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Showing 1 of 1691 conversations about:
TheRealist
23
Sep 10, 2018
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I get it you guys at Massdrop need to make a profit and all. but Charging 150 for just the bare board and no caps. Is OUTRAGEOUS you should be charging max 90 and thats pushing it. Seeing as your marketing this towards the niche mech keyboard community you should realize that we can easily price match what it would take to build this entire board ourselves. Well ok the 1000 or so who bought one probably wouldn't do that but I sure would.
And with out going into to much detail genuine Cherry MX switches cost about 78-90 bucks by themselves for a set of 88 ish (aka an 80% board fyi). Meaning you expect us to pay 150 for a very simple board with no caps or switches at all. Then we have to buy 80 ish dollar switches to add ourselves. Ya I'm glad you can do that with this board, but your getting it all wrong you guys.
Let me clarify you are trying to sell this premade board by u guys at the price of fully complete keyboard meant for the non techy mass market (aka all in one package). See the problem ya obvious now huh. If you wanna sell it then sell it at the price the board is inherently meant for. Which is the mid ground between full custom mech keyboard users and mainstream tech illiterate folk. Which would be around the $80 price point for a bare board. Since your accounting for the fact people still have to buy 80 ish set of switches and a 30 ish set of caps. Making the thing in total 190, which is honestly what you should have charged the fully stocked board for. But an extra 10 to help pay the engineers, marketers etc makes sense.

But now you see why your choice of charging 150 for a very simple bare board with nothing else is a rip off. You should be supporting those who want to make your "Custom marketed mech board" even more custom by putting there own switches on it. But instead you are screwing them and saying no we want those inbetween folk who like custom mech boards but aren't tech savy enough to sauter there own board together (AKA the all in one simple folks).
THAT IS NOT RIGHT you guys and I expect better from Massdrop. You have been one of the best most quality companies in my eyes for years with the customers interests in mind. AND NOT YOUR OWN. Which is exactly what your doing with the bare bones model of this board.
Such a disappointment to see another enthusiast company sucumb to the ever Luring effects that greedy shareholders have on your company. Thought you guys were different, guess not...
Sep 10, 2018
DRaGZ
305
Sep 10, 2018
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TheRealistUh, it's made out of solid aluminum, is fully programmable, is a USB hub, and has RGB lighting on both keys and edges. $150 is more than adequate for the bare-bones board.
Sep 10, 2018
Jino74
832
Sep 10, 2018
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DRaGZI've to agree. $100 for Alu case, $50 for pcb is reasonable.
Sep 10, 2018
DRaGZ
305
Sep 10, 2018
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Jino74Yeah, it is the heaviest, sturdiest keyboard I have ever used. I hammer really hard when I type, but with the Kailh Speed Silver switches on the really heavy aluminum frame, it feels so solid and quiet to type on. For comparison, my numpad attached is the Ducky Pocket Numpad/Calculator with the Cherry Speed Silver switches, and that's a really solidly built numpad, but it feels so much less solid than the CTRL.
Sep 10, 2018
ted
57
Sep 10, 2018
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TheRealistif you could price match me the same keyboard for $90, I'd happily join your group buy.
Sep 10, 2018
Fatalruin
193
Sep 10, 2018
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TheRealistYou are either wildly ignorant or daft. Show me a keyboard with a solid aluminum case, Kailh hot-swap sockets, USB c hub, underglow rgb LEDs, per key rgb LEDs, and a QMK programmable PCB for less money. Have you looked into the cost of those hotswap sockets alone?
Sep 10, 2018
TheRealist
23
Sep 11, 2018
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DRaGZSo your another blind consumer that actually believes aluminum is expensive aren't you, thats cute. Aluminum little one is the cheapest option any company can use in there products, THATS WHY THEY DO IT. So they have a bigger profit margin.
Until they use stainless steel don't come to me with such baseless shit. You've never built a PCB or a case out of anything, so don't pretend like you know anything about said tasks. You Reddit kids really need to shut the hell up, and stay on Reddit. Where you can dwell in your reality.
Sep 11, 2018
DRaGZ
305
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistYou sound like you have a lot of emotional issues you need to work through. Is there something you want to talk about?
Sep 11, 2018
TheRealist
23
Sep 11, 2018
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tedFirst off no you wouldn't, so don't straight up lie just to act as if you ever planned on changing your mind.
