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geekhack Marketplace => Vendor Forums => Signature Plastics / PimpMyKeyboard => Topic started by: Excessive on Sat, 08 March 2014, 11:17:56

Title: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Excessive on Sat, 08 March 2014, 11:17:56
Hey everyone as we continue to make upgrades to the community group buy system we wanted a single place to update you on the improvements. For those of you that missed it last week we upgraded the site to add additional state options for countries outside of the US.

In addition this morning we pushed an update, based on suggestions from Matteo, to the design that should allow for a smoother checkout process. We have replaced the countdown ticker and share icons with a purchase button. You can now add MODs directly from the base set, instead of going to each individual modifier.

We will continue to work as quickly as possible to improve the GB experience. If you have suggestion for how we can improve the site or experience, please post them here: http://keyshop.uservoice.com/

Thanks again for the support!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Belfong on Sat, 08 March 2014, 11:24:47
Nice :thumb:
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: KebinPls on Sat, 08 March 2014, 11:26:55
Awesome!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: rowdy on Sat, 08 March 2014, 18:42:05
I have noticed that the speech bubble thingies in the top left corner of the images sometimes obscure information.

Like in the picture above, what is under the speech bubble overlay in the top left corner of the first image?

Sometimes in a detailed image the speech bubble overlay obscures the keycaps in the top left corner, sometimes the Esc key, which might be different to the other keycaps in the image.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Matt3o on Tue, 11 March 2014, 02:36:35
peachy! thanks Excessive!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Excessive on Wed, 02 April 2014, 09:48:16
And then there was purchase history.....  :thumb:
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: ideus on Wed, 02 April 2014, 10:22:42
Is there an option to alter an order? I am considering to change some items in one I made.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Excessive on Wed, 02 April 2014, 10:36:35
Is there an option to alter an order? I am considering to change some items in one I made.

Unfortunately not, we are asking everyone to make sure that their orders are final before buying. You can add to orders but we ask that you only cancel if it is 100% necessary. The reason for this, is that it could cause pricing issues for the GB and other customers.

If to many people decided to change their order at the same time, then the GB could potentially head in the wrong direction. Instead of breaking lower price tiers - it would revert back into higher price tiers. This would make the orders authorized at a lower price levels no longer valid.

With that said if you have to have your order cancelled and/or modified we can do this manually for you. Hopefully this makes sense.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: ideus on Wed, 02 April 2014, 11:01:52
Is there an option to alter an order? I am considering to change some items in one I made.

Unfortunately not, we are asking everyone to make sure that their orders are final before buying. You can add to orders but we ask that you only cancel if it is 100% necessary. The reason for this, is that it could cause pricing issues for the GB and other customers.

If to many people decided to change their order at the same time, then the GB could potentially head in the wrong direction. Instead of breaking lower price tiers - it would revert back into higher price tiers. This would make the orders authorized at a lower price levels no longer valid.

With that said if you have to have your order cancelled and/or modified we can do this manually for you. Hopefully this makes sense.


I think people that wants to add something to the order may have a way to do it. You should consider that initial items were defined under different pricing tiers. Later, when prices are lower they may attract more buyers. Actually many have stated they are waiting until the last days of the GB to set they orders precisely because of this. In the other hand, if we all waited until the last time, the pricing tiers would not be lower, ever. That is why early buyers should have an option to re-arrange their orders.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Excessive on Wed, 02 April 2014, 12:32:00
You can definitely add to your order. We will sort the orders during fulfillment so that they all ship together. It's only the canceling existing purchases that can potentially cause problems.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: ideus on Wed, 02 April 2014, 12:58:35
You can definitely add to your order. We will sort the orders during fulfillment so that they all ship together. It's only the canceling existing purchases that can potentially cause problems.


Alright, I just hope the icon modifiers pro set reaches MOQ, otherwise I will need changes in my order.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: tbc on Wed, 02 April 2014, 22:43:17
is the 'commit to buy at x tier' feature in progress of being implemented for future buys, or has it been rejected?
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Excessive on Thu, 03 April 2014, 09:05:03
is the 'commit to buy at x tier' feature in progress of being implemented for future buys, or has it been rejected?

