Damn you click clack key sellers.

[fossala]

I am sick of people buying up all the click clack keys to sell at 5x the original price. What ever happened to a community helping each other rather than exploiting? I mustn't be the only one that feels this way. I am not saying it shouldn't be aloud, I'm just saying it is poor practice.

[reaper]

Meh, I've seen so many of these that I'm becoming used to it (the same goes for people selling leftovers from group buys at higher prices).  They can do whatever they want for all I care. lol  The reason I bought those ClickClack keys is because I wanna keep 'em!  I'm not selling come hail or high water!  =D  Although I did sell one at cost to a "friend" since he couldn't get any and he ended up selling it.  If I had known that he was gonna sell it then I would've just kept the damn thing. lol

[RiGS]

rip, it is just a tricky way to express they are not for sale.
We are talking about real profiteers, with lame excuses, who has no problems with selling other members contribution to maximize profit, and consider it an intelligent thing.
I already expressed my concerns about it, but my posts have been censored.

[RiGS]

FWIW it exploits the community aspect of geekhack.

[RiGS]

Yeah and see how it led America to the brink of economical collapse.

[Quarzac]

I have nothing against profiteering depending on the situation of the buyer. I have done some profiteering myself, having flipped a couple keyboards off the classifieds here and run a group buy I made a small profit off of. I'm a high school kid who is currently not looking to get a job due to a rigorous load, college applications, and familial concerns. That being said, I will work to make some money if I see an opportunity. I view cheap boards or low run keys as an investment, and I fully expect them to at the very least cover themselves. While some of you guys seem like very nice chaps, and I will probably be more than willing to work with you on pricing, I'm by no means looking to take a good deal on something that there is a very low supply of and forward that deal to someone else, unless I really like them.

All that being said, I will definitely be looking for a job come the end of January as my first semester winds down and I have time to do so. That doesn't necessarily mean I will stop buying and selling keyboards entirely, but if I have a steady source of income otherwise, I'm going to be far less inclined to make a profit off keyboards. Depending on how things go, I'll probably pull a bongoojingie and donate a portion of proceeds to GH.

tl;dr: If you don't have a steady income, I'm not gonna frown on profiteering. If you do, then I can't find as much of a reason to justify it without at least giving something back to the community. And I need a job.

P.S. I had an opportunity to buy a vader key. I passed on it, since I couldn't bring myself to spend $50 on one key, even though I knew I would make my money back. I hope whoever got it was a chap who wanted it for their board, not to sell it.

[fossala]

I am a socialist, I have a problem with greed. I think we should help each other, not exploit someone so you can have an extra $50 in your account.
People like Quarzac that is just making a little money while providing a service is one thing, buying as many keys as you can to then sell them at 5x the price IS NOT.

[RiGS]

I think we should help each other, not exploit someone so you can have an extra $50 in your account.
People like Quarzac that is just making a little money while providing a service is one thing, buying as many keys as you can to then sell them at 5x the price IS NOT.

I couldn't agree more.

[fossala]

Ripster, you're not cleaver. Your a ****ing prick with too much time on his hands.

[RiGS]

I agree with the first two points, however I would never worship satanic symbols like that Pyramid and Eye.
Also clickclack nicely limits the amount of keycaps/person he sells.

[fossala]

I agree with the first two points, however I would never worship satanic symbols like that Pyramid and Eye.
Also clickclack nicely limits the amount of keycaps/person he sells.

I am not moaning at click clack for making the keys, he does a good job. I am moaning at because people think that exploiting other people is fine.

[RiGS]

I know. Also he sells it a lot cheaper than he could, still making a decent profit.
He found a nice balance.

[Namkung]

I don't like people gaining at the expense of others =*( .
(So in this case, people buying keycaps with the fullest intention on reselling them for profit at the expense of those who truly want them)
I guess that's capitalism +_+ but I don't like it!

[RiGS]

No. That's greed.

[fossala]

What I don't get is people say that they love capitalism but when companies really are capitalist and grow as big as possible people cry anti-trust.

[noodles256]

haha, yea. Some just buy with the intent of selling. to funnny

[keyboardlover]

What I don't get is people say that they love capitalism but when companies really are capitalist and grow as big as possible people cry anti-trust.

That's simple. It's OK to play a game as long as you play by the rules.

What's wrong with profits again?

+1

A wise man once said "If you snooze, you lose".

