GH60 Group Buy (Salvage Mode: Enabled - Update in OP)

[nubbinator]

And for some perspective, on the 28th, a hair over two weeks, it will have been two years since I paid.  In other words, this is the longest ****ing group buy ever and there's no end in sight.  I'll gladly donate to someone to get **** going.  Hell, TJ, even if you give up the money you're making on the buy, it's worth the PR at this point since this is killing your reputation since you refuse to give updates or even give people an idea of what's going on.

At this point I'm almost to the point of saying saying that everyone should boycott Mimic Cables and go to Zeal or Pexon instead.  Obviously TJ's other projects are getting in the way of fulfilling his duties here.

[Polymer]

What I want to know is how people can keep defending this when everything has been in hand for a month and, before that, there was a year where prep work or shipping without stabilizers could have happened.  Multiple solutions have been offered and the simple request for photos or a timeline were met with non-answers lashing out against those who would dare question things.   

Nothing wrong with asking for an update.  Photos suggest you don't trust him..which wouldn't really matter at this point would it?  Photos might make you feel better but they don't mean jack...I'm not saying TJ is faultless...I've repeated several times he could have done a much better job...and maybe others have volunteered to take this off his hands, in which case, his reluctance to then gets ugly...but as some have just done, put up or shut up by taking it over from him...

I will add, if TJ is actually making a profit from the delivery of stuff...as I stated earlier, that is then a BUSINESS and obviously he's held to a much higher standard...

I do think this GB has been a total joke....

I do think it is interesting that this specific community has a huge problem with thieves and a lot of issues around GBs..I'm shocked at how many people are still willing to plonk down money when so many of these have gone severely pear shaped....or how easily they're willing to profit from each other.

[nubbinator]

Photos do not suggest a lack of trust.  Photos suggest that people want to know how things look and where things stand.  And even if they do suggest a lack of trust for some people, I don't blame them.  This buy has been a joke for over a year now.  People deserve to know where things stand and to know how the PCBs have been kept and look since they've been sitting around for a year.  Photos make people feel better, so there is nothing wrong with asking for them.

And how can you say put up or shut up when dozens of people have offered to handle distribution?  You can't put up if the distributor insists on handling things themselves and doesn't respond to the people offering to take over the distribution and ignoring the proposed solutions.

This was not a not-for-profit group buy.  People were going to make money on it.  TJ took over for the people who were going to handle distribution and collected all the money.   Ergo, TJ is making money off of this buy unless he and the other organizers seriously ****ed up and messed up their calculations of cost.  Of course, he may not be losing some of that profit due to increases in shipping costs due to this taking ****ing forever.  So yeah, he volunteered to take over for WFD and whoever else, but he also is making money off the buy, so the "volunteer" excuse is BS.

It's no wonder that the general feel regarding this GB is this:




This could have been made right a long time ago and a multitude of options for fixing it have been suggested, but none have been listened to.

[feng]

Lost over 3K on Jackass's group buy and spent 600 on this one, what's wrong with people these days. Who's in charge of this group buy anyway? Is WFD still around?

[Polymer]

Photos do not suggest a lack of trust.  Photos suggest that people want to know how things look and where things stand.

Of course it does.  Again, I'm not blaming people for wanting them...but do I think that is helping?  Not really..

And how can you say put up or shut up when dozens of people have offered to handle distribution?  You can't put up if the distributor insists on handling things themselves and doesn't respond to the people offering to take over the distribution and ignoring the proposed solutions.

As I said, if you read my post, if people HAVE asked to take it over from him and he's not allowing people to do that yet he doesn't have time, that's rather suspicious.  I don't know at what level people have volunteered but I'm talking at the level of getting all contacts, info, etc, and showing up at TJ's door w/ a Uhaul...

This was not a not-for-profit group buy.  People were going to make money on it.  TJ took over for the people who were going to handle distribution and collected all the money.   Ergo, TJ is making money off of this buy unless he and the other organizers seriously ****ed up and messed up their calculations of cost.  Of course, he may not be losing some of that profit due to increases in shipping costs due to this taking ****ing forever.  So yeah, he volunteered to take over for WFD and whoever else, but he also is making money off the buy, so the "volunteer" excuse is BS.

