Hey Everyone,
We are humbled by the community’s response and excitement over this drop. I’m sure most of you are aware but Signature Plastic’s SA Profile pipeline is packed for the foreseeable future and we are not entirely sure when we would be able to offer this set again. To help ensure everyone has a chance to join in the fun of this SA profile set we will be extending the drop until 6/29 (this will not affect shipment times). Thanks!
MikeMDThat's great news. Would you mind sharing why we haven't been seeing updates to the table of order quantities, prices, and drop points? The updates have been few and infrequent.
MikeMDThank you for clearly communicating this news up front in advance of the end date for the drop. This really will help the community with planning for this drop. Please also recognize that with this drop extension to not cannibalize the next drop. This should mean that you, Massdrop, moves those upcoming drops out to allow us the best opportunity to join those drops as well.
Thank you,
Jedi
MikeMDMuch appreciated ; )
Wish ALL future key-cap group buys had the same 23 day order, time line.
Especially all SP and GMK GB's, would be absolutely loved by ALL of us here on MD.
sanstitreWe won't come anywhere near sniffing a million keycaps. In order to get to 10k orders we would need a 50% increase in sales over the next couple of weeks. That isn't going to happen as most buyers are probably already in on this. It's only going to be stragglers the rest of the way (maybe 1% per day) until the last 24 hours which might give us another 10% or 15% boost. Also, a million caps would be 10k orders at 100 caps per order. The biggest kits offered don't even have half that # of keys. If the average # of caps per kit is 30 then we would need 34k orders to reach a million.
I'd be really curious to see the average # of kits per order. I'm guessing it's something like 4 or 5. So the 6500 orders mark we're at now is probably only 1500 individual customers.
heliarDoubt it is delay at this point. You need to consider they are a business, and if there is no intention of further drops, it is a smarter choice to keep it dangling than confirming it...Well played MD
CakirramaIf their intention is to maximize sales then there is nothing smart about not providing updates and continuing to show higher prices. That hurts sales and makes people buy less or skip it all together. Clearly displaying the latest pricing and finding some additional price breaks for the kits that are 10x beyond the last tier shown is the way to get more people to buy or the same people to buy more.
ChitownM2Perhaps a fair amount of deliberation is required between MD and SP regarding further price drops, and that is why we have not received updates yet.
ChitownM2>most buyers are probably already in on this
This isn't necessarily accurate, the Asian markets (to which MD doesn't ship) use brokers that coordinate their own GBs which run concurrent with MD's. They wait until the last possible minute to place one gigantic order, so because of this it's common to see the number of kits jump significantly on the final day. I agree with your math regarding a million kits, FWIW
ChitownM2Normally, MD is pretty good about updating order quantities. I agree with you in that they should be diligent in keeping us up-to-date.
That being said, your argument highlights part of a larger problem - the all-too-common practice of waiting to get in on a GB until certain MOQ drop points are hit. This is fundamentally flawed logic; people don't consider the fact that they aren't paying a dime until the drop ends.
The proper way to do these GBs is to get in on all the kits you'll need immediately. Think of it as "committing" to a price, even though that isn't an option on these kit-based GBs. Think of how many people wait and wait for a drop point to be hit, and maybe pass up the drop altogether when the MOQ isn't reached.
If you're interested in the drop, get in right away and contribute to the order quantities. More drop points are achieved this way; and if on the final day of the drop the price isn't where you want it to be, you can always cancel. MD should publish a "guide to group buying" or the like that explains this strategy to new folks (of which there are a lot, these days).
nitrobackflipMy thoughts exactly. No matter what the price is to begin with if you are interested you should jump on board right aware and contribute to the numbers needed to hit the next price drops. And on top of that it's always fun to watch the price drop as the different price points are achieved!
Edit: spelling
schoolbusThat's correct, Nautilus has been delayed a month. GB will now take place in July. Keep an eye on the Nautilus poll or GH's interest check, as I'll post on both places updated kits this week.
nitrobackflipYes those Asian orders come in at the very end and they are why we see that 10-15% spike in the last 24 hours. This kit might have more appeal in the east so perhaps it will be a 20% bump for carbon compared to other sets which have more of a US or european nostalgia to them.