If you missed out on getting a ClickClack key, you have no one to blame but yourself. And if you disagree with the prices they're going for - don't buy them!

Everyone should be responsible for themselves. If someone fails, then they fail. Everyone has the capacity to learn from their mistakes and become better. This is the idea behind America, and the reason why, despite our current economic state, we truly have the backbone to create sustainable growth in the future (if we can get back to our true fundamentals).

In Europe the belief is that the government should be responsible for everybody. If someone fails, the government takes the brunt of the failure. If the people fail, the government fails. For more information, see Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, The European Union, The Euro, etc. etc.

\rant

[fossala]

That's simple. It's OK to play a game as long as you play by the rules.

I don't like the "game" but I am forced to "play" it to make other peoples numbers on bank slips bigger.

EDIT: and I think it is poor to call it a game when it leaves people starving without shelter or warmth.

[o2dazone]

I don't buy ClickClack keys with the intent of reselling them. But it is a nice sidenote that they make great trading pieces when you're on the hunt for rarer keycap sets. I would probably never sell my clickClacks and I'm mostly with the OP on that front. But I don't think it's wrong to trade. Even if you buy CC keys with the intent on trading.

[Namkung]

The idea behind America is that people should be gaining through exploiting others?
Also let me ask, what is your stance on welfare programs?

[hcry4]

A wise man once said "If you snooze, you lose".

For ClickClack keys, "You blink, you lose."

[fossala]

The idea behind America is that people should be gaining through exploiting others?
Also let me ask, what is your stance on welfare programs?

Me?

I think that they are needed and that if we had better things in place we could start to address social immobility (not that people in power would want a contest). I think the fact 1st world countries like USA that don't have state healthcare is ridiculous. Should I have to double check if I can afford to go to hospital if I broke my leg?

I am a quite successful chef so money isn't bad but I have been unemployed at certain points in my life and am thankful for benefits that help keep my family fed. I am happy to pay taxes as it helps people who are less fortunate than me.

[Namkung]

Me?

I think that they are needed and that if we had better things in place we could start to address social immobility (not that people in power would want a contest). I think the fact 1st world countries like USA that don't have state healthcare is ridiculous. Should I have to double check if I can afford to go to hospital if I broke my leg?

I am a quite successful chef so money isn't bad but I have been unemployed at certain points in my life and am thankful for benefits that help keep my family fed. I am happy to pay taxes as it helps people who are less fortunate than me.

No. I was talking to keyboardlover because it seems to me he believes an individual has no one to blame but oneself if they fail at something.
As in the clackfactory keycaps, Yes. If you missed the sale, then you obviously have no one else to blame. But expanding on that point as he does, I think the logic is flawed to say the least.
Perhaps relevant :
http://cdn.front.moveon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Warren-LARGE.jpg

I just cannot imagine someone that looks at what we are talking about here and thinks there is nothing wrong in the slightest with that.
If you are buying a certain rare commodity that has a large demand, you should not be in it to then only resell it at a higher price and thereby depriving of others that truly wanted that good.
It is ethically wrong

[Hazborgufen]

Interesting that people are complaining about greed and talking about socialism in a thread about aftermarket keycaps. The horrible injustice of keycap pricing. The keycap speculators are bringing down the keycap economy. Maybe the high prices on keycaps indicate a keycap bubble. I wonder if I can short sell keycap futures...

Seriously, I'm totally in support of providing aid for food, shelter, medical care, and other necessities. But to bring up socialism and complaining about greed and capitalism in a thread about keycaps, well, I guess it must be good to have such first world problems.

[fossala]

As in the clackfactory keycaps, Yes. If you missed the sale, then you obviously have no one else to blame.

Them going fast is not what is pissing me off, I could of got some click clack keys in the past but I didn't want them (the only ones I like are candy corn). What I am not happy with is the fact they are all just bought up in 20mins just to resell.

[JimBobMorris]

I am not moaning at click clack for making the keys, he does a good job. I am moaning at because people think that exploiting other people is fine.

You have one skewed definition of what exploiting someone is. I fail to see how selling a luxury item that is not NECESSARY (they are quite awesome, but not necessary in even the slightest sense) for a price they are willing to pay is exploiting someone.
If they don't want to pay a certain amount they don't have to buy the item and no conditions are forcing them to.

It seems that you are whining on behalf of the people who are being "exploited", the same people who don't mind paying whatever the cost may be.