I've actually said this several times...and this must be news to you since you didn't mention it earlier.  If he's making money on it, he's not a volunteer....Simple...Is he making money on it?  I don't know...Regardless of how the original GB started if he's making money on it...that = Business = high level of accountability.  If he's not that = Volunteer = much lower level of accountability. 

[tjcaustin]

Lost over 3K on Jackass's group buy and spent 600 on this one, what's wrong with people these days. Who's in charge of this group buy anyway? Is WFD still around?

No, he's not.  Put that as point one on the many point list on why this was a cluster****.

I'm talking privately to a couple people about taking over. 

The idea of profit from this is news to me as the furthest I was involved in pricing was being told by wfd what to charge.

And then it took a year to order PCBs.  They cost significantly more than expected.

Then, apocalypsemaow found another plate source.  They cost significantly more than expected.

Stabs?  I paid what I charged for half of them.  The other half? Cost more than I even charged for them. 

Shipping prices have changed, too, and not for the better.  On top of the shipping parts needed that weren't included in the cost of shipping per order. 

So yeah, wfd may have had profit worked in when he told me what to charge, but that's a boat that's long sailed away for me.

I'm sorry this isn't your perfect answer, nubbs and I'm sure you'll see it as lashing out but it's what I have, just like every other answer I had was what I had at the time.

Wasn't tj collecting money for this GB from the start?
I don't undestand how he volunteered to get this done,maybe I missed something.

He was originally one of (I believe) four or five people helping with this group buy.  His role was far more minimal than it currently is.  He did collect the money, but was not going to do any shipping, AFAIK (maybe he was going to do some assembly?).  When people talk about him volunteering, it's volunteering to take over every aspect of the group buy (aside from EU-specific tasks).

My role was initially to bill, collect money and give it to komar, wfd and jdcarpe.  Then the last 18 months happened.

[nubbinator]

That's a much better answer than you've given in a long long time.  And no, I don't see it as lashing out since you're actually giving some information this time.   That said, I'd much prefer an actual plan being laid out, but at least we know now that there are some people who might take it over and actually get it done in a timely fashion.  I'd still much prefer hearing what's going on with the buy and keeping the thread updated instead of how things have been going so far.

[pix3l_fodder]

TJ if you need more money to get this going i'm sure we can donate

[demik]

And for some perspective, on the 28th, a hair over two weeks, it will have been two years since I paid.  In other words, this is the longest ****ing group buy ever and there's no end in sight.  I'll gladly donate to someone to get **** going.  Hell, TJ, even if you give up the money you're making on the buy, it's worth the PR at this point since this is killing your reputation since you refuse to give updates or even give people an idea of what's going on.

At this point I'm almost to the point of saying saying that everyone should boycott Mimic Cables and go to Zeal or Pexon instead.  Obviously TJ's other projects are getting in the way of fulfilling his duties here.

Wow.

Personally this would be the point where I'd dump everything back to the original people and wash my hands from this mess. Boycott his business? **** geekhack, not worth the trouble. Plus everybody salivates over pexon and zeal's **** already anyway.

[Glissant]

Just to put some more fuel on the fire; TJ spends most of his time at home because he works from home.
PLEASE tell me how you don't have time to organize a single thing when you've got the orders right there next to you for months. Just ****ing tell me.

You want to make excuses then you're going to be called out on them.

If money was an issue you should have said something WAY EARLIER.
--

If anybody wants to take over my order let me know.
4PCB (SMD soldered),2x universal plates, 1x cherry plate stabs 7x spacebar wires, 2x plate mounted cherry stabs. 6.25x wires, 2x cherry pcb stabs 6.25x spacebar wires, 65 x browns, 65 x mx greens.
No assembly.
Originally $290,66. Will sell you the order for $260 or white printed hhkb pro 2 (new or like new) .

[funkymeeba]

Hey guys, what's the difference between 7bit group buys and this one?

I'll actually have my stuff from 7bit 3 years later.

[komar007]

Hi guys,
sorry for not posting long.
Unfortunately my time constraints are much worse now than they were 2 years ago, when I basically had plenty of time.
I will compile the EU lists TJ mentioned some posts ago (of what has to be shipped to EU) ASAP and send them to him.

[Matt3o]

Hi guys,
sorry for not posting long.
Unfortunately my time constraints are much worse now than they were 2 years ago, when I basically had plenty of time.
I will compile the EU lists TJ mentioned some posts ago (of what has to be shipped to EU) ASAP and send them to him.

