[GB] Matt3o's Amazing Topre PBT Spacebars

[absyrd]

Buy some. Then buy more. You never know when the opportunity to have back-up Topre bars (that are PBT!) will ever come again.

Matt3o has put a TON of effort into this. Let us support him, the community, and our beloved HHKBs and Realforces.

ORDER NAAOO!!

TL;DR

- GB will start really soon (few hours) GB just started!
- order more or equal than what you committed (not less)
- colors will be: light blue, red, light gray, dark gray.
- the spacebars are actually already in production, you'll get them really soon

The story so far

A little by chance at the end of last year I found a manufacturer in Europe able to make the Topre spacebars in PBT. Only problem... a ginormous MOQ and quite a steep cost for the mold. Anyway I started this "purchase intent" to check on the interest of such a project and hopefully find some sponsors.

Sponsor that materialized in the form of Massdrop. Months passed and soon was clear that it couldn't be possible to produce the spacebar at a reasonable price point in Europe... so China it is.

From China with love

First of all let me say that all you hear about manufacturing in China is true. Making them do exactly what you need is a darn odyssey, but sure it's cheaper. Anyway, the purchase intent went well, so we have the numbers to proceed.

We ordered 8 prototypes. These prototypes are milled not injected, they are needed just to check that the 3d model is good. On that 3d model we will be forging the final mold.

And here we are now

I have the prototypes in my hands, the colors are still not perfect and there are few things to update, but that's what prototypes are for. Overall I'm very satisfied by the product. The 3D model is a perfect 1:1 replica of the original. Seriously you can't tell the difference.

I'm happy to finally be able to tell you that... the mold has already been paid for and it is in production! This means that when the GB ends the spacebars will be already done (or close to).

Shut up and take my money

The group buy will start very soon (it's a matter of hours now). I'll do my best to have some kind of bonus for all those who preordered but MOQ is still pretty high and margin very small. I hope you'll understand if that won't be possible.

The cost per key should be around what we estimated, $9, possibly something less, I'll know for sure in the next few hours. Volume discount will be available. It will be possible to buy 1 black and 1 white, 2 black, 2 white, 2 colors, all 4. I don't think it will be possible to buy only one, sorry. That is because the high MOQ.

Colors will be: white (aka: light gray), black (aka: dark gray), red, light blue. These colors have been chosen by you and I believe they are just perfect. Remember that you can always dye-at-home the white one.

Colors are all matched, but 100% match won't be technically possible.

Pre production samples

Let me thank the guys at Massdrop that made all this possible. Especially Andrew and Kunal. They agreed at running pre-production samples. This means that a couple of weeks from now, while you will be still ordering your spacebars, I will be holding a semi-final product. If anything is wrong with it, we will have 2 more weeks to fix it in time for the GB end.

I'm closing the "purchase intent" form now, if you participated, you are the one who made this possible. Thanks to the huge numbers we raised I was able to persuade Massdrop to join this adventure. As soon as the GB will be up I will be emailing you a friendly reminder. You can change your order, but please try not to order less than what you already told us.

Thank you everybody! Now let's inject some plastic!

Yours,
Matt3o

Show Image

UPDATE 5/23/15

the MOQ has already been met. The spacebars will be produced. We are all set!

If we reach 4000 we might have some pleasant surprise. that's all.

UPDATE 5/25/15

thanks guys! So far we sold about 1900 spacebars! This means that the expectation has been met (we sold approx 2200 in the purchase intent, but I was expecting a 10% less orders).

If we reach around 4000 spacebars (bold but still feasible) it might be possible to get a discount. So keep ordering.

[HoffmanMyster]

Matt3o, if you want to make a new thread to be able to edit the OP, feel free to do so.   

[absyrd]

Matt3o, if you want to make a new thread to be able to edit the OP, feel free to do so.   

Yeah. Please do and feel free to lock mine. It is your baby. I'm just trying to help the push.

[demik]

ehhhhhh why massdrop

[Air tree]

ehhhhhh why massdrop

To annoy you.