Second I've built the literal boards you all use ya there cheap base color green and lack brand names on it. But it costs the same to do which is NOTHING (sarcasm if u couldn't figure that one out). I get it companies have other expenses they need to factor into the price but Massdrop doesn't push out millions of products or even 10,000s. Meaning they don't have as much expenses they need to push on to the buyer.
Sooo then guess what that means, they don't have huge factories of there own producing these products but rather they make a few themselves but other that they outsource the manufacturing of the majority of there products. Meaning they shouldn't be upcharging consumers on the level that big companies do, not yet anyways.
But I guess I was wrong there already starting the process as so many others have.
Sep 11, 2018
TheRealist
23
Sep 11, 2018
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FatalruinSince you couldn't apparently pick up on the ques kid. I MADE MY OWN Mech Board. Ok not everything making Cherry Switches to the same tolerances that Cherry does isn't practical for a DYI'er as myself to do. So I don't make those but every other component I make myself.
SO YA I DO KNOW, and if the rest of you knew how cheap it is to print your own board and code some VERY basic software to send commands to the board. You'd realize the price canyon that exists when it comes to buying from a company that sells thousands upon thousands of products. But you don't so I get that, but that doesn't mean you can discount those who build there own shit. Simply because its a different view of the market your buying from.
You don't have to learn code or how PCB's work u just have to realize the other markets that exist besides your own mainstream (sorta mainstream) one.
Sep 11, 2018
DRaGZ
305
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistYou made your own aluminum keyboard that has NKRO, RGB lighting on the sides and the keys, is a USB hub, is fully reprogrammable through QMK, and has hot-swap switches? Wow! I'd love to see your product come to market, I'll be first in line to buy!
Sep 11, 2018
TheRealist
23
Sep 11, 2018
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Jino74Jesus I'm getting tired of explaining this over and over seriously can none of you tell my ques. Guess not lol o well.
Alrit I know you likely won't go out and buy raw materials like aluminum or go to a cheap company to print a Simple PCB for your board (ya Keyboard PCB's are simple, even if your uneducated mind thinks otherwise). A good example of a complex PCB would be that of a phone the connections you have to lace throughout and around very close components is pretty insane. But hey we're getting good at now meaning printing those small PCB's are becoming cheaper to make. Especially in large volumes fyi.
Back to the point, now think if a board as small and complex as a phone is getting simple to make. Then hmmm why would you think the PCB for a keyboard would cost more. Its a KEYBOARD and with mech switches its even simpler, membranes are the tricky ones. But they suck as you mech users know. So ya mech PCB's are cheap.
And back to aluminum, I seriously don't know who started that fake shit that aluminum was expensive and high quality. I think Apple would likely be the culprate, but I digress. Point is aluminum is makes about 8% of Earth's crust not as much as Silicons 27% but the reasoning why thats way more expensive is another explanation. What I'm getting at is aluminum is VERY cheap and weak. You want a case to cost 100 try using Stainless steal something that will actually last. But companies hate using it cause there margins drop, and thats a no no obviously.
So then please stop falling for the marketing trap its really not hard to educate yourself on this all. You have the entire internet at your disposal so you have no excuse. And no I'm not teaching you all this I had to learn on my own and so will you. I'm just here to correct you and push you to learn for yourself, so you become the most educated consumer you can be.
So ya Good Luck our there :)
Sep 11, 2018
TheRealist
23
Sep 11, 2018
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DRaGZWeird that you brought something unrelated to a single word I typed out. But I guess I can see personality type doing that.
And no I just want you to know your wrong which will in theory make you want to search out the answers as I did to know the proper info so that your correct. But I guess not huh, someone just wants to talk about feelings instead of the fact your wrong and how you can fix it huh?
Yaa didn't think this thread would go far anyway, ehh good luck anyway. Sifting through the internet is pretty difficult especially when your a mainstreamer. Lol I kid its hard for us all. Good luck mate :)
Sep 11, 2018
TheRealist
23
Sep 11, 2018
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DRaGZIt took me a lot of time and effort but I learned quite a bit from the experience and I'm glad I did it. I know your being sarcastic and all but you really need to understand the things that companies do isn't that hard from what a consumer can do if they have the drive of course.
OK I can't build my own processor, nand chip, or develop a new silicon based architecture. Which I really hate cuz I never want any company to have a monopoly over what I can do myself, but said processing knods are quite Complex :/. I'm like a fourth ok with it though cuz developing a processing knode yourself is fricken hard as hell. Thats something I give props to the 1000+ engineers at Micron, Samsung, TSMC, etc for doing. Insane what they can do.
