I think it was spring of 2012 when I visited Manhattan to buy a 3D printer. I wanted to see one first hand and visited the store in (or around) Soho, and while the store had some great models printed and the staff were enthusiastic, they really didn't sell me on why I should buy one from Makerbot. I did see 3D printing first hand, and decided I would definitely get a printer. Coincidentally, I visited Hack Manhattan that night and a fellow (forgotten his name...) was building a beta PrintrBot Simple and explained why he thought Makerbot wasn't a good design, why Ultimaker is a much better product (extruder feed motor placement, speed, accuracy, and reliability) and finally, the most important, that no one buying their first 3D printer should be spending 2000 dollars. Get a PrintrBot kit, spend a few hundred bucks and upgrade when needed.
It was great advice. There are many design files on the Internet, but it was really CAD that I needed to learn. And in the meantime, there was so much to learn about printing: different materials, filament suppliers, how to deal with calibration, optimize slicing options, troubleshoot extrusion speeds, filament quality, and printing temperatures to name a few.
It's been nearly 4 years, the little PrintrBot Jr kit has been discontinued, but it still works well and I will probably upgrade this year. The technology and features available are far better today (OMG auto levelling beds) and I want a much larger printing area and faster printer.
Makerbot provided a brand for 3D printing, but also a promise that it was ready for consumers. They really weren't, and probably still aren't. Further, CAD and 3D modelling are not trivial skills to acquire. Regardless of the future of the company and their missteps, they did bring about massive consumer awareness of the technology.