Not at this time. Our team is looking into it as a possibility, but it we did it would be a significant rebuild of the entire system.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: skuko on Wed, 16 April 2014, 06:11:15
hey Excessive, can you please find out whether SP could mark these as a gift in value of 25$ or so? right now, i think my macross set is being held by customs and they are GIANT PAIN IN THE ASS TO DEAL WITH :(

edit: or not gift, but a SAMPLE
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: rowdy on Wed, 16 April 2014, 06:39:06
I noticed the following when I was checking out the Granite set.  In Australia I live in the state of Victoria, which I configured in my profile.  But during the checkout process, both billing and shipping addresses switched to ACT (Australian Capital Territory).  I changed them both back to Victoria, and checked my profile, which still said Victoria.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: skuko on Thu, 17 April 2014, 07:19:05
hey SP, it would be really nice, if you included an invoice generator in the "my orders" section, with the real prices paid, not the base prices.

i desperately need that for customs clearance. the problem is that if i want to pull it from paypal, the only clear statement about what was in my "shopping cart" is in the original authorization transaction, which does not reflect the final prices. if i was to be charged VAT and customs fees for the base prices, that would be pretty steep. can you provide the website with such functionality? if not, then please give me an email for invoice inquiries.


thanks
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: minho on Sun, 11 May 2014, 21:06:16
Hello!

I would like to suggest a feature for your group buys. Create an option for people to opt in a certain price points, and only pay at this price point [perhaps with a limit at which you can opt in] (similar to Massdrop's model).

The reason I suggest this is to allow group buys that have extremely high starting prices (such as the Orange Crush group buy that is currently going on) to gain more traction. People see the extremely high price and awesome design and think to themselves "wow, that's an awesome keycap set, but not necessarily $129 awesome."

The current model let's you pay the lowest tier, which is fantastic, but something like Massdrop's method would allow people to see the exact number of people who are just waiting on a price drop, and would therefore boost confidence about reaching lower price tiers and increase sales, all of which I'm sure are in your favor, SP.

I know that implementing this is not nearly as easy as simply writing down the idea in a forum post, but please do consider this. I personally (and I'm sure many others too) would have committed to the Orange Crush group buy if I had more confidence in its success and could see how many others would commit at lower price points.

Best regards,
minho
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: tbc on Mon, 12 May 2014, 02:30:35
^

is the 'commit to buy at x tier' feature in progress of being implemented for future buys, or has it been rejected?

Not at this time. Our team is looking into it as a possibility, but it we did it would be a significant rebuild of the entire system.

Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: CommonCurt on Mon, 12 May 2014, 03:06:38
is the 'commit to buy at x tier' feature in progress of being implemented for future buys, or has it been rejected?

Not at this time. Our team is looking into it as a possibility, but it we did it would be a significant rebuild of the entire system.

I get this would be a big hassle, but I think it would really help out GB's in the long run. 

I know it's something that I would like to see implemented.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Oobly on Mon, 12 May 2014, 06:25:45
is the 'commit to buy at x tier' feature in progress of being implemented for future buys, or has it been rejected?

Not at this time. Our team is looking into it as a possibility, but it we did it would be a significant rebuild of the entire system.

I get this would be a big hassle, but I think it would really help out GB's in the long run. 

I know it's something that I would like to see implemented.

+1. This is a feature that will actually bring in orders, and help to get the numbers up to what they should really be. The way it works at the moment, most people are hesitant to commit to the starting price, so they just don't order.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Excessive on Mon, 12 May 2014, 17:00:01
Hey Everyone. This one is a hard one for us. We would have to do a major overhaul on the software, which would take a significant amount of time. I do have a suggestion that may help for now.

The MOQ is set by each group buy leader.

If you look at Orange Crush: http://www.pimpmykeyboard.com/deals/orange-crush/ the MOQ is set at 25 units which causes the high entry price of $129.

If the group buy leader wanted, they could set the MOQ at 75 at have a starting price of $79.

This would mean that no body would get charged unless the 75 unit mark was reach and therefor everyone could jump in at a more reasonable $79 price. Just a thought.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: minho on Mon, 12 May 2014, 17:02:37
Hey Everyone. This one is a hard one for us. We would have to do a major overhaul on the software, which would take a significant amount of time. I do have a suggestion that may help for now.

The MOQ is set by each group buy leader.

If you look at Orange Crush: http://www.pimpmykeyboard.com/deals/orange-crush/ the MOQ is set at 25 units which causes the high entry price of $129.

If the group buy leader wanted, they could set the MOQ at 75 at have a starting price of $79.

This would mean that no body would get charged unless the 75 unit mark was reach and therefor everyone could jump in at a more reasonable $79 price. Just a thought.

You are a temporary genius!

And I understand that actually implementing an idea that may seem simple on paper can be extremely difficult. Thanks for addressing the issue.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: intelli78 on Thu, 15 May 2014, 21:52:23
Hey Everyone. This one is a hard one for us. We would have to do a major overhaul on the software, which would take a significant amount of time. I do have a suggestion that may help for now.

