Definitely interested in it but having to buy through zfrontier is putting me off - heard some pretty negative things about them
Just to chime in, I've ordered from ZFrontier only twice, but am happy with both experiences. One time was just for a keycap set, but the other was the group buy for the Alf X3 Renova. There was no communication throughout the waiting process of the Renova, however I did get personal communication when it was discovered one of my options on the board was wrong. (I had chosen 3 Led Lamps on the cover, but they did the Renova logo instead.) They were excellent on their communication of this matter, and offered to urge ALF to correct this if I wasn't happy with it. However, I opted to accept it as is.
At that same time, some other people had received their Renovas in somewhat damaged states due to inadequate shipping protection, and I took that time to raise the issue with my Zfrontier contact. He said he wasn't aware of the issue, but seemed concerned and was going to address it with his logistics team.
I don't know what became of that, but my Renova's box was damaged upon receiving it too - but thankfully no apparent damage to the contents on the inside. (Other than a slight dent to the metal shroud protecting the bluetooth chip on the pcb)
So my personal opinion is, there is probably little likely to go wrong with getting keycap sets from them. For bigger stuff like keyboards, you run a greater risk due to the greater distances it must presumably travel to get to you. I'd be perfectly happy dealing with them again, myself, but I've not heard any of these other negative comments you mention. Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth.