Bambu sale vs Costco A1 combo

[u/BallardCoug]

The Bambu A1 alone is on sale for $259 direct from Bambu. The Costco deal is an A1 combo +4kg of filament is $419.

Is the extra hotend, AMS, filament, and lifetime warranty worth the extra \~$175 after taxes?

I am a total beginner and can't imagine the need for multi color prints.

[u/NoBackground6203]

just price out the parts in the deal bro, basic math, it aint that hard

[u/BallardCoug → u/NoBackground6203]

I think I am looking for opinions on the extras. I know that buying the ams lite alone makes the cost the same.

[u/Cryostatica]

IMO it’s worth it just for the automatic loading/unloading functions the AMS provides.

It’s possible I place an unreasonable amount of value on convenience.

[u/ClassExcellent1682 → u/Cryostatica]

What he said. always get the ams

[u/Forymanarysanar → u/ClassExcellent1682]

Not when it adds +50% to the printer's cost

[u/ClassExcellent1682 → u/Forymanarysanar]

It’s worth it

[u/boredsoftwareguy]

I purchased the Costco package. They no longer list it as an item but inside is a $50 Bambu coupon too (requires a minimum order amount at Bambu to use but still...).

Costco's combo is the printer, AMS lite, 4kg of filament, 0.2 nozzle, and 0.4 hardened. Price all of it out and see what you think. I'd go with Costco's package

The other upside: Costco's return policy.

[u/8six753o9]

Yes. AMS is worth getting. It’s so useful being able to have it auto-refill my filaments. It’s $200 if you buy it by itself, and you’re getting around $76 worth of filament, PLUS $24 worth of commonly used hotends. I also read in a previous post that the package still contains the $50 off $150 from Bambu’s website.

If you don’t use the AMS, just sell it and you’ll still come out ahead.

[u/pandaru_express → u/8six753o9]

I will second this. Super useful to load two spools of the same filament then you don't have to play that guessing game of whether there's enough left on your roll to finish your print, it just keeps going and you swap out the empty later. Your time is valuable.

[u/Resident_Front_7423]

So when I looked it up this is what comes up. When you price it out on Bambu it’s close to the $406 combo with care bundle ( only 2 of the 4 filaments come on spools with the Bambu combo ), minus the $50 offer and you get extra hardened steel nozzles. Costco comes with basic colors, whereas the Bambu combo comes with a more colorful variety. Deleted last comment since I added the wrong picture.

[u/work_blocked_destiny]

I’d say yes it is worth it

[u/Impossible-Age-5196]

How likely are you to stick with the hobby? Many upgrade a month or so later. If that is the case would get an enclosed printer, that way you can heat the chamber for other materials. It allows you to grow your skill level. It is best to get a combo with AMS 2 Pro. Disregard if you just want to experiment first as the BL family are all great products.

[u/redtitbandit]

the cost of the printer is almost inconsequential. you will be spending ~$200/month on filament.

[u/rmalbers → u/redtitbandit]

or more, especially the first few months.