The MOQ is set by each group buy leader.

If you look at Orange Crush: http://www.pimpmykeyboard.com/deals/orange-crush/ the MOQ is set at 25 units which causes the high entry price of $129.

If the group buy leader wanted, they could set the MOQ at 75 at have a starting price of $79.

This would mean that no body would get charged unless the 75 unit mark was reach and therefor everyone could jump in at a more reasonable $79 price. Just a thought.

Excellent idea  :thumb:
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Lu_e on Fri, 16 May 2014, 23:42:16
The whole pimpmykeyboard marketplace isn't working for me right now... every section looks empty.

Site issues? or maybe just updating? I wanna buy some of those flat keys.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: CommonCurt on Tue, 20 May 2014, 04:31:36
The whole pimpmykeyboard marketplace isn't working for me right now... every section looks empty.

Site issues? or maybe just updating? I wanna buy some of those flat keys.

I can't sign into my PMK account at this time.  It looks like they may be doing updates.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Blackehart on Mon, 02 June 2014, 20:51:00
FIXED!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: rowdy on Mon, 02 June 2014, 23:07:34
FIXED!

That was quick! :)
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: yuiop on Tue, 03 June 2014, 00:51:05
I can't go past the checkout page no matter what I try i get an error saying
"The field Shipping Address1 is required"
and it takes me back to my cart. Tried 3 different browsers and clearing cookies.  So damn frustrating.

Anyone having similar issue?
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: yuiop on Tue, 03 June 2014, 15:28:32
I still can't get past the address page.  I don't think I'm the only one having this issue.  the number of people in any of the active groupbuys hasn't changed since yesterday.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: SPLady on Thu, 05 June 2014, 13:45:44
I still can't get past the address page.  I don't think I'm the only one having this issue.  the number of people in any of the active groupbuys hasn't changed since yesterday.

We are aware of this technical issue and apologize for the inconvenience.  If you can log in to your account and click the “My Account” button at the top right of the screen, you will see your account information.  In the top “YOUR ACCOUNT” box, you should see an address in your contact information.  If you do not, please click the “Edit” button and enter an address.  Now, return to your cart and see if you can complete the checkout process.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: MrChunky on Thu, 05 June 2014, 13:57:21
I still can't get past the address page.  I don't think I'm the only one having this issue.  the number of people in any of the active groupbuys hasn't changed since yesterday.

We are aware of this technical issue and apologize for the inconvenience.  If you can log in to your account and click the “My Account” button at the top right of the screen, you will see your account information.  In the top “YOUR ACCOUNT” box, you should see an address in your contact information.  If you do not, please click the “Edit” button and enter an address.  Now, return to your cart and see if you can complete the checkout process.

I had the account information in. I also tried to update the information in any case. Still getting the same error message.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: 00zeRO on Tue, 10 June 2014, 16:23:42
Could any of these log in issues be causing GB's to fail the tipping point...?
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: rowdy on Tue, 10 June 2014, 17:40:02
Could any of these log in issues be causing GB's to fail the tipping point...?

There have been surprisingly few orders for some of the GBs, especially Orange Crush.  I wouldn't be surprised if this was a contributing factor.

OTOH Granite was running at the same time, and there are plenty of orders for that!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: 00zeRO on Tue, 10 June 2014, 18:44:14
Could any of these log in issues be causing GB's to fail the tipping point...?

There have been surprisingly few orders for some of the GBs, especially Orange Crush.  I wouldn't be surprised if this was a contributing factor.

OTOH Granite was running at the same time, and there are plenty of orders for that!

The turn out for the Objects in Space IC are certainly more than those who have shown up for the GB...

Grrr...

 :-[
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: rowdy on Tue, 10 June 2014, 19:39:50
Could any of these log in issues be causing GB's to fail the tipping point...?

There have been surprisingly few orders for some of the GBs, especially Orange Crush.  I wouldn't be surprised if this was a contributing factor.

OTOH Granite was running at the same time, and there are plenty of orders for that!

The turn out for the Objects in Space IC are certainly more than those who have shown up for the GB...

Grrr...

 :-[

That's as usual :(
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: pbtforever on Thu, 26 June 2014, 12:10:15
Help!  My iphone doesn't load your site.

Chrome or Safari.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: osxoep on Sun, 20 July 2014, 14:02:00
I'm not sure if I'm being dumb, but the sign up form says "State" is a required field, but I'm in the UK and I can't select anything
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Elrick on Wed, 25 February 2015, 17:29:17
Could any of these log in issues be causing GB's to fail the tipping point...?

