Here is the photo album link.
It really tells you how glad we should be that we are making to Dallas Makerspace work.
Price Sheet!
On Top of the $50 a month rate.
$2 an hour for access to Screwdrivers etc.
$12 an hour to access a soldering iron and a desoldering station
$2 a minute on the laser cutter.
$4 an hour on the sewing machine
On top of the $100 rate
$4 a minute for the CNC Router
Wow, that’s wacky. What recurring cost is there for tools? I don’t think screwdrivers are considered consumables…
Yikes.
But on the other hand, it’s pretty apparent if you look at the typical rates for most Makerspace/Hackerspace memberships that the DMS is a HUGE bargain.
The normal membership rate gives access to everything, (no tiers of payments to get to access the woodshop/metalshop/3dprinters/etc), low to no-cost classes are the norm, and 24/7 access is the only option (no black out hours or days for lower membership tiers, etc).
I guess that begs the question: where is DMS in terms of membership as compared to other spaces? is ~600 a lot? A little? Because those prices could be justified if their membership numbers were so small that they needed the extra income just to make rent.
Seattle real estate is appreciably more expensive than DFW (per bankrate’s cost-of-living calculator, median home price is 147% more; rent is 116% more). Adding to that, their location appears to be a bit more … prominent … than ours, located not too far from downtown, further increasing the spread.
Suspect that they have so many more tiers and fees is to deal with what appears to be a markedly greater cost structure.
Those pictures sure make it look cramped in their space.
How desperate would you have to be to pay $12/hour to use a soldering station? Those are not expensive items.
DMS benefits from several factors in our area. Texas generally has a building glut, and building space usually isn’t expensive. DFW is a large metro, with a population around 6 million and growing rapidly. DMS is located pretty near the middle of DFW. So, it isn’t too difficult for it to attract a small crowd of people.
I can’t help but compare DMS to churches I’ve attended. For a makerspace, DMS is doing well, but it isn’t terribly difficult for a church to reach 700 members; several of them exist around DFW.
I was told about a makerspace in Houston that charged members $500 a month. That’s an insane rate! For that kind of money, someone could just save up for whatever tools he needs. The measure of DMS’ value isn’t how overpriced other makerspaces are; it’s what DMS is able to provide versus what someone could do for himself.
Are they a non profit or a business?
I don’t know. I was told about this in a casual conversation, as a family member from Houston was visiting our Space and comparing the two.
“Our Talented Staff” with a rate of $50 per hour might be a clue.
Just found this also:
“We will not put any customer thumb drives into our computers.”
A couple of years old, but here is an article:
http://www.geekwire.com/2012/owning-hackerspace-interview-matt-westervelt/
Agree!! Many thanks to all the volunteers who make DMS work !!!
I have a friend who lives in KC, and the makerspace there, “Hammerspace” looks to be pretty comparable to ours - except I don’t think they are a non-profit and consequently they do things like offer laser cutting services, paid mentoring, etc.
However, one interesting thing they do is that they use Quartzy as their scheduler. I don’t know what they use as machine usage fees because their Quartzy details are not accessible to their non-members.
Chris
Doesn’t look like Metrix is Non-profit either.
It looks like these guys are targeting work and employees, instead of members with their rate structure. I believe one of the great points of DMS is that it is a social gathering place. Many members pay their dues and use none of the tools, instead they show up to socialize. If your wondering about size, Allen has been comparing us to other makerspaces and it seems like we may be the largest non-profit makerspace in the U.S.
I just looked up Houston Makerspace. They are an interesting mix of both Limited Liability Company and an in-house non-profit, Maker Education, Inc., “which handles all of our educational programming and is a federally recognized 501(c)(3).”
Basic membership is $50/month, but several of the shops require an additional $25 per shop per month.
I went to Metrix a couple years ago. They had some nice tools, but yeah, expensive and the place was quite small and cramped. It was in a strip mall storefront type place.
Members that pay dues then use none of the tools … that’s me lately with volunteering and my inability to schedule time for some of the training that’s offered.