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Realforce Keyboard

Apr 10, 2013

We've contacted our suppliers asking about the realforce keyboards and are waiting for a follow up to discuss pricing and terms. It's still not clear if they're willing to work with the group or not, but we'll follow up once we have a better answer.

Apr 10, 2013

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JwaZ

Aug 13, 2013

steveAny update @Steve ?

Aug 13, 2013

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JwaZ

Aug 13, 2013

steveAny update @steve ?

Aug 13, 2013

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steve

330

CEO

Aug 15, 2013

JwaZHey, so we've been working on this but are running into a roadblock. Realforce will only work through Elite Keyboards due to their exclusive distribution agreements. We've tried several times to talk to Elite Keyboards to see if they'd be willing to work with the group, however have only run into hostility and criticism of the group buy model. We've called them several times and they've made it clear that they do not care for the group buy model and are not interested in giving the Geekhack, Deskthority and /r/mechanicalkeyboards communities access to lower pricing on the Realforce Keyboard or any other product which Elite Keyboard distributes. We are doing everything we can to represent the community and help you guys run this group buy, but as of now we're running out of ideas. Another option is for the community to reach out to Elite Keyboards and let them know you'd like them to run a group buy through Massdrop. Other groups, like those in the polls for the Arizer Solos and Printrbots, have had a lot of success by showing the company how interested they are.

Aug 15, 2013

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lefthandedspatula

115

Aug 15, 2013

steve> "...they've made it clear that they do not care for the group buy model and are not interested in giving the Geekhack, Deskthority and /r/mechanicalkeyboards communities access to lower pricing on the Realforce Keyboard or any other product which Elite Keyboard distributes." Thanks for trying to work with them! That sounds really frustrating. As a member of the GH and /r/mechkeys communities, I think you've given me enough reason to NOT purchase products from Elite Keyboards. I vote with my wallet, and if a merchant doesn't even want to TRY to do business with the leaders in the community, then I'll take my money elsewhere.

Aug 15, 2013

Thatonegurlgaifeman

Aug 15, 2013

steveThey have distribution agreements. Doesn't look like they care. They get mark the price to w/e they want. What about HHKB? Are they still in question?

Aug 15, 2013

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ironman31

Aug 15, 2013

Thatonegurlgaifemanelitekeyboards has the rights to those as well

Aug 15, 2013

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belopsky

Aug 15, 2013

lefthandedspatulaThe thing is, they don't care if you don't buy from them

Aug 15, 2013

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lefthandedspatula

115

Aug 15, 2013

stevebelopsky is correct, Elite Keyboards has made it quite clear that they aren't interested in making sales, nor do they care about losing customers. Here's a response I recieved from Elite Keyboards: > "Hmm, the site (still) requires that I login to view any of its content. I've NO patience for sites that do this. Well, the last time I spoke with Steve on the phone I pretty much cut him off mid-speech. I proceeded to praise his hard work and success in getting Massdrop off the ground, but I told him that his business model doesn't work for me. I'd talked to him previously a few months before, but this last time I was driving and the other line had buzzed through twice already, so I ended the call without hearing his new spiel. I wondered for a few minutes afterwards if I made the right decision in cutting him short, but now, having read some of the excerpts from his post in the replies here, I'm confident I have done so for the time being. Running a business can be very stressful. I know all too well the kind of frustration Steve likely feels when things don't go as imagined. However, this bit goes too far: ...not interested in giving the Geekhack, Deskthority and /r/mechanicalkeyboards[1] communities access to lower pricing on the Realforce Keyboard or any other product which Elite Keyboard distributes... These popular keyboard communities and EK's willingness to work together with them were never part of any discussion we had. Anyways, Steve's libel aside, he appears to be a big keyboard enthusiast who may have aspirations of selling products that have long been exclusive to EK. He's not alone, I'm quite sure of this. However, EK has a business model that is based on exclusivity; not on price. Many niche vendors survive on such a model and It shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that our suppliers are not interested in the race-to-the-bottom price war. They want their brand to remain exclusive. This is all textbook business stuff and going against it doesn't even begin to approach the issues I have with the Massdrop model. Funny thing is I clearly illustrated to Steve that price didn't matter for products in this price range by citing the huge drop in value of Japanese Yen to USD earlier this year. This allowed us to make some big discounts on Realforce boards. You can get a Realforce or HHKB for $50 (or more) less now then you could in the beginning of the year. And guess what? People still ask for a discount. Price is relative for luxury items. TL;DR: I tried to be sincere with Steve/Massdrop, but his motives are unclear and his methods distasteful. I wish him the best."

Aug 15, 2013

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Photekq

Aug 15, 2013

steveHow about The Keyboard Co. from the UK? They also stock Realforce keyboards and have always seemed far more approachable and reasonable.

Aug 15, 2013

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phillazilla

Aug 15, 2013

lefthandedspatulaThis sounds like bullshit. We've done dozens of massdrops with companies that actually care about their customers and nobodys complained.

Aug 15, 2013

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