[demik]

i dont even know how to respond to that

[trizkut]

ehhhhhh why massdrop

I already have a pretty big order placed.  If you want to piggyback onto mine and save yourself the signup, let me know

[demik]

ehhhhhh why massdrop

I already have a pretty big order placed.  If you want to piggyback onto mine and save yourself the signup, let me know

thanks, i might take you up on it

[Matt3o]

Matt3o, if you want to make a new thread to be able to edit the OP, feel free to do so.   

it's okay, thanks. I'll post updates here if needed. It would be great if we could hit approx 1800 orders (about 4000 spacebars) but anyway the GB is already a hit.

[RoflCopter4]

I'm curious, why did you set the number of orders for the Massdrop thingy thing to get cheaper (there's gotta be a name for this) so low? If the MOQ was ~4000 why not require there to be 2000 orders on Massdrop?

[Matt3o]

the MOQ has already been met. The spacebars will be produced. We are all set!

If we reach 4000 we might have some pleasant surprise. that's all.

[Elrick]

It would be great if we could hit approx 1800 orders (about 4000 spacebars) but anyway the GB is already a hit.

Because everyone has some spare Thorpies in their possession and desperately want some PBT space-bars, hence the natural rise in orders.

Plus your name is connected to this so expect everyone to jump onto this as soon possible  .

[Matt3o]

now buy more SA Retro!

[Sturmfrau]

I'm sure to buy 4 (2 light gray + 2 dark gray), can we get an option to 2 red?

You can add more in the Mass Drop form.

Red space bar looked damn sexy on a black HHKB. Do it!

I don't know how to hahaha this is the first time I'm ordering from massdrop. Here's the only thing I see http://prntscr.com/78b4od

[absyrd]

the MOQ has already been met. The spacebars will be produced. We are all set!

If we reach 4000 we might have some pleasant surprise. that's all.

Woooooo!

Added to OP.

[ApocalypseMaow]

Order two of everything cause I couldn't remember my original order xp

[cinnamoncider]

As of now 600 individuals joined the drop

[Bucake]

Order two of everything cause I couldn't remember my original order xp

your original order was 4 of everything

[strict]

Changed my mind, figured it would be worthwhile to just go ahead and double down. Order is now at 4x light grey and 4x dark grey. 

[absyrd]

Changed my mind, figured it would be worthwhile to just go ahead and double down. Order is now at 4x light grey and 4x dark grey. 

I doubled down (again) and didn't get charged for it. Never done MD before. Will it charge me the rest at the end of the GB?

[strict]

I doubled down (again) and didn't get charged for it. Never done MD before. Will it charge me the rest at the end of the GB?

It will update once the buy concludes. Right now my account just shows a $1 holding charge, once the drop ends they will update the charge to the correct amount. Check your "transactions" page to see the amount you will eventually be billed for. 

[Belfong]

Changed my mind, figured it would be worthwhile to just go ahead and double down. Order is now at 4x light grey and 4x dark grey. 

Hmm.. This will never come again, will it?

[Evo_Spec]

Changed my mind, figured it would be worthwhile to just go ahead and double down. Order is now at 4x light grey and 4x dark grey. 

Hmm.. This will never come again, will it?

I'm curious about this too because at the moment I have no topre boards or even have plan to get one but I'm getting a serious case of "might miss out" syndrome.
Especially because it's relatively cheap.

[Belfong]

Changed my mind, figured it would be worthwhile to just go ahead and double down. Order is now at 4x light grey and 4x dark grey. 

Hmm.. This will never come again, will it?

I'm curious about this too because at the moment I have no topre boards or even have plan to get one but I'm getting a serious case of "might miss out" syndrome.
Especially because it's relatively cheap.

the problem is the MOQ. So, unless there is a huge demand in the future, it is unlikely to be make again. If you have no Topre now, you should just get one kit, just in case. I asked because I wonder how many more I should buy  even though PBT is supposed to last a life time - but I have to think of my grand children and their children too, you know.

[Matt3o]

Changed my mind, figured it would be worthwhile to just go ahead and double down. Order is now at 4x light grey and 4x dark grey. 