[fossala]

Interesting that people are complaining about greed and talking about socialism in a thread about aftermarket keycaps. The horrible injustice of keycap pricing. The keycap speculators are bringing down the keycap economy. Maybe the high prices on keycaps indicate a keycap bubble. I wonder if I can short sell keycap futures...

Seriously, I'm totally in support of providing aid for food, shelter, medical care, and other necessities. But to bring up socialism and complaining about greed and capitalism in a thread about keycaps, well, I guess it must be good to have such first world problems.

I donate a lot to charities. I don't feel bad about having something nice for myself. There is a difference between socialism and communism.

[fossala]

You have one skewed definition of what exploiting someone is. I fail to see how selling a luxury item that is not NECESSARY (they are quite awesome, but not necessary in even the slightest sense) for a price they are willing to pay is exploiting someone.
If they don't want to pay a certain amount they don't have to buy the item and no conditions are forcing them to.

It seems that you are whining on behalf of the people who are being "exploited", the same people who don't mind paying whatever the cost may be.

I think that you are right, but I don't think it is good what people are doing. Perhaps exploited was the wrong word for me to use.

[whiskerBox]

I guess I can see both sides of the issue. On one part I say yes this wrong and people shouldn't flip CC's keys, but on the other hand what if you decided to switch to a different switch and wanted to get rid of all of one kind then what?

Me personally I like to think of them as very expensive POG's, Meaning that I would really only be interested in trading for other POG's.

[Namkung]

Seriously, I'm totally in support of providing aid for food, shelter, medical care, and other necessities. But to bring up socialism and complaining about greed and capitalism in a thread about keycaps, well, I guess it must be good to have such first world problems.

The principles are what matters.

[keyboardlover]

The idea behind America is that people should be gaining through exploiting others?
Also let me ask, what is your stance on welfare programs?

Define "exploitation". Even at a base level, in any trade, one person nearly always has the upper hand. That's life.

As for welfare, it depends. Education and opportunities are the key to reducing poverty. Much more effective than simply taking money from someone who has it and giving it to someone who doesn't.

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day...teach a man to fish, and he will never be hungry."

[Namkung]

I guess I can see both sides of the issue. On one part I say yes this wrong and people shouldn't flip CC's keys, but on the other hand what if you decided to switch to a different switch and wanted to get rid of all of one kind then what?

I don't think there is anything wrong with that. There is a big difference in what is being discussed here and what you have just mentioned.
As in your scenario, the person did NOT buy the keycaps with the intention of selling them for a profit.
I see nothing wrong with the keycaps being sold for a higher price, a price that many are willing to pay in so far as that was not your reasoning behind purchasing the keycaps.
Obviously, this is like a moral issue more than anything and in that sense, you won't really be able to prohibit people from doing that.

[Hazborgufen]

I donate a lot to charities. I don't feel bad about having something nice for myself. There is a difference between socialism and communism.

I understand that. But again, this is a luxury item. Perhaps they should be sold for more to begin with.

[Hazborgufen]

The principles are what matters.

Again, this is a luxury item, not a necessity. If anything the fact that people can profit by speculating on keycap prices indicates that they could probably be sold for a higher cost initially. This would yield more money for the person creating the keys and would cut down on speculation.

[noodles256]

nah, i hate paying taxes to help these lazy  people. If they worked and tried to get jobs,money, etc I wouldn't mind. But they just sit on their butts complaining

[fossala]

nah, i hate paying taxes to help these lazy  people. If they worked and tried to get jobs,money, etc I wouldn't mind. But they just sit on their butts complaining

Are you joking or just ignorant?

[Namkung]

Define "exploitation". Even at a base level, in any trade, one person nearly always has the upper hand. That's life.

As for welfare, it depends. Education and opportunities are the key to reducing poverty. Much more effective than simply taking money from someone who has it and giving it to someone who doesn't.

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day...teach a man to fish, and he will never be hungry."

I agree with you.
In fact, I am sure no one will logically argue that simply giving money to those in destitute conditions would be ideal.
And you are right about trade as well. And I also happen to agree that "that's life".
But this is no trade. You are buying a good in a zero sum game to take advantage of others and I think there is something morally wrong with that.

[insilica]

Blame the person making them... no seriously ...

TBH, I lost interest a while back mate ... I suggest you do the same.

If people want to sell a limb for a bit of plastic ... meh ...