There have been surprisingly few orders for some of the GBs, especially Orange Crush.  I wouldn't be surprised if this was a contributing factor.


This is what's unusual for a Company who actually manufactures Key-caps in the United States THEY do not advertise it anywhere and then wonder why too few people had signed up to buy anything.

PERFECT example here they're latest Group Buy "SYMBIOSIS" is NOT MENTIONED anywhere, including here on Geekhack Central, so what gives?

Are we now entering a new market where people who have extra sensory perception can detect when a Group Buy is running because I came across it by accident when visiting their website, despite NO ONE mentioning anything here on this site.  Very strange indeed, I suspect they are trying to run a GMK style of business because they too never advertise their products anywhere.

Please SPLady shine some light here because I would like to know why you are so quiet about your own Group Buys, especially now.........

Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Data on Thu, 26 February 2015, 14:48:20
A couple GeekHackers have mentioned Symbiosis, actually.  :P

And I get regular (bi-weekly?) emails from SP about the currently-running group buys and interest checks, so there's that.

I mean, I totally get what you're saying.  They could do a lot more to get the word out and that would, in turn, help group buys meet their MOQs.  Maybe they just don't have the manpower?
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: SPLady on Fri, 15 May 2015, 23:43:45
As most of you are aware, we have experienced many functional problems with the PMK website over the past year. This has not only been frustrating for you users but it has been equally frustrating for us as well. It’s time to make a change.

Over the next couple months we will be moving the site to a new platform. Hopefully this change will address the many frustrations you have experienced from lack of mobile access to simply checking out without any problems.

We also plan to make one major change to the site. The Interest Check and Group Buy format has been very successful, making some very creative designs available to a lot of people. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of these great designs, many receiving hundreds of “like” votes, die during the 30-day Group Buy period. Under the new format we plan to still display designs in the Interest Check, but once they receive a certain number of “like” votes we will move the design into our production cue. Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

And one more change. We plan to pay a 5% royalty on the net sales of each keyset design that is up for sale to the creator of the design. We feel the creative efforts that go into these keysets should be rewarded!

We thank you for your patience and support while we incorporate these changes. We also welcome any and all suggestions you may have on how to further improve the site.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Matt3o on Sat, 16 May 2015, 02:12:22
this is a great news, SPLady!

I totally support the new model and that's probably something that should have been done since the beginning!

Thank you for the great work and please PLEASE PLEEEASE release the SA-ROW-4-SHIFTS!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Steveenn on Sat, 16 May 2015, 02:26:56
I really love the sound of this. Now my wallet is going to have even less money in it, which isn't physically possible...
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: trees on Sat, 16 May 2015, 02:50:11
I really love the sound of this. Now my wallet is going to have even less money in it, which isn't physically possible...

This was my first thought! The wait is what keeps me from normally doing GBs. Now..... RIP wallet
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Nai_Calus on Sat, 16 May 2015, 03:13:07
As most of you are aware, we have experienced many functional problems with the PMK website over the past year. This has not only been frustrating for you users but it has been equally frustrating for us as well. It’s time to make a change.

Over the next couple months we will be moving the site to a new platform. Hopefully this change will address the many frustrations you have experienced from lack of mobile access to simply checking out without any problems.

We also plan to make one major change to the site. The Interest Check and Group Buy format has been very successful, making some very creative designs available to a lot of people. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of these great designs, many receiving hundreds of “like” votes, die during the 30-day Group Buy period. Under the new format we plan to still display designs in the Interest Check, but once they receive a certain number of “like” votes we will move the design into our production cue. Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

And one more change. We plan to pay a 5% royalty on the net sales of each keyset design that is up for sale to the creator of the design. We feel the creative efforts that go into these keysets should be rewarded!

We thank you for your patience and support while we incorporate these changes. We also welcome any and all suggestions you may have on how to further improve the site.

Improved templates, and possibly a list of available doubleshot legends for each key set and what row they're in! The current template is just a TKL, which doesn't help terribly much, so we end up with all the keyboard layout editor renders we see. And for something less used like sculpted SA, it's hard to find information on what legends are available in what row. So for example this sculpted SA design I've been noodling with, I'm not sure which of the alternate keys I've thrown in are actually possible in SA and in the rows in question: http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/af2e968fa417b8a642c92e26212afc67

That would definitely help things from a design perspective.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: SL89 on Sat, 16 May 2015, 07:28:10
As most of you are aware, we have experienced many functional problems with the PMK website over the past year. This has not only been frustrating for you users but it has been equally frustrating for us as well. It’s time to make a change.