A hint: They are getting so good at it they they are literally having the power to shift single electrons to specific areas with a pretty high probability. Which if you now what electrons are (aka they are mass less particles that only exist in a probabilistic state. Meaning you never know where it actually is until u measure it, so being able to control single electrons is some next level engineering their doing over there. Can't wait to see what we will be able to do with that once they throw the product to the mainstream.
Kinda got off topic sorry, just so interesting. What we can do with silicon STILL! Ya this isn't using Graphene based chips or even super cooler Q bit chips. All is still on Silicon fricken insane stuff, can't wait. :D
Sep 11, 2018
DRaGZ
305
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistOh don't take it the wrong way. I don't think I'm wrong, and I think you're being unrealistic (haha), but I was just wondering if there's something making you go out of your way to try to angrily prove to people how superior you are. Confident people who actually know what they are doing and talking about don't act that way because they don't need to justify, so it's interesting behavior. Not that I actually believe anything you say about yourself, I'm just waiting for renders to finish at work.
Sep 11, 2018
Jino74
832
Sep 11, 2018
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DRaGZOff topic but it sounds like you need a threadripper. :D
Sep 11, 2018
kittykatmax
140
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistSorry, I think it's reasonable. Also, the typical person who finds their way here is more than likely NOT "mainstream tech illiterate folk".
Sep 11, 2018
DRaGZ
305
Sep 11, 2018
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Jino74Haha, I'm in AVID, which is mostly single-core-bound, a Threadripper would slow me down at work a lot (also we're all Mac here, so everything is the ol' cheesegraters and trash cans unless they actually let me build my own Hackintosh station, which they wouldn't).
Sep 11, 2018
MattX
29
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistits pretty ironic that you called everyone replying to your comment uneducated, your grammar is shit. You’re an asshole too.
Sep 11, 2018
Haulien
428
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistOk let's break down the cost of doing it yourself.
The cheapest quality aluminium TKL base I can find is US$100. The cheapest TKL switch plate I can see is US$20.
Theres US$120 just for the shell right there, this is ignoring the fact that it's not suitable for a bottom glow RGB PCB at all, but anyway...
The cheapest TKL PCB with RGB lighting I can find isUS$45. Note that this board is missing: - The additional 32 LEDs required for the underglow. - The extra LED driver to support the additional LEDs. - The USB Hub - Extra USB-C port (or any USB-C port really) - The 87 hotswap Kailh switch sockets.
Some of the additional things would cost... - 90 Kailh PCB sockets = US$22.50 - Additional LEDs: US$18.56 (cheapest SMD RGB LED I can find are $0.58/each for quantities under 100, so granted MD would be getting it much much cheaper than this).
Ignoring the cost of re-designing a PCB with underglow, or with the USB hub or anything else.... - PCB above + additional LEDs + hot-swap sockets comes to US$86.06
So, Case + Plate + PCB = $206.06.
So tell me again how you could build a base configuration (read: no switches or keycaps) board yourself that even matches some of the CTRL's features for $100? I'd love a price breakdown, and I'm sure the community would be interested in a group buy of your individual RGB-backlit keys, hotswappable switch, 32 LED RGB-underglow, USB-hub, USB-C, QMK programmable keyboard!
Sep 11, 2018
Clacker
155
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistI dunno man, its their product, they can price it at whatever value they want. If you disagree, don't buy it?
Also can I see your keyboard? Genuinely curious.
Sep 11, 2018
Branny
733
Sep 11, 2018
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TheRealistMoron or biggest troll in the comments over here...
Sep 11, 2018
Sgard
0
Sep 11, 2018
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ClackerI also want to see their keyboard.
Sep 11, 2018
Iucounu
0
Sep 11, 2018
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Sep 11, 2018
PartialFrontal
119
Sep 14, 2018
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TheRealistJust an FYI, but whether or not what you're saying has any merit, noone is going to take you seriously due to your abrasive words. In fact you're probably going to push the neutral people to the other side. Try not to be so aggressive.
Sep 14, 2018
ted
57
Sep 27, 2018
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TheRealistDude... I would totally join your group buy for the keyboard you described at $90 per. Why would I lie about that? If you link me I'll buy it right now.
Can you at least show us the board in question?
Sep 27, 2018
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