Massdrop, a group buying service

[Will@Drop]

Gentlemen!

Me and a couple friends are running a startup called Massdrop that helps forums run group buys. We'll help with safe payment collection, calling up suppliers, and getting you guys faster, cheaper shipping.

Come check us out at  Massdrop.com or our user run subreddit reddit.com/r/Massdrop

Got product ideas? Post them! We're working with Vortex and WASD right now so let us know what your interested in.

- Will

[sth]

you might not want to work with vortex unless you're ready for insane delays, total lack of communication post-payment, shoddy craftsmanship (not on everything but their failure rate is too high to ignore) and in our case, failure to deliver one of the products with indefinite waiting periods.

Also is anybody at massdrop well-versed in keyboards?

[Rafen]

I think this might cause more confusion than anything else. But good luck with your business.

[swagpiratex]

I hope you guys are able to help us out here like you do at reddit. You will have an idea of how GB's are done around here if you stick around for a while. Hope your Ducky massdrop is successful! If the price is right, I'll bite.

[Will@Drop]

you might not want to work with vortex unless you're ready for insane delays, total lack of communication post-payment, shoddy craftsmanship (not on everything but their failure rate is too high to ignore) and in our case, failure to deliver one of the products with indefinite waiting periods.

Also is anybody at massdrop well-versed in keyboards?

Great question! I got my first mechanical a few years ago, an IBM Model M (buckling spring is still the best sounding switch out there IMO) but it lost a fight with some mountain dew and so began my exploration. After that I went to the cherry blues on a Filco Majestouch and that got me curious about the other Cherry switches. A friend of mine had browns in a WASD custom but I thought they were too light so I ordered a Deck 82 ICE and i've been in love with black switches since. Not to mention the double shot moulded caps and overall build quality. Never tried the topre switches but I've been shopping around for a HHKB for a little while now.

TL;DR I love mechanical keyboards.

Thanks for the advice on Vortex, we deal with allot of overseas manufacturers and we've been able to negotiate purchases from them pretty effectively so far. Speaking mandarin and taiwanese helps a lot.

I hope you guys are able to help us out here like you do at reddit. You will have an idea of how GB's are done around here if you stick around for a while. Hope your Ducky massdrop is successful! If the price is right, I'll bite.

Thanks! Right now ducky's distributor is being pretty difficult so we might be going with WASD. We've got a lot of folks over on the subreddit interested so this should go just fine.

I think this might cause more confusion than anything else. But good luck with your business.

Confusing people is definitely the last thing we want to do. Remember, we just want help people deal with all the annoying fulfillment and payment processing that comes with running group buys. We make participating in group buys as easy as buying anything online. That way group buys can be easier and more of them can happen!


Sign up and take a look at the site. We'd love to hear your feedback on how we can make the whole experience better for you.

[sth]

Cool, glad to hear you're not just randomly spamming communities of wallet-hemorrhaging nerds

Hope to see more cool hard-to-get stuff rather than flashy gamer mass-produced boards but i understand that's what sells and what goes for attractive prices.

[hashbaz]

Welcome to the community, I hope things work out to everyone's benefit.  It's good to know you guys have a genuine enthusiast in a position of influence.

[SmallFry]

Cool! May I ask how much you guys are charging for a group buy in terms of commission? I know that the community has had problems with questions like that not being answered before.

[Will@Drop]

Cool! May I ask how much you guys are charging for a group buy in terms of commission? I know that the community has had problems with questions like that not being answered before.

Sure, good question. Its tough to say because the commission changes from product to product. It depends on the price, our costs, the number of people involved, and how fulfillment is going to work for that specific product. Our first priority is to help our users so we keep those margins as low as possible while covering our operating costs. We're all enthusiasts with differing areas of interest but we started this company out of a desire to fundamentally improve the way group buys run in the community.

TL;DR We arnt building this service to charge commission, we're charging commission to build this service : )

Welcome to the community, I hope things work out to everyone's benefit.  It's good to know you guys have a genuine enthusiast in a position of influence.