Komar I can handle the EU orders if needed.

[komar007]

Hi guys,
sorry for not posting long.
Unfortunately my time constraints are much worse now than they were 2 years ago, when I basically had plenty of time.
I will compile the EU lists TJ mentioned some posts ago (of what has to be shipped to EU) ASAP and send them to him.

Komar I can handle the EU orders if needed.

Matt3o, your help would be extremely useful, I will PM you soon;)

[pix3l_fodder]

One set at a time I guess... looking for a universal ISO plate if anyone one wants to part with one.

[nebo]

Also out. Got a new Jeep, have a lot I want to do with it so I'll sell my GH60 at a loss I guess.

1 GH60
1 ANSI 1.5x (pure shift) plate quantity
1 x cherry (plate-mounted) stabilizer set, 7x spacbar wire
1 MXLOCKP switch
70 MXWHITEP switches

I paid $115 for it all. Letting it go for $95. The $20 is so this trouble is yours.

[sth]

Lost over 3K on Jackass's group buy and spent 600 on this one, what's wrong with people these days. Who's in charge of this group buy anyway? Is WFD still around?

No, he's not.  Put that as point one on the many point list on why this was a cluster****.

I'm talking privately to a couple people about taking over. 

The idea of profit from this is news to me as the furthest I was involved in pricing was being told by wfd what to charge.

And then it took a year to order PCBs.  They cost significantly more than expected.

Then, apocalypsemaow found another plate source.  They cost significantly more than expected.

Stabs?  I paid what I charged for half of them.  The other half? Cost more than I even charged for them. 

Shipping prices have changed, too, and not for the better.  On top of the shipping parts needed that weren't included in the cost of shipping per order. 

So yeah, wfd may have had profit worked in when he told me what to charge, but that's a boat that's long sailed away for me.

I'm sorry this isn't your perfect answer, nubbs and I'm sure you'll see it as lashing out but it's what I have, just like every other answer I had was what I had at the time.

Wasn't tj collecting money for this GB from the start?
I don't undestand how he volunteered to get this done,maybe I missed something.

He was originally one of (I believe) four or five people helping with this group buy.  His role was far more minimal than it currently is.  He did collect the money, but was not going to do any shipping, AFAIK (maybe he was going to do some assembly?).  When people talk about him volunteering, it's volunteering to take over every aspect of the group buy (aside from EU-specific tasks).

My role was initially to bill, collect money and give it to komar, wfd and jdcarpe.  Then the last 18 months happened.

i don't care.

you volunteered to pick up the pieces. give me what i ordered or hand over the buy to matt3o as offered at next to no effort on your part.

[Matt3o]

I'm in contact with the organizers, shipping to me is unfortunately too expensive (they are 25kg huge boxes! and we are in the thousands of $$$). I hope we could find a way.

As far as I understand tjcaustin did not volunteer, he was forced to get the stuff or it would have ended up lost.

[i3oilermaker]

Can I help?  Maybe if if a chunk is sent my way I can start getting some out?  I am very efficient at shipping items and go to the post office every day anyways.

[pix3l_fodder]

Well lets not get to the insults or de-constructive talk, we just want to get this rollin'. Its evident we need someone in the US to help or do the sorting. Is it 25KG for all the kit or for the stuff going to the EU?

[HoffmanMyster]

Can I help?  Maybe if if a chunk is sent my way I can start getting some out?  I am very efficient at shipping items and go to the post office every day anyways.

If this ends up in your hands I would be willing to make the trip down to help sort and ship on a few weekends.

[CPTBadAss]

Can I help?  Maybe if if a chunk is sent my way I can start getting some out?  I am very efficient at shipping items and go to the post office every day anyways.

If this ends up in your hands I would be willing to make the trip down to help sort and ship on a few weekends.

I could probably come up and help too.

[ApocalypseMaow]

TJ and I are working out getting the unbuilt orders to me... If you three are down to help sort/ship I wouldn't mind making the drive to Chicago with everything for a weekend...

Surely we could get everything sorted and packed in like 2 days with 4 people... Right???

[geniekid]

If this is all happening in Chicago I can help with sorting/packing (but not shipping!).

[esoomenona]

.

[jdcarpe]

Where is JD? He abandoned his part in this to TJ and then went and made another keyboard. You all bought that, and no one is boycotting his other projects or showing such seething rage at him.