EASY FIX:

setup an order thread
reject orders from really new accounts
setup waiting list
avoid noobs trying to profit from a piece of plastic

simple!

[hcry4]

nah, i hate paying taxes to help these lazy people. If they worked and tried to get jobs,money, etc I wouldn't mind. But they just sit on their butts complaining

That's quite a sweeping statement. Also, some places are not hiring people who are unemployed and give preference to those who already have jobs.

[RiGS]

ClickClack should increase his price, or mass produce the keys to close the opportunity of making huge profits by reselling his keys. Either way it would be beneficial to the community.
Selling ultra limited keys cheaply, that is just provocation.
There are too many rats, but not enough cheese.

[Namkung]

Again, this is a luxury item, not a necessity. If anything the fact that people can profit by speculating on keycap prices indicates that they could probably be sold for a higher cost initially. This would yield more money for the person creating the keys and would cut down on speculation.

This has nothing to do with what we are talking about.
To address your point, yes they could probably be sold at a higher price to begin with.. much higher.
If they were also sold at a higher price to begin with, then the problem of reselling it at an even higher price may also be solved.
But this isn't what the discussion is about. It's about whether or not the act of buying these keycaps only to sell it at a higher price is right/wrong.

[keyboardlover]

Click clack keys are a boutique product. They are what they are.

Mass production would ruin them, for sure.

[keyboardlover]

But this is no trade. You are buying a good in a zero sum game to take advantage of others and I think there is something morally wrong with that.

The problem is that you guys are all concerned about these people buying keys. But you're not taking responsibility for the fact that YOU missed out on them and it's your choice whether to buy them second-hand or not!

It is not your "right" to have a key at the price that YOU want.

[fossala]

The problem is that you guys are all concerned about these people buying keys. But you're not taking responsibility for the fact that YOU missed out on them and it's your choice whether to buy them second-hand or not!

It is not your "right" to have a key at the price that YOU want.

I am. I don't care that I "missed" them. I care about people buying to sell. It is hard to have a conversation with you when you try and change it into another one. It's what politicians do, don't answer the question just raise a new one then ask you to answer it.

[fossala]

Click clack keys are a boutique product. They are what they are.

Mass production would ruin them, for sure.

Why? Are they only good because you have them and other people don't?

[RiGS]

That's childish.

[Namkung]

The problem is that you guys are all concerned about these people buying keys. But you're not taking responsibility for the fact that YOU missed out on them and it's your choice whether to buy them second-hand or not!

It is not your "right" to have a key at the price that YOU want.

Not sure when I said it is my right to buy the keys at the price I want.
Do you seriously think there is NOTHING wrong with people buying these keycaps to resell them for profit?

Here is something that in my opinion is the most relevant to this case and I will leave this dicussion off at this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticket_resale#Legal_responses

It is ILLEGAL. Admittedly though, it is still ubiquitous and will never fully disappear.

[hcry4]

Why? Are they only good because you have them and other people don't?

It's true for a lot of rare, expensive items. Since, more people are getting these keys, I've stopped trying to get them. Also, if everybody had the keys, there'd be nothing special about them and we probably wouldn't have this thread.

[Hazborgufen]

This has nothing to do with what we are talking about.
To address your point, yes they could probably be sold at a higher price to begin with.. much higher.
If they were also sold at a higher price to begin with, then the problem of reselling it at an even higher price may also be solved.
But this isn't what the discussion is about. It's about whether or not the act of buying these keycaps only to sell it at a higher price is right/wrong.

It has everything to do with what is being discussed, actually. As this is a luxury item, prices should reflect that. The fact that people are profiting in this form of speculation shows that the initial price is too low. The manufacturer can benefit from this knowledge and increase the initial price, which will result in a higher profit for them and decreased speculation, since there would be more risk.

Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is that there is no problem with reselling these keys. If the manufacturer was really concerned about this they could either raise prices or put a cap on the amount of keycaps sold to one person at a time.

[keyboardlover]

Why? Are they only good because you have them and other people don't?

No, because they are special. They're freaking hand-made!

I am. I don't care that I "missed" them. I care about people buying to sell. It is hard to have a conversation with you when you try and change it into another one. It's what politicians do, don't answer the question just raise a new one then ask you to answer it.

My point is that, your "issue" is a non-issue. The only issue, is with you.

[RiGS]

Once you have the mold. It's no longer matter if it's handmade or not...
It is just expensive plastic at that point.