Over the next couple months we will be moving the site to a new platform. Hopefully this change will address the many frustrations you have experienced from lack of mobile access to simply checking out without any problems.

We also plan to make one major change to the site. The Interest Check and Group Buy format has been very successful, making some very creative designs available to a lot of people. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of these great designs, many receiving hundreds of “like” votes, die during the 30-day Group Buy period. Under the new format we plan to still display designs in the Interest Check, but once they receive a certain number of “like” votes we will move the design into our production cue. Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

And one more change. We plan to pay a 5% royalty on the net sales of each keyset design that is up for sale to the creator of the design. We feel the creative efforts that go into these keysets should be rewarded!

We thank you for your patience and support while we incorporate these changes. We also welcome any and all suggestions you may have on how to further improve the site.

So will things still be called 'Group Buys' even tho they are not in fact group buys? Will the tiers of discounts be going away in this new system, and we will be stuck with one price? what parameters will need to be me  to make the Interest Check successful? Who will be the 'owner' of these designs and will private group buys still be possible under this new system?
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: potatowire on Sat, 16 May 2015, 10:42:17
This is very exciting, SPLady! My wallet is weeping quietly in the corner, however.

PLEASE PLEEEASE release the SA-ROW-4-SHIFTS!

Seconded! SA definitely seems to be rising in popularity, and I suspect a little investment in the profile would pay off quickly.

-potatowire
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Bloo on Sat, 16 May 2015, 11:36:10
...Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

This is a great new direction.  I also hope that there might also be a bit of transparency added to the production scheduling.  The delays that certain sets (ie. round 5) encounter are a little unsettling.  I know that companies don't like to share that sort of thing, but community involvement is a two way street. 
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: KHAANNN on Sat, 16 May 2015, 12:25:41
As a DSA addict, this is exciting news, it's something you should've done long ago

It would also be great to see some actually useful special keys, like colored Shift's, Enter's, Return's, 1.25's, Ctrl's, Alt's, Tab's, Esc's, Delete's etc. (double shot ABS's with beautiful, proven colors, likely white on red/blue/green etc.)

I would buy one of each
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: taylordcraig on Sat, 16 May 2015, 13:27:35
...Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

This is a great new direction.  I also hope that there might also be a bit of transparency added to the production scheduling.  The delays that certain sets (ie. round 5) encounter are a little unsettling.  I know that companies don't like to share that sort of thing, but community involvement is a two way street.

Just gonna thumbs up this.
I have very little interest in SP sets these days [no offense!]
I have nothing against SP I just have been enjoying OG Cherry stuff more.
I still love my blank granite DSA, hyperfuse DSA, wyse DSA, and galaxy class DSA sets.
and I still think that SA is by fair SPs greatest tooling. Really thick, great feeling caps.
A little more transparency would be great.
However, Melissa has been fantastic at answering any questions through email.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: KHAANNN on Sat, 16 May 2015, 14:09:34
In my opinion, the top-thickness of SA is wasted as the stem holder is flush with the keycap, so the keycap amplifies the sound rather than suppressing it (at the bottom out, the keycap doesn't cover the switch as much as it could, comparatively, the cherry/oem profile's are far superior in this area)
I had the chance to try SA keycaps lately, they just made me like DSA's more, especially sculptured SA's are extreme, row1 is almost 3x DSA's, no need for that much heft for no gain

In any case, it would be great to see more SA's/DSA's, after trying them both, I'm especially interested in DSA's, as I tend to mix keycaps a lot
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: suicidal_orange on Sat, 16 May 2015, 14:37:41
PLEASE PLEEEASE release the SA-ROW-4-SHIFTS!

Seconded! SA definitely seems to be rising in popularity, and I suspect a little investment in the profile would pay off quickly.

-potatowire
Thirded - the money I could be spending on another cap set will be going to make a board with 1.75 and 1u shifts so they are the correct profile.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Nai_Calus on Sun, 17 May 2015, 01:50:29
In my opinion, the top-thickness of SA is wasted as the stem holder is flush with the keycap, so the keycap amplifies the sound rather than suppressing it (at the bottom out,
I had the chance to try SA keycaps lately, they just made me like DSA's more, especially sculptured SA's are extreme, row1 is almost 3x DSA's, no need for that much heft for no gain

No gain? You mean other than being a lot easier to use and better for your hands? DSA is awful, the flat profile makes you reach more for further keys and makes it harder to clear rows going up. All Row 3 SA isn't any better. Flat profiles are bad.