Actually, I never abandoned anything. TJ asked me if he could take over the assemblies and shipping that WFD was supposed to do, and I said that yes, he could. I later expressed to him that I was in a different situation with regard to my work and family life than I was at the beginning of the buy, and at that point TJ offered to take over my part (some assembly and shipping), as well. I expressed several times to TJ that if he didn't feel he could do all of it by himself, he was welcome to recruit others to help.

[esoomenona]

.

[nubbinator]

Moose, there have been many thanks given already for picking things up.  And believe me when I say people are still annoyed/pissed with others, especially WFD.  Komar has gotten his fair share of talk from European members.   The current anger is because pleas for updates, a timeline, any kind of acknowledgement of where things are and are going have been completely ignored. 

All this backlash could have been avoided by giving updates, even if they were ones no one wanted to hear.

This latest update should help, especially once we hear that something is moving forward.

[tbc]

about komar,

i thought he spoke privately to tj that he was doing a thesis and he just recently told GH publicly about it.

[nubbinator]

about komar,

i thought he spoke privately to tj that he was doing a thesis and he just recently told GH publicly about it.

It's been mentioned several times in here that he was going to be less involved fire a but due to his thesis.

[esoomenona]

.

[esoomenona]

.

[Prelim]

this thread is turning...


...and still no solution :/

[Joey Quinn]

Can I help?  Maybe if if a chunk is sent my way I can start getting some out?  I am very efficient at shipping items and go to the post office every day anyways.

If this ends up in your hands I would be willing to make the trip down to help sort and ship on a few weekends.

I could probably come up and help too.

If I'm in town I could help with this.

[Glissant]

Thanks for proving my point about the geekhack clique, esoomenona. You know absolutely nothing. TJ was always my friend, and I have had nothing against him on any other level than the way this buy has been handled. You don't think it's better for a friend to be honest about the **** that is going on rather than defend the actions of someone that clearly needed a lot more help than he asked for?

I am saying what is true in this case. We should have been told clearly that he couldn't deal with the load on his own. He should have recruited help because I have already told him that I would help him ages ago if he needed it. There are a lot more people that I am sure would help if someone had reached out in a more open way rather than trying to fix stuff over private messages or skype with the few people that are in contact on a daily basis.

esoomenona, I can take your ignorant comment because I know exactly what is going on. You have no clue as to what has actually been going on when it comes to that whole situation. I hope you leave your post unedited for everybody to read it.
Oh and PLEASE reply to this with more insightful white knight comments based on a fraction of the story.

[nubbinator]

this thread is turning...

Show Image

...and still no solution :/

i3oilermaker provided a nice solution and others are offering to have a sorting party.  That sounds like a solution to me. 

[Huxley2500]

Just to put some more fuel on the fire; TJ spends most of his time at home because he works from home.
PLEASE tell me how you don't have time to organize a single thing when you've got the orders right there next to you for months. Just ****ing tell me.

You want to make excuses then you're going to be called out on them.

If money was an issue you should have said something WAY EARLIER.
--

If anybody wants to take over my order let me know.
4PCB (SMD soldered),2x universal plates, 1x cherry plate stabs 7x spacebar wires, 2x plate mounted cherry stabs. 6.25x wires, 2x cherry pcb stabs 6.25x spacebar wires, 65 x browns, 65 x mx greens.
No assembly.
Originally $290,66. Will sell you the order for $260 or white printed hhkb pro 2 (new or like new) .

A special shoutout goes to you, you stupid ****. You have some nerve. I remember you. You were stuck. Couldn't get your **** together. TJ, thinking you were friends, put together one of, if not the biggest fundraiser this site has seen. I remember donating a $400 keyboard, not because of you, but because he's my friend and that meant a lot to him to help you. He personally donated thousands of dollars. And you're ****ting on him now for a couple hundred? That's some superb friendship you exhibit.

[HoffmanMyster]

Just to put some more fuel on the fire; TJ spends most of his time at home because he works from home.

That's some pretty weak fuel.

I can't bring my hobbies to work and spend paid time shipping packages and sorting pieces.  Not sure what kind of job you have, but it sounds real nice.


Everyone who's looking for someone to be mad at, go look at the OP of this thread and be mad at the person that made it.  Be mad at the person who abandoned all of us and dumped the work on some poor schmuck unfortunate enough to volunteer their time to help out.

