People say that, not realizing how much MD does for the runner, and how bad running a GB of this size is. I'd rather MD all truth be told. Less stress on the runner, and assurances that it is going to run through.
People are not looking past that fact at all, but Massdrop mostly caters to a single continent and the few
enthusiasts around the globe. It is long past overdue, getting a European proxy warehouse. Especially for products that have to ship from Germany to the US and back to EU. It isn't even the Tax that is the real killer on most of these imports, it is the customs duty fee's that makes it obnoxious to import, e.g. paying 4 dollars tax for a given 2X dollar product, and another 27dollars in fee for their 'effort & time' checking the contents of the box in order to tax you.
This enthusiast scene could be so much bigger, and in
my opinion, Massdrop is more of a hindrance now, as every major theme developer chooses to go with them over other vendors, and thus choose to exclude major parts of the world whom aren't die-hard enthusiast enough to pay these fees, duties etc.
They were not a hindrance beforehand, when they were developing the scene and growing alongside it, but being unwilling to adapt and expand, when you hold this much market share really is a killer, when much smaller companies are willing to cater to a broader audience. These vendors could use some love by major themed keysets too!