There have been far too many DSA sets lately and I hope they get given a rest for a while. It's an absolutely terrible profile.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: livingspeedbump on Sun, 17 May 2015, 16:41:02
As most of you are aware, we have experienced many functional problems with the PMK website over the past year. This has not only been frustrating for you users but it has been equally frustrating for us as well. It’s time to make a change.

Over the next couple months we will be moving the site to a new platform. Hopefully this change will address the many frustrations you have experienced from lack of mobile access to simply checking out without any problems.

We also plan to make one major change to the site. The Interest Check and Group Buy format has been very successful, making some very creative designs available to a lot of people. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of these great designs, many receiving hundreds of “like” votes, die during the 30-day Group Buy period. Under the new format we plan to still display designs in the Interest Check, but once they receive a certain number of “like” votes we will move the design into our production cue. Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

And one more change. We plan to pay a 5% royalty on the net sales of each keyset design that is up for sale to the creator of the design. We feel the creative efforts that go into these keysets should be rewarded!

We thank you for your patience and support while we incorporate these changes. We also welcome any and all suggestions you may have on how to further improve the site.

This is such fantastic news. I think the changes go above and beyond any expectations I would have had regarding what needed to change.

It just makes so much more sense to be able to buy the keysets on a normal basis. I know so many sales have to be lost simply because potential buyers just don't have the extra money at the right moment to spend on a keyset. This new store seems to completely fix that issue. And having 20+ designs?! Terrible, terrible news for my wallet. Just awful news ;)
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Data on Sun, 17 May 2015, 18:15:54
As most of you are aware, we have experienced many functional problems with the PMK website over the past year. This has not only been frustrating for you users but it has been equally frustrating for us as well. It’s time to make a change.

Over the next couple months we will be moving the site to a new platform. Hopefully this change will address the many frustrations you have experienced from lack of mobile access to simply checking out without any problems.

We also plan to make one major change to the site. The Interest Check and Group Buy format has been very successful, making some very creative designs available to a lot of people. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of these great designs, many receiving hundreds of “like” votes, die during the 30-day Group Buy period. Under the new format we plan to still display designs in the Interest Check, but once they receive a certain number of “like” votes we will move the design into our production cue. Once produced, the sets will become available in our Key Shop where they can be purchased and shipped within days of ordering. This way you decide when to buy the keysets, minimizing the competition we are now seeing with so many new designs being launched at the same time. We would like to have at least 20 different custom designs available through our Key Shop.

And one more change. We plan to pay a 5% royalty on the net sales of each keyset design that is up for sale to the creator of the design. We feel the creative efforts that go into these keysets should be rewarded!

We thank you for your patience and support while we incorporate these changes. We also welcome any and all suggestions you may have on how to further improve the site.

Wow!  That's a significant change.  Honestly it sounds great.  Just some web site improvements would have been a huge step in the right direction.  This is game-changing!

Bravo!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: livingspeedbump on Sun, 17 May 2015, 18:17:42
Good news for me. Now I can definitely buy Danger Zone!
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: codyeatworld on Sun, 17 May 2015, 21:52:48
Looking forward to it! :D
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Supergeek on Tue, 19 May 2015, 06:02:16
This is great news!

Hopefully SP will make some better templates available for designers to use for quicker, easier mockups.  :thumb:
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: TheCowGod on Thu, 28 May 2015, 13:06:12
Reading the posting on the site (http://www.pimpmykeyboard.com/a-new-pmk-is-on-its-way/), I see it mentions that, "Time permitting, we will re-run the sets that are in demand." Does that just mean sets produced with this new system going forward, or is it possible that previously-produced sets would be re-run as well? I've been searching for a used Eve set but there don't seem to be a whole lot of them out there, and the full sets in the PMK keyshop seem to be out of stock. Is there any chance that a set like that will be produced again?
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: livingspeedbump on Tue, 02 June 2015, 01:08:43
Ok, but seriously now, with all of these (awesome) changes is there any thought going into a new name?
Perfect My Keyboard or
Pterodactyl (on) My Keyboard or
Not Pimp My Keyboard?
I mean, I see the name SPlady and not PMKlady, thats a good start!

On a more serious note, I think the "Commit at lowest price" is something that should be seriously considered, even if it does take a complete reworking. But this is of course depending on how the new site will run. Its a bit confusing as to if you will have sets that are popular and have the votes needed available all the time, or still do the traditional GB's.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Oobly on Fri, 16 October 2015, 04:23:30
The new site is better than the old, but still leaves a lot to be desired, IMO.