[Hazborgufen]

Not sure when I said it is my right to buy the keys at the price I want.
Do you seriously think there is NOTHING wrong with people buying these keycaps to resell them for profit?

Here is something that in my opinion is the most relevant to this case and I will leave this dicussion off at this :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticket_resale#Legal_responses

It is ILLEGAL. Admittedly though, it is still ubiquitous and will never fully disappear.

Uhh... no it isn't? Your own link doesn't support your statement.

Also, comparing the resale of a durable good to the resale of a ticket to a one-time event isn't exactly apples to apples.

[RiGS]

Adding different dyes to the plastic and sell it as uber limited, and you invite a lot of angry people.

[RiGS]

No, I did it because my white keys were slippery.
Also it is no longer that limited, and was sold for a pretty expensive price to start with.

[whiskerBox]

This thread is out of control:der:.

The simple fact is that if you don't support the resale of CC's caps then don't buy them. For some people this is the only way that they can get them due to working conditions or whatever.

[sordna]

I am sick of people buying up all the click clack keys to sell at 5x the original price. What ever happened to a community helping each other rather than exploiting? I mustn't be the only one that feels this way. I am not saying it shouldn't be aloud, I'm just saying it is poor practice.

The problem is with buyers. Why would anyone be willing to pay more than say $5 for a single keycap is beyond me. And what's the deal with all the skulls, that's just tasteless IMO. What do keyboards have to do with human body parts? What's next, femurs and collarbones? How about soft tissue organs like livers and pancreas? Let them sell those silly keycaps for milions of dollars, who cares.

[BiNiaRiS]

All click clack needs to do is refuse to sell his caps to people that just flip them. That would get rid of a huge percentage of the problem. The other problem is people that want to own every single one and never use them. I'm 100% supportive of people collecting them, but it does make it really hard for the few of us that just want a specific few to actually use.

[demik]

What I'm not a fan of is the same people buying up all the clickclacks.

I tried selling mine to people that I know didn't have any. But at the time I was more desperate for cash than spreading them around.


We are a community of hoarders.

[keyboardlover]

Well I do think it makes sense if they are limited to one per customer...I thought they already were tho.

[sordna]

Here's the best solution:
Anyone tempted to buy a keycap and is frustrated by the profiteering, if it's more than $5, give the money to charity instead. You'll be doing good, you'll feel better, and your keyboard will type just the same.

[Mazora]

No, because they are special. They're freaking hand-made!



My point is that, your "issue" is a non-issue. The only issue, is with you.

It's true.

[guilleguillaume]

The problem is that you guys are all concerned about these people buying keys. But you're not taking responsibility for the fact that YOU missed out on them and it's your choice whether to buy them second-hand or not!

It is not your "right" to have a key at the price that YOU want.

Is easy to say that when you don't have to stay looking at Geekhack at 3:00-4:00 am just because you know everybody from USA will get them in few minutes and resell them at ridicolous prices. Is easy to say that when you  have the chance to buy them directly from Elite Keyboards without having to deal before with his stupid shipping price or asking for some kind of solution trough email while everybody is buying the keys. A lot of people from USA are getting the monopoly over Click Clack keycaps and are making profit of them, well I only have bad words for this.

If people had the money I'm sure they would buy every keyboard at Elite Keyboards and resell them at higher prices LOL

If people are not going to keep them just don't buy them and help people to get at least the chance to have them, I thought this was a friendly community. The classifieds subforum has become home of stalking people waiting to buy things and then resell them for higher prices...this should stop because is growing like a cancer.

I thought this was a great community time ago but nowadays it has become the home of profiteers and people trying to exploit Click Clack's work and some others. It's just disgusting that Click Clack sells his keycaps at reasonable prices and then 20 minutes later you have to see Threads on the Classifieds asking for the same keycaps like 100$, I find this to be just a lack of principles and disrespect to Click Clack. If I was him I would just stop making keycaps to this kind of people.

I guess I'm a fool to believe that nice people still exists on forums. It's difficult to find them when you keep seeing things like that.

[Hazborgufen]

All click clack needs to do is refuse to sell his caps to people that just flip them. That would get rid of a huge percentage of the problem. The other problem is people that want to own every single one and never use them. I'm 100% supportive of people collecting them, but it does make it really hard for the few of us that just want a specific few to actually use.

How would he do that? Aside from placing a limit on how many can be ordered at once, I doubt he is going to want to spend the time to build a database of keycap resellers.