Thanks! We think its best to work with products we're familiar with and enjoy ourselves.

For us its not about selling you whatever keyboard we can get, we're all about helping you guys group your buying power and get the keyboards you really want.

Cool, glad to hear you're not just randomly spamming communities of wallet-hemorrhaging nerds

Hope to see more cool hard-to-get stuff rather than flashy gamer mass-produced boards but i understand that's what sells and what goes for attractive prices.

You are exactly the kind of person we want to help! I know how frusterating it is to check deals.woot.com every day and see nothing but Razer Black Widdow Ultimates and Steel Series 7Gs.

The good news is that small manufacturers are much more inclined to work with us than the flashy mass market companies because the 200 sales we can bring in mean a lot more to WASD than they would to Razer. We aren't concerned with marketing to the world at large, we care about people like you on GH looking for the best products available.

Consequentially, the hard-to-get stuff is what we do best. Pick a product, rally a group, and shoot us an email. We'll take it from there : )

[sth]

Heh, keep in mind for geekhack, vortex, filco, keycool, wasd etc are pretty much massproduced haha. But i am really looking forward to seeing what you guys can work out. Korean stuff is always good

[Will@Drop]

Heh, keep in mind for geekhack, vortex, filco, keycool, wasd etc are pretty much massproduced haha. But i am really looking forward to seeing what you guys can work out. Korean stuff is always good

Korean stuff? I've never run into any exciting boards from korea. Can you post a couple links?

Sounds pretty interesting!

[longweight]

You are in for a treat!

Heh, keep in mind for geekhack, vortex, filco, keycool, wasd etc are pretty much massproduced haha. But i am really looking forward to seeing what you guys can work out. Korean stuff is always good

Korean stuff? I've never run into any exciting boards from korea. Can you post a couple links?

Sounds pretty interesting!

[SmallFry]

Start your Vendor forum then! GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

[Will@Drop]

Start your Vendor forum then! GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

Thanks for the support! I'll message a couple mods and see if they can set me up with a subforum : )

[Zehkul]

Well, if you can get us cheap aluminium cases, custom springs, cheaper key caps, …

Heh, keep in mind for geekhack, vortex, filco, keycool, wasd etc are pretty much massproduced haha. But i am really looking forward to seeing what you guys can work out. Korean stuff is always good

Korean stuff? I've never run into any exciting boards from korea. Can you post a couple links?

Sounds pretty interesting!

ALL good stuff ist from Korea! Korea’s lead in keyboards is just as huge as in Starcraft! ;P

Stuff that comes to my mind right now: Keyboard stickers ( http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=34446.0 ), custom springs, custom boards (search for KMAC).

[karljs]

Sounds like a cool idea, but I wasn't able to view the site without creating an account. If that's intentional, I suggest you reconsider.

[Will@Drop]

Sounds like a cool idea, but I wasn't able to view the site without creating an account. If that's intentional, I suggest you reconsider.

Yea, we're sorry about that but its a necessary evil. A lot of the products we sell have minimum advertised price policies imposed by the manufacturers. They feel that low advertised prices equate to brand degradation. Since our site is  "private" we can list whatever prices we want without fear of non-fufillment.

TL;DR You need to sign up so we can keep prices low and save you money.

Well, if you can get us cheap aluminium cases, custom springs, cheaper key caps, …

Heh, keep in mind for geekhack, vortex, filco, keycool, wasd etc are pretty much massproduced haha. But i am really looking forward to seeing what you guys can work out. Korean stuff is always good

Korean stuff? I've never run into any exciting boards from korea. Can you post a couple links?

Sounds pretty interesting!

ALL good stuff ist from Korea! Korea’s lead in keyboards is just as huge as in Starcraft! ;P

Stuff that comes to my mind right now: Keyboard stickers ( http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=34446.0 ), custom springs, custom boards (search for KMAC).

Just checked out the KMAC stuff, very cool! We've got contacts in korea so If theres enough interest, I can look into contacting KMAC for a possible group buy.

[karljs]

Sounds like a cool idea, but I wasn't able to view the site without creating an account. If that's intentional, I suggest you reconsider.

