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Romly "Early Access" Mechanical Switch Book
01 / 08
Romly "Early Access" Mechanical Switch Book
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98 Sold
Product Description
The world's first luxury catalogue for mechanical switches, this book is like an encyclopedia of mech keys knowledge. In it are 52 full-color pages with loads of information on 12 of the most common switches on the market, including large illustrations, force curves, bottom-out forces, and much more Read More
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Any info on who Romly is? What makes this person an authority on switches? Would be interested in that, as that is what will sell this.
Romly
280
Romly
Feb 2, 2019
Okay! It was fun writing about my keyboards anyway😆 Took Internet Keyboard Pro out of closet after like... almost two decades...
H2Whoah
768
Jan 30, 2019
"The world's first luxury catalogue for mechanical switches"
MFW the lifestyle industry is trying to eat another hobby industry
Romly
280
Romly
Jan 30, 2019
H2WhoahDon't worry, it's an ironic joke pointing exactly what you said.😆
At the same time it's true, I aimed luxury catalogue like jewelries, watches, such on. That's why I used luxury paper for the cover. It's so beautiful like pearls in it, hard to tell shininess by photo!
Kaazr
121
Jan 30, 2019
skaloola2
34
Feb 4, 2019
Can't say that I understand the pricing on this. The finished product isn't in front of me so maybe it was printed on some super expensive media / material bringing up the price, but I doubt it.
I understand you took time to create this and want to be compensated, but you might have been able to net even more if you charged a much more reasonable (but still pricy) $30-40 as you'd sell more units.
skaloola2
34
Feb 4, 2019
skaloola2Ok, nevermind. I looked at the contents of the book.. and it appears to just be an overview of each switch and graphs of their force curve. Did you even make those graphs yourself? Did you take the measurements yourself, did they come from the manufacturer, or did you source them from someone else's work (say from Deskthority's Wiki)?
I figured the book had some kind of original content -- not just reference info by itself.
This could have been a neat idea, but as it stands there's no reason to purchase it. You're not offering switches that are rare (to my knowledge), the price is outrageous, and to top it off the switch tester doesn't even come assembled.
Romly
280
Romly
Feb 5, 2019
skaloola2The book is made by photos I took, sentences I wrote, and I did it's layout. I bought instruments for this, I measured them and drew the graphs by my own. So I can say the book is filled with my original. (except the switches themselves😉) However, I assume that is not the point for you at all. It's only the price you felt expensive. (and maybe lack of switches that are rare to your knowledge)
I have a respect of how you felt and I feel sorry about it, yet it's the best I can do. Small lot printing, overseas shipping, translations, such on. And of course revenue for Massdrop who kindly offered this opportunity. I wish I were a rich man so I don't care about deficits.
But pre-assembled? No--- I doubt that!🤨
I believe assembling is the most fun part especially for who has interest this kind of book. Snap-fitting switches to the plate is so fun if you're a mechanical keyboard lover, isn't it? Perhaps I could do pre assemble so I wouldn't miscount screws. But it would make the price higher due to the shipping cost.
TL;DR: Sorry!🙇
WanzerRX-79
89
Jan 30, 2019
I am for a mechanical switch catalog, but not for 70 usd....and I thought D&D books were overpriced.
(Edited)
Starius
703
Jan 30, 2019
WanzerRX-79Pricing for books can't be undervalued across a broad scale like that. There is no telling how much people will pay for a particular book about a particular topic. Obviously cost of physical production plays a part, but also the amount of work that goes into its content creation. Then you have print run, quality, amount of demand, etc that all factor into its "value."
A certain book to the right people can be worth far more to them than you might ever consider paying.
For example , I paid $550 for the book 'Roubo on Furniture.' Years of research went into its creation. It's of a physical standard that is unheard of in today's world. Only 1000 were made. It's of a topic that is of personal interest to me. It makes a hell of a addition to my personal library. All of these factors justified the price to me personally, where as I'm sure the next person might balk at it.
As for your D&D book example, they cost that much because enough people are willing to pay that much for them. Therefore, that is what they are worth at the very least.
Will enough people buy this book at this price? Hard for me to predict, but it's a niche topic for a select group of interested people.
For me personally, in a world where content is increasingly digital in nature, it's nice to have something physical in hand like a book. Considering the very nature of a keyboard's tactile experiences, this book seems rather fitting too.
(Edited)
Romly
280
Romly
Feb 1, 2019
StariusI'm very appreciate your understanding, and I love the way you seeing the world.🙇
muni_chang
2709
muni
Jan 31, 2019
Last year, I tried to make a book about Keycaps, but finaly I gived up, so glad see your idea become true :P
Romly
280
Romly
Jan 31, 2019
muni_changI'm so glad someone knows completing something is hard than we expected when we starting it!😭
But no one forcing you, and no deadline for it. Please relax and make it time to time!
"If you build it, someone will love…”
Romly
280
Romly
Jan 31, 2019
NoobMKerI wanted to introduce more switches but it was hard to make into the book than I thought. Especially the book had to be in time doujin-event(such as Comiket) last year. And the translation was way more hard for me even this amount.😵
Dunphy1296
240
Apr 17, 2019
So this is a 12 switch tester with a booklet of information compiled from sources that are easily searchable on the internet sold for $70. Are you kidding?
(Edited)
Romly
280
Romly
Apr 18, 2019
Dunphy1296No i'm serious! Seriously I'm very satisfying the book completion, and it's wonderful to opportunity to introduce it here!😆
But I respect how you felt to the price and no one's forcing you to buy! If I can correct, it's a book, I prefer call it Doujinshi by the way, with a switch tester made for the book.📖
spr0k3t
181
Sep 22, 2019
I've been doing custom keyboards for friends and the book is simply stunning. I have about 83 unique switches in total for helping people find the right switch feel. Been waiting for this book Romly, thanks! I hope to see more volumes with some of the obscure switch types (like the T1, GSUS w/Halo stems, or Zealios etc). Keep up the awesome work. Ignore those that don't share your passion.
Romly
280
Romly
Sep 24, 2019
spr0k3tThank you too! Actually the second edition is complete this summer. It's up graded in every aspect and some people kindly saying 'high quality like a commercial book even it's only a doujinshi by one-man work'😊 *And based on this Drop experiens, second book is written in both English/Japanese!
http://romly.com/archives/2019/08/mechanical_switch_databook_2.html
[sorry the post is Japanese, I'll translate it later]
I wish it could be on Drop so wish me luck!
spr0k3t
181
Sep 24, 2019
RomlyImpressive Romly! Keep it up and I hope to see it on drop some day as well.
Surafoxkusu
81
Apr 18, 2019
Is the mech key community becoming like the some high-end audiophile and making almost everything overpriced or is it always like that? I am using my un-soldered MAX Falcon-8 as a switch tester, which is a macro board that comes with PCB, switches, caps and it is 40 dollars...this is doesn't have a PCB nor key cap, the book must be expensive to make?
(Edited)
Romly
280
Romly
Apr 18, 2019
SurafoxkusuI don't know high-end audiophile community but I'm sure the book is expensive to make. Believe me, I have experience.😭 Also I have experience making switch tester, and I know I can't offer price like $40 for fully functional switch tester, for very small lot, as I'm individual. Maybe someone can do but it's not me. Sorry🙇
So I just offer what I made/satisfied/love!😆
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