actually it is pretentious to start out as a new store with a GB of SP. all the new stores have been working with immediate distribution products before tackling similar projects. I do not approve of this choice. then obviously it is the last word to the creator of the set.
KMK Labs.
Hey KMK,
We're sorry that you feel that way. I'm not sure there's anything that we can say to you that we're capable of running this group buy. All 4 of us involved have experience working with a group buy company and have no doubt that we're up to the challenge.
Additionally, we will be running other, smaller group buys. Things like switches (Kailh box switches planned) and mimic-cable custom cables.
If you end up joining the group buy, we'll be excited for the opportunity to deliver excellent service.
There's also an issue with an unknown new vendor using an SP SA set as their first product. With the long lead times on SA sets from SP, we're likely to lose Paypal protection before the group buy would nominally be fulfilled (and that's *if* this store takes Paypal, which we don't know, because the web site doesn't even exist yet).
Hey Euphxenos,
We won't be accepting PayPal in the beginning but if there's enough interest, we'd be happy to add that payment option in the future. We do understand the concerns though. We'll be allowing cancellations and full refunds while the group buy is live and if there's any delay with SP (which we don't expect), we'll allow cancellations for anyone who doesn't want to wait. We're enthusiasts ourselves and we want to be fully transparent with all of our members. Our goal is to deliver the best service available.
My issues are:
a) I don't know you. You have no reputation here.
b) With so many kits, a lot of them are not likely to reach MOQ, especially given it's not on Massdrop.
c) Prices will be higher because sales are lower.
I'd much prefer to see this on a platform like Massdrop, even if it means waiting a while.
Hey sevenseacat,
All three points are very valid. For point A, there's not really much we can say. We don't have a reputation on Geekhack but we do intend to build one. In addition to this group buy, we'll be running smaller ones to help establish us with the community. Unfortunately, those will run concurrently or after the SA Mechanist GB so it won't really help point A. We're hopeful most will meet at least the first MOQ tier since Hoq wanted us to lower the price points down to the 50 MOQ mark. For C, prices may be slightly higher than on Massdrop depending on how many kits are sold. If there's enough interest then the prices could end up being very comparable with Massdrop SP group buys.
As far as preferring to wait for MD, the poll has been open for over a year and has 4,412 votes yet they haven't given any information other than "We plan to, at some point". If Hoq had waited for MD, it's likely that the wait would have been at least into 2019 before the group buy even started.
As a mechanical engineer I'm very tempted by this. Love the colors and novelties!
Hey Cgrums,
We're glad you like the set! I'm personally probably more excited for this set than many I've seen lately. I think it's absolutely gorgeous. You should absolutely consider joining the group buy!
While we wait for Techbuys to build a web site to sell this to us, do you at least have pricing information for the kits?
Euphxenos,
Here's the pricing from a MOQ of 50 to 1,000.