Also regarding waiting for a price point to join...I completely agree. I joined in the first hour and absolutely cringed at the dollar figure I saw in my cart. Enough to make me go back to the chart and see what I could expect to pay if I hit the lowest MOQ for everything. It was a substantial difference. I think a lot of people are reluctant to hit that place order button on that larger dollar figure. So while I agree with your logic (and personally follow it) the reality is some people are going to have a mental hurdle about ordering at the current prices and then hoping that they are lower later. Some percentage of those people are lost sales because they won't come back and order later when prices have dropped. A lot of times you have one opportunity to make a sale, that's why sales people push so hard when they have you in front of them. And that is why it is important for MD to be prompt and accurate with their quantity and pricing updates.
ApocI doubt it. SP has to know exactly how long it takes to produce a key, switch out colors, legends, etc. They should have a pricing list ready to go that accounts for everything including key size, colors, etc. and have that ready to go.
As others have pointed out, even this Carbon order is relatively small compared to the commercial orders that makes up the bulk of their work so I doubt even MD has a lot of pull for "negotiation" with SP. SP has their pricing per key based on an MOQ of 25 up to 25k (I'm guessing) and I doubt there is much that could make them alter it.
ChitownM2Obviously, since it isn't getting updated, there wont be more drop points. It is a business after all. They have everything to gain by adding drop points and nothing to lose by dangling the option in front of us, if none are coming..
ChitownM2>... the reality is that some people are going to have a mental hurdle about ordering at the current prices
I agree completely; and the point I'm trying to make or I've been trying to make over the last couple GBs is that we as a community and potentially MD as the facilitator of these GBs need to work to change this thought process in people.
I think a lot of people (myself included until relatively recently) simply don't realize that they aren't paying a dime until the drop ends, and can therefore commit worry-free. Believe you me, I wasn't at all prepared to pay the $300+ that my cart started at, but sitting today at the lowest drop points for all my kits, $220 is a lot more manageable.
nitrobackflipYou're also following this drop pretty closely. Casual buyers likely won't be checking in daily and may not want to rely on logging in the last day to remove items from their order that don't hit the price point they hired for.
CakirramaHuh? Don't understand the point you are trying to make. I wouldn't say that the lack of updates to the chart is indicative that no more drop points are coming. Now if they were updating the chart quantities without adding drop points that would be a sign pointing towards no more points but no updates at all doesn't tell us or indicate anything.
ChitownM2Fair point, although I'd argue that casual buyers are often casual enthusiasts and probably wouldn't even consider shelling out $150+ on a high-end keyset to cover their $80 board
nitrobackflipI'd consider myself casual and I've been staring at Carbon every day since it dropped. I just don't know. I think there's other SA sets coming up that I want more.
BlueCrownedThat's fine, I was generalizing. Point is, there are loads of people who would get in on a set if a certain combination of kits hit their lowest drop points, but rather than getting in on the drop and contributing to those quantities, they wait it out and maybe end up not doing it because their total would be $20 more than they want to pay. The reality is that if all those people got in first, more of those drop points would be hit, fewer people would decide to pass, and everyone else would enjoy the lower prices
CakirramaWell no, drop points are negotiated and set by MD, the GB sponsor, and SP long before the drop even goes live. I'm taking about kits hitting MOQs for drop points, not MD adding new drop points during a live drop. That happens very rarely if at all.
Because Massdrop has no incentive to offer simultaneous custom $ keycap drops- they're better off offering one at a time for obvious reasons ($)
Besides, the designer already clarified this- it is indeed delayed.
nitrobackflipFor some reason MD tends to put an authorization for the full amount on my card. So depending on my funds I have no choice but to wait, because even if I am not charged immediately the money is still unusable from the moment I join the drop.
jlee104@Cakirrama@jlee104 I am kicking myself in the nuts for not joining GMK Plum, only really realised how much I liked it a week after the drop ended..
@BlueCrowned I was in for that drop and had to pull out on the last day due to emergency financial reasons, sad times.
BlueCrowned@ojrask that's interesting, are you paying with a debit card? I use a credit card and MD only authorizes $1.00 when I join a drop. That definitely affects whether you can join a drop early, though. Good to know.
We are humbled by the community’s response and excitement over this drop. I’m sure most of you are aware but Signature Plastic’s SA Profile pipeline is packed for the foreseeable future and we are not entirely sure when we would be able to offer this set again. To help ensure everyone has a chance to join in the fun of this SA profile set we will be extending the drop until 6/29 (this will not affect shipment times). Thanks!