Yea, we're sorry about that but its a necessary evil. A lot of the products we sell have minimum advertised price policies imposed by the manufacturers. They feel that low advertised prices equate to brand degradation. Since our site is  "private" we can list whatever prices we want without fear of non-fufillment.

TL;DR You need to sign up so we can keep prices low and save you money.

That's fair. I know occasionally Amazon has a description like "add this to your cart to see the price." It obviously isn't a perfect parallel, but could you have a system where I can browse the products but only see prices by logging in, or similar?

[Will@Drop]

Sounds like a cool idea, but I wasn't able to view the site without creating an account. If that's intentional, I suggest you reconsider.

Yea, we're sorry about that but its a necessary evil. A lot of the products we sell have minimum advertised price policies imposed by the manufacturers. They feel that low advertised prices equate to brand degradation. Since our site is  "private" we can list whatever prices we want without fear of non-fufillment.

TL;DR You need to sign up so we can keep prices low and save you money.

That's fair. I know occasionally Amazon has a description like "add this to your cart to see the price." It obviously isn't a perfect parallel, but could you have a system where I can browse the products but only see prices by logging in, or similar?

We'd love to do that but right now we have to stay as close to MAP policy as possible inorder to keep the manufacturers happy. This will change as we grow but for now its going to stay like this for at least a little while.

You aren't required to activate your account if thats any help.

[hashbaz]

I remember being annoyed by the account requirement when I saw your site a few months ago.  Is there a prominent "Why do we require an account" link that offers the explanation you just gave?  As I'm sure you know, requiring registration to see things that seem like they should be freely available is a huge, immediate turn-off for most people.  But most people are familiar with the "see price in shopping cart" thing as well.

edit: clarified and expanded

[Will@Drop]

I remember being annoyed by the account requirement when I saw your site a few months ago.  Is there a prominent "Why do we require an account" link that offers the explanation you just gave?  As I'm sure you know, requiring registration to see things that seem like they should be freely available is a huge, immediate turn-off for most people.  But most people are familiar with the "see price in shopping cart" thing as well.

edit: clarified and expanded

Thats an excellent suggestion. We've had discussions with manufacturers about ways to make this more clear but generally they want as little attention brought to MAP policy as possible.

I had to edit out the two middle paragraphs of this post because the content was too revealing with regards to MAP. I urge you to google MAP and read about it.

This is one of the few things that really rustles my jimmies. We're in the planning stages for dealing with this problem, its just not quite ready yet. 

[hashbaz]

Haha, well fair enough.  Thanks for explaining.

[Will@Drop]

Hi guys, we're running a poll for our users right now to decide which keyboard we will run a group buy on. Check it out and tell us what you think!

http://massdrop.com/poll/mechanical-keyboard

[Will@Drop]

We just launched our WASD V1 Custom group buy! Save a few bucks if you're interested in another board. 

http://massdrop.com/wasd-custom-keyboard

[metalliqaz]

I'm waiting to see what their V2 TKL is going to be like, myself.

[Will@Drop]

I've seen it and It's really cool. WASD has been great to work with and I think its safe to say we'll be looking into the V2 104 and TKL when they are released : ) Especially if we see increasing interest, so gather a group and We'll be sure to help you out.

[The_Beast]

Can I look without signing in?

[jwaz]

Apparently not...

[Will@Drop]

Can I look without signing in?

Hi there! I answered that very same question earlier on in the thread, here's the quote:

'

Sounds like a cool idea, but I wasn't able to view the site without creating an account. If that's intentional, I suggest you reconsider.

Yea, we're sorry about that but its a necessary evil. A lot of the products we sell have minimum advertised price policies imposed by the manufacturers. They feel that low advertised prices equate to brand degradation. Since our site is  "private" we can list whatever prices we want without fear of non-fufillment.

TL;DR You need to sign up so we can keep prices low and save you money.