[ApocalypseMaow]

Just to put some more fuel on the fire; TJ spends most of his time at home because he works from home.

That's some pretty weak fuel.

I can't bring my hobbies to work and spend paid time shipping packages and sorting pieces.  Not sure what kind of job you have, but it sounds real nice.


Everyone who's looking for someone to be mad at, go look at the OP of this thread and be mad at the person that made it.  Be mad at the person who abandoned all of us and dumped the work on some poor schmuck unfortunate enough to volunteer their time to help out.

But he isn't here to poke with the pitchforks hoff!!! 

[Glissant]

HoffmanMyster, it's not the same. Are you saying that while working at home close to the components that you wouldn't be able to take a picture and say something like this: "I got the stuff, trying to figure out how to get this sorted. It will take a lot of time because I can't deal with it by myself right now, so please be patient while I figure out a strategy with my group of friends. Please offer help if you think you can spare it"

I'm pretty sure I could've done that at work with the stuff loaded in a car. Even while working 50 hour weeks.

But hey, keep saying that the excuses are good. It's fine.

[HoffmanMyster]

HoffmanMyster, it's not the same. Are you saying that while working at home close to the components that you wouldn't be able to take a picture and say something like this: "I got the stuff, trying to figure out how to get this sorted. It will take a lot of time because I can't deal with it by myself right now, so please be patient while I figure out a strategy with my group of friends. Please offer help if you think you can spare it"

I'm pretty sure I could've done that at work with the stuff loaded in a car. Even while working 50 hour weeks.

But hey, keep saying that the excuses are good. It's fine.

Your attitude helps nothing.

If you seriously just want a picture, I'm sure TJ can do that.  You're right, it takes a second.  But then what?  You'll be quiet and let him do his thing?  Is the picture really the only thing you want?  Do you really distrust this man so much that you need to see a picture?

I'm not accepting or denying excuses, that's really not my place to judge.  I don't know TJ's life, and frankly neither do any of us.  I'm just saying that maybe ****ting on him won't actually help the situation.

[demik]

Monday morning quarterbacking

[HoffmanMyster]

Are you saying that while working at home close to the components that you wouldn't be able to take a picture and say something like this: "I got the stuff, trying to figure out how to get this sorted. It will take a lot of time because I can't deal with it by myself right now, so please be patient while I figure out a strategy with my group of friends. Please offer help if you think you can spare it"

He basically did all of this except take the picture and explicitly ask for help.  But let's be honest, anyone who would actually take the time to help would have offered already.

I got stabs a couple days after lysol said he mailed them to me.  Considering a few other factors that aren't anyone's problem here, I didn't feel the need to tell you that "yep, lysol did ship me stab bars".  Especially since I didn't have anything new to say otherwise.  I don't have a timeline because I'm busy and have no clue how long the steps I need to take will take because this level and complexity of fulfillment is completely foreign to me.

[Glissant]

HoffmanMyster, all we I have ever asked for are real updates with real meaning behind them. Not just a picture. Nobody ever said JUST a picture.
It's about taking responsibility for the situation that you are in, and not making excuses when you can easily assuage most of the people in the group buy by being honest from the beginning.

I can only imagine the stress that has to be attached to a group buy like this, and even more so when the components are dumped on you without much say, but blaming your inability to ask for help on the reasons that have been given just simply doesn't cut it for me.

Being harsh on TJ isn't ****ting on him.

[Dubsgalore]

Hey guys, what's the difference between 7bit group buys and this one?

I'll actually have my stuff from 7bit 3 years later.

Meeba bringing the heat  ) )



It's been 3 years???

[HoffmanMyster]

It's been 3 years???

No.

Also, of all the people to pipe up during a group buy...

[Sifo]

It's been 3 years???

No.

Also, of all the people to pipe up during a group buy...

LMFAO

[demik]

It's been 3 years???

No.

Also, of all the people to pipe up during a group buy...

Careful, he'll start crying like the ***** boy he is.

[hwood34]

It's been 3 years???

No.

Also, of all the people to pipe up during a group buy...

[Dubsgalore]

It's been 3 years???

No.

Also, of all the people to pipe up during a group buy...

at least I helped the gb move along and gave updates

LMFAO

back to your cave neet