Hmm.. This will never come again, will it?

I'm curious about this too because at the moment I have no topre boards or even have plan to get one but I'm getting a serious case of "might miss out" syndrome.
Especially because it's relatively cheap.

I have no idea. Depends on demand. Maybe colors will change next time, so if you like red or blue you better get them. Honestly I don't think we will run another GB any time soon, the target audience is pretty small after all.

[absyrd]

even though PBT is supposed to last a life time - but I have to think of my grand children and their children too, you know.

I like how you think.

[Belfong]

even though PBT is supposed to last a life time - but I have to think of my grand children and their children too, you know.

I like how you think.

thanks, we need to preserve the spirit of oneness with cup rubber to our future generations!

[dante]

I have no idea. Depends on demand. Maybe colors will change next time, so if you like red or blue you better get them. Honestly I don't think we will run another GB any time soon, the target audience is pretty small after all.

I wish MD had an option for 4x/8x/10x blue spacebars.  The closest option for me would be 4x Red / 4x Blue - but I don't care about the red nor the logistics of selling them.

Perhaps someone out there wants to split an order with me?

[joey]

Is the blue trying to match this set http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=xf0100kt2

[rowdy]

FWIW my small order has been added to the total

[a_ak57]

the MOQ has already been met. The spacebars will be produced. We are all set!

If we reach 4000 we might have some pleasant surprise. that's all.

So basically that means you're out of the danger zone and orders from here on out orders are just extra success?

[wakko]

In

[ApocalypseMaow]

I think I might bump up my order... cause it might be a while before we get this again...

[Matt3o]

Is the blue trying to match this set http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=xf0100kt2

the blue matches this http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=pd_kb400kt01 (but I've got a feeling they are the same blue)

[HungryPillow]

Thanks for organizing this, I ordered the 1 of each color combo. Can't wait!

[Sturmfrau]

Matt3o why can't we order 2 pcs of red/blue?

[absyrd]

Matt3o why can't we order 2 pcs of red/blue?

You have to order a blue and red together. He packaged everything in two pieces or more to make sure MOQs were met. If you want 2 blues, you need to buy 2 reds... and vice versa.

[Sturmfrau]

Matt3o why can't we order 2 pcs of red/blue?

You have to order a blue and red together. He packaged everything in two pieces or more to make sure MOQs were met. If you want 2 blues, you need to buy 2 reds... and vice versa.

Ah I see. Would've ordered more but meh.

[absyrd]

One week left.

[Bucake]

829 purchases according to MD :-)

about how many spacebars total, have been sold @Matt30?

[Matt3o]

Approx 2400 so far. At this pace we might end up in the 3000-3500 range.

[_PixelNinja]

Matt3o,

Although — as I understand — the FC660C is not your reference for color matching, may I ask how close is the black PBT space bar relative to the keys of the Leopold?

[rowdy]

Approx 2400 so far. At this pace we might end up in the 3000-3500 range.

Unless there's some silly large orders, that's a lot of Topre owners buying space bars!

[Air tree]

And almost 900 purchases.

I really wish some vendor would swoop in and get us to that sweet, sweet 4000 spacebars.  )

[temporal]

And I'm in for one of each. Rock on, Matt3o.

[Matt3o]

Although — as I understand — the FC660C is not your reference for color matching, may I ask how close is the black PBT space bar relative to the keys of the Leopold?

I'm using a replacement HHKB spacebar on a FC660C right now. They are pretty close to me, maybe the FC660C is a pinch lighter, but it works for me.

[_PixelNinja]

I'm using a replacement HHKB spacebar on a FC660C right now. They are pretty close to me, maybe the FC660C is a pinch lighter, but it works for me.

Thank you very much sir!

[absyrd]

2 days left. I keep upping my orders out of fear (haha) and for friends.

[RickyJ]

I don't have any Topre, but I've been contemplating getting these for the 55g that I do want...

[wlhlm]

I don't have any Topre, but I've been contemplating getting these for the 55g that I do want...

Get it. Easy to sell afterwards if Topre doesn't work out for you.