On a side note, are you still making those custom wood wrist rests? They looked damn nice and I'm pretty partial to purpleheart : )

[Matt3o]

great initiative, but... let me browse your site, darn! stop asking to sign in, I'll register if I'm interested.

hint: chrome > open the web console (ctrl+shift+j) > paste the following:

Code: [Select]

var delock=document.getElementsByClassName('blockUI');for(var i=0;i<delock.length;i++) delock[i].style.display='none';
hit enter and enjoy

[metalliqaz]

Six little words: "sign in to see price list"

[The_Beast]

Can I look without signing in?

Hi there! I answered that very same question earlier on in the thread, here's the quote:

'

Sounds like a cool idea, but I wasn't able to view the site without creating an account. If that's intentional, I suggest you reconsider.

Yea, we're sorry about that but its a necessary evil. A lot of the products we sell have minimum advertised price policies imposed by the manufacturers. They feel that low advertised prices equate to brand degradation. Since our site is  "private" we can list whatever prices we want without fear of non-fufillment.

TL;DR You need to sign up so we can keep prices low and save you money.

On a side note, are you still making those custom wood wrist rests? They looked damn nice and I'm pretty partial to purpleheart : )

I shall be, check my thread for updates or pm me to pre-order a wrist rest

[Will@Drop]

great initiative, but... let me browse your site, darn! stop asking to sign in, I'll register if I'm interested.

hint: chrome > open the web console (ctrl+shift+j) > paste the following:

Code: [Select]

var delock=document.getElementsByClassName('blockUI');for(var i=0;i<delock.length;i++) delock[i].style.display='none';
hit enter and enjoy

Stop right there criminal scum! Nobody breaks the law on my watch.

Removing the box and shade was just a UI element, is your kung fu strong enough to pull prices from our db and make them display?

[SmallFry]

I'm pretty sure he didn't care about the price, just wanted to explore the site.

[Matt3o]

I'm pretty sure he didn't care about the price, just wanted to explore the site.

thanks SmallFry

Removing the box and shade was just a UI element, is your kung fu strong enough to pull prices from our db and make them display?

you shouldn't challenge the Matt.

My suggestion is to hide prices but let people browse the site anyway. UX is my daily job, consider it a free consulting

[Rumudiez]

I would join pretty much every Korean group buy. We just don't have consistent enough access! Also, Leopold FC700? Hmmm?

[Will@Drop]

I'm pretty sure he didn't care about the price, just wanted to explore the site.

thanks SmallFry

Removing the box and shade was just a UI element, is your kung fu strong enough to pull prices from our db and make them display?

you shouldn't challenge the Matt.

My suggestion is to hide prices but let people browse the site anyway. UX is my daily job, consider it a free consulting

Haha yea, it's a UX nightmare but it has to be there : (. I was a company whitehat before starting work on Massdrop so I can appreciate your confidence  : )

I would join pretty much every Korean group buy. We just don't have consistent enough access! Also, Leopold FC700? Hmmm?

The only thing we need to get a group buy started is interest. Get a group interested in the Leopold FC700 and we'll get on it right away. Also, I've been hearing loads of good things about the korean boards, any in particular come to mind?

[metalliqaz]

I think he meant Korean customs, a la the KMAC.  Problem is that they are already sold through group buys and I also get the feeling from places like kbdmania that they only like to sell inside Korea.  Also they are DIY kits.

[sth]

i would be VERY surprised if you approached any custom groups and were met with anything but dismissal.

[swagpiratex]

Never know until you try, lol.

[Will@Drop]

i would be VERY surprised if you approached any custom groups and were met with anything but dismissal.

No worries, we're here to offer assistance and simplify the group buying process. We aren't interested in forcing anything so if the group likes our platform great, if not, no problem.

I think he meant Korean customs, a la the KMAC.  Problem is that they are already sold through group buys and I also get the feeling from places like kbdmania that they only like to sell inside Korea.  Also they are DIY kits.

We've worked with DIY kit sales before. We had some requests a while back for the bottlehead crack (headphone amp) kit and that went very well. We are especially adept at working with overseas partners as a distribution channel in North America. We have team members who speak korean, taiwanese, mandarin, arabic, french, and spanish so communication is easy. We also have international sea freight and air shipping accounts with all the major distributors so we can cut the cost of shipping pretty effectively. Dont hesitate to suggest products from foreign sources : )

[OrangeJewce]

i would be VERY surprised if you approached any custom groups and were met with anything but dismissal.