My suggestions for making the current system work well:

1. Add a clause that requires approval from the designer for each change to the design (more for peace of mind than anything else. It's too scary to give complete freedom to SP to change anything freely as it is stated in the current license). This will encourage more designers (particularly experienced ones) to add their sets.
2. Change the name of "Interest Checks" to "Pre-Order Requests" or something similar. It's not really an Interest Check in the traditional sense at that point in the set design / production process, it's a gathering preorder requests stage. It shows intent to buy, rather than just "Interest", and will prevent people just registering interest as opposed to genuine intent to buy. This will give you more accurate demand figures.
3. Run the pre-order requests for a set period of time (three weeks seems about right to me, but two weeks may be enough) to gather accurate demand figures (which are comparable between designs since they run the same length of time) and allow people time to register their intent to buy, rather than up to certain figure.
4. Add between 30% and 50% to the pre-order request numbers for the first production batch. This overproduction will help to meet the increase in demand you inevitably get from people who missed the pre-order stage and those who miss the traditional first GB run of many sets. Some sets (like Carbon) could even support a 100% production increase. There are already more than 500 new requests for Massdrop to rerun the design and it hasn't even finished production of the first run. Demand will only rise once photos of the actual caps get posted, this happens in pretty much all GB's I have participated in.

And my suggestions for turning PMK into the ULTIMATE keycap set marketplace:

1. Add a clause in the designer license that design / legend changes require the designer's approval.
2. Turn the "IC" into an actual (pre)order page with "commit at this price tier" functionality for kits and a fallback option for those that don't make MOQ (something like "If this kit does not make MOQ, I would like to add this kit to my order: ". This is great for supporting individual ISO kits for example, with a fallback generic ISO kit).
3. Make extra sets (the number proportional to the GB orders as mentioned above in item number 4) which then go up on the site for purchase at the same price as the GB.
4. Add a "bring back this set" voting page for sold out sets, with no time limit, but with older votes being reduced in value (so a two month old vote will be equal to half a new vote, say, to match likelihood of someone who voted so long ago actually purchasing). When enough votes accumulate (say 150 or so) make a new batch of that set.

That way, the sets will have the largest availability and lowest price and designers don't get their designs mangled.



To show this post is not coming from a total noob with no clue and to show that I'm invested in Signature Plastics and want them to succeed:
More
I am a designer with a set in IC stage (Classic Space) which we'll run through SP, I'm developing a font for SA profile and will run a fundraiser to support getting the molds made. I'm developing specification documents detailing legend limitations, profile options, etc. to help designers choose options and prepare their designs for production by SP. SP has the best and most varied options for designers (colours, profiles, materials, legend options, etc) and that makes them the first choice when designing keycap sets.
These are the SP sets I currently own:
Nostalgia
Cherry Legend Replicas (Smallfry set)
Penumbra with Solarized alphas
PuLSE SA
Nuclear Data
1976
Hack'd by Geeks
Retro SA
Jukebox
These I have ordered:
Carbon
Danger Zone
These I plan to order when they become available:
Green Screen


And yeah, no offense meant, but the name sucks. The primary SP keyset buyer is not Xzibit or the tasteless crowd who like getting their s**t pimped. SP makes high quality, tasteful keycap sets (in general) that deserve to be sold on a site with a matchingly tasteful name.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Oobly on Sat, 17 October 2015, 12:45:11
Hello... anyone here?

(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/yoyocici/JFBQ00156070205A.gif)

(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/yoyocici/JFBQ00187070406A.gif)
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: 00zeRO on Sat, 17 October 2015, 13:23:50
Hello... anyone here?

Show Image
(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/yoyocici/JFBQ00156070205A.gif)


Show Image
(http://www.cute-factor.com/images/smilies/yoyocici/JFBQ00187070406A.gif)


I am. Hear, hear!

+1
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: livingspeedbump on Sat, 17 October 2015, 13:29:22
The new site is better than the old, but still leaves a lot to be desired, IMO.

