this negativity out of my mind and body so I can move on… after I put this piece of garbage in the dumpster so my cortisol levels don’t spike every time I walk past it.