The odds are 0 if we don't try though...

Getting something like the CHEAT would be really cool.

Cheers,

[hashbaz]

We met these guys in person at the Bay Area GH meet-up yesterday.  I was really impressed and can see them becoming a valuable service to the community, especially for our larger, more complicated buys.

[Will@Drop]

We met these guys in person at the Bay Area GH meet-up yesterday.  I was really impressed and can see them becoming a valuable service to the community, especially for our larger, more complicated buys.

The bay area meetup was really cool awesome to meet some other geekhackers. Looking forward to helping out with some of the  upcoming group buys

[ChaoticKinesis]

We've worked with DIY kit sales before. We had some requests a while back for the bottlehead crack (headphone amp) kit and that went very well. We are especially adept at working with overseas partners as a distribution channel in North America. We have team members who speak korean, taiwanese, mandarin, arabic, french, and spanish so communication is easy. We also have international sea freight and air shipping accounts with all the major distributors so we can cut the cost of shipping pretty effectively. Dont hesitate to suggest products from foreign sources : )

Like many here I would be interested in a fancy Korean keyboard.

Also, since you're already on the subject of headphone amps, any chance of doing a group buy on the O2 + ODAC? If it's ever going to be released, ODA would be even better.

[Will@Drop]

We've worked with DIY kit sales before. We had some requests a while back for the bottlehead crack (headphone amp) kit and that went very well. We are especially adept at working with overseas partners as a distribution channel in North America. We have team members who speak korean, taiwanese, mandarin, arabic, french, and spanish so communication is easy. We also have international sea freight and air shipping accounts with all the major distributors so we can cut the cost of shipping pretty effectively. Dont hesitate to suggest products from foreign sources : )

Like many here I would be interested in a fancy Korean keyboard.

Also, since you're already on the subject of headphone amps, any chance of doing a group buy on the O2 + ODAC? If it's ever going to be released, ODA would be even better.

Thats an awesome idea! I'll look into the O2+DAC, I've read a lot of good things on Head-Fi about them. What do you think about a couple key cap sets through SP? One of the benefits of running group buys through Massdrop is a continuing improving business relationship the likes of which cannot be built by everyone running group buys individual.

If John places an order with Steve, and Joe places an order with Steve, Steve treats them as two random guys, neither of which represent any long term source of income for steve. If Massdrop runs john’s group buy and joes group buy, then the total leverage for the community is aggregated (stronger relationship, more orders, better prices).

[swagpiratex]

Definitely would be in for that headphone amp. Have you gotten traction over @ head-fi? I might start lurking there with the account I made like 10 years ago there again, lol.

[jwaz]

I'm definitely interested in the ODA as well

[Will@Drop]

Definitely would be in for that headphone amp. Have you gotten traction over @ head-fi? I might start lurking there with the account I made like 10 years ago there again, lol.

I'm definitely interested in the ODA as well

I'm actually in negotiations with John of JDS labs right now. I've also finished negotiations with Bottlehead for the Bottlehead Crack OTL Kit. That's a pretty great amp and project if you've ever heard it. Depending on how things go with JDS, one or both of those products will be up this week. How do you guys feel about the DIY kit?

[ChaoticKinesis]

I'm actually in negotiations with John of JDS labs right now. I've also finished negotiations with Bottlehead for the Bottlehead Crack OTL Kit. That's a pretty great amp and project if you've ever heard it. Depending on how things go with JDS, one or both of those products will be up this week. How do you guys feel about the DIY kit?

DIY kit of which? I'm not really interested in the Crack.

AFAIK there is no DIY kit for the ODAC since the design is not open source, but there can be one for O2. Personally, I would rather not have to solder anything and would be willing to pay a little bit extra for that convenience. I'm not sure if this is possible, but I think having a few choices in case color would be amazing.