My suggestions for making the current system work well:

1. Add a clause that requires approval from the designer for each change to the design (more for peace of mind than anything else. It's too scary to give complete freedom to SP to change anything freely as it is stated in the current license). This will encourage more designers (particularly experienced ones) to add their sets.
2. Change the name of "Interest Checks" to "Pre-Order Requests" or something similar. It's not really an Interest Check in the traditional sense at that point in the set design / production process, it's a gathering preorder requests stage. It shows intent to buy, rather than just "Interest", and will prevent people just registering interest as opposed to genuine intent to buy. This will give you more accurate demand figures.
3. Run the pre-order requests for a set period of time (three weeks seems about right to me, but two weeks may be enough) to gather accurate demand figures (which are comparable between designs since they run the same length of time) and allow people time to register their intent to buy, rather than up to certain figure.
4. Add between 30% and 50% to the pre-order request numbers for the first production batch. This overproduction will help to meet the increase in demand you inevitably get from people who missed the pre-order stage and those who miss the traditional first GB run of many sets. Some sets (like Carbon) could even support a 100% production increase. There are already more than 500 new requests for Massdrop to rerun the design and it hasn't even finished production of the first run. Demand will only rise once photos of the actual caps get posted, this happens in pretty much all GB's I have participated in.

And my suggestions for turning PMK into the ULTIMATE keycap set marketplace:

1. Add a clause in the designer license that design / legend changes require the designer's approval.
2. Turn the "IC" into an actual (pre)order page with "commit at this price tier" functionality for kits and a fallback option for those that don't make MOQ (something like "If this kit does not make MOQ, I would like to add this kit to my order: ". This is great for supporting individual ISO kits for example, with a fallback generic ISO kit).
3. Make extra sets (the number proportional to the GB orders as mentioned above in item number 4) which then go up on the site for purchase at the same price as the GB.
4. Add a "bring back this set" voting page for sold out sets, with no time limit, but with older votes being reduced in value (so a two month old vote will be equal to half a new vote, say, to match likelihood of someone who voted so long ago actually purchasing). When enough votes accumulate (say 150 or so) make a new batch of that set.

That way, the sets will have the largest availability and lowest price and designers don't get their designs mangled.



To show this post is not coming from a total noob with no clue and to show that I'm invested in Signature Plastics and want them to succeed:
More
I am a designer with a set in IC stage (Classic Space) which we'll run through SP, I'm developing a font for SA profile and will run a fundraiser to support getting the molds made. I'm developing specification documents detailing legend limitations, profile options, etc. to help designers choose options and prepare their designs for production by SP. SP has the best and most varied options for designers (colours, profiles, materials, legend options, etc) and that makes them the first choice when designing keycap sets.
These are the SP sets I currently own:
Nostalgia
Cherry Legend Replicas (Smallfry set)
Penumbra with Solarized alphas
PuLSE SA
Nuclear Data
1976
Hack'd by Geeks
Retro SA
Jukebox
These I have ordered:
Carbon
Danger Zone
These I plan to order when they become available:
Green Screen


And yeah, no offense meant, but the name sucks. The primary SP keyset buyer is not Xzibit or the tasteless crowd who like getting their s**t pimped. SP makes high quality, tasteful keycap sets (in general) that deserve to be sold on a site with a matchingly tasteful name.

I pretty much agree with all of this. Oobly is a master of detail, and this was pretty spot on  :thumb:
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: zslane on Tue, 27 October 2015, 19:17:34
If that was a petition, I'd certainly sign it.
Title: Re: GB Site Updates & Upgrades
Post by: Oobly on Wed, 04 November 2015, 04:31:03
I received a message from Bob Guenser, president and owner of SP and in it he states:

"I totally understand your concern about giving SP the right to change the design. That was not the intention of the agreement.
First of all, we are manufacturers not designers and would never presume to make an improvement or change without first discussing it with the designer. The License Agreement has been modified to clarify that point.
Secondly, it was never our intention to have permanent control and usage of the design. To address this we have added a statement allowing the designer to rescind the Agreement."

I will be reviewing the changes as soon as I have the document, but this paints the system in a whole new light. As a designer, that settles all the main issues I have with it.

Also, this:

"For most of this year we have been making extra sets of GB orders and selling them through our Key Shop. Eve, Deep Space, Midnight, Modern Selectric and Juke Box (for sale shortly) are examples. We are very aware there is still strong interest in other sets like 1976 (SA), Nuclear (SA) and Symbiosis (SA) but our SA tooling (thanks to Massdrop) is booked into next year. Because we don’t want to extend current manufacturing lead times, we, unfortunately, have decided NOT to run extra sets of Carbon (currently in production) and Danger Zone (next in queue). It’s not that we aren’t listening, we simply don’t have the capacity at this time to meet the sudden demand in SA sets. We have been running overtime for two month and increasing our tooling capacity to help us meet this unexpected demand."

So two items on my lists are covered.  :D  I have provided further explanations for the other points in my "wishlist" for an awesome PMK, but I know some will not be easy to implement, so they may not happen, at least for this version of the system, but it seems we are at least being listened to and our views and opinions considered.