The next question is why would he do that? What benefit is there to selling them slowly over time rather than selling them all at once?

What people do with their keycaps is their business. They can collect them, use them, or melt them down in some sort of occult ceremony.

[czarek]

This is America.  The home of Adam Smith.

And the recession. Haha.

[sordna]

The classifieds subforum has become home of stalking people waiting to buy things and then resell them for higher prices...this should stop because is growing like a cancer.

I thought this was a great community time ago but nowadays it has become the home of profiteers and people trying to exploit Click Clack's work and some others. It's just disgusting that Click Clack sells his keycaps at reasonable prices and then 20 minutes later you have to see Threads on the Classifieds asking for the same keycaps like 100$, I find this to be just a lack of principles and disrespect to Click Clack.

Again the problem is with BUYERS. The solution lies 100% in the buyers' hands.

DON'T BUY the stupid keycaps if they are sold more than the original price. If the money is burning a hole in your pocket, give it to the Red Cross, or your local food back or something. Whatever you do DON'T BUY THEM. That's the only way the profiteers will stop buying and reselling.

[RiGS]

Is easy to say that when you don't have to stay looking at Geekhack at 3:00-4:00 am just because you know everybody from USA will get them in few minutes and resell them at ridicolous prices. Is easy to say that when you  have the chance to buy them directly from Elite Keyboards without having to deal before with his stupid shipping price or asking for some kind of solution trough email while everybody is buying the keys. A lot of people from USA are getting the monopoly over Click Clack keycaps and are making profit of them, well I only have bad words for this.

If people had the money I'm sure they would buy every keyboard at Elite Keyboards and resell them at higher prices LOL

If people are not going to keep them just don't buy them and help people to get at least the chance to have them, I thought this was a friendly community. The classifieds subforum has become home of stalking people waiting to buy things and then resell them for higher prices...this should stop because is growing like a cancer.

I thought this was a great community time ago but nowadays it has become the home of profiteers and people trying to exploit Click Clack's work and some others. It's just disgusting that Click Clack sells his keycaps at reasonable prices and then 20 minutes later you have to see Threads on the Classifieds asking for the same keycaps like 100$, I find this to be just a lack of principles and disrespect to Click Clack. If I was him I would just stop making keycaps to this kind of people.

I guess I'm a fool to believe that nice people still exists on forums. It's difficult to find them when you keep seeing things like that.

It is nice to see that there are decent geekhackers still out there.

[RiGS]

Again the problem is with BUYERS. The solution lies 100% in the buyers' hands.

DON'T BUY the stupid keycaps if they are sold more than the original price. If the money is burning a hole in your pocket, give it to the Red Cross, or your local food back or something. Whatever you do DON'T BUY THEM. That's the only way the profiteers will stop buying and reselling.

I guess it still won't help. Rich people just breath different air. The only way to stop this is to stand up against this.

[fossala]

It is nice to see that there are decent geekhackers still out there.

There are a lot of nice geekhackers, there are just a few that aren't. I wish the people here just to make money off other members would GTFO.

[hcry4]

Oh man. You'll probably flip your **** if anyone ever trades a keyboard for a keycap.

[keyboardlover]

The issues Europeans are having are timezone-specific and would happen to ANYONE not in Click Clack's timezone.

This could be solved by simply emailing ClickClack and asking him to offer keys at other timezones.

[Hazborgufen]

I guess it still won't help. Rich people just breath different air. The only way to stop this is to stand up against this.

Touchtypists of the world, unite!

A perfectly reasonable solution was posted by sordna, that people should not buy these keycaps at inflated prices. You then complain that this action won’t work. Then you suggest that we “Stand up to this.” In what way should we stand up? Maybe by… not buying the keycaps at an inflated price? Oh wait, you just dismissed that idea because “I guess it still won't help.” I don’t know man, I guess violence is the answer?

In all seriousness, what are you smoking? You are posting in a thread about luxury KEYCAPS, in a forum dedicated to keyboards that regularly cost over $100 and complaining to people who most likely have more than one of these keyboards, and you are angry about rich people? Really?

[keyboardlover]

In all seriousness, what are you smoking?

And where can I get some?

I know a guy who complains about rich people a lot too. Claims he never has any money.

Funny thing, because he ALWAYS has w**d.

[hcry4]

And where can I get some?

I know a guy who complains about rich people a lot too. Claims he never has any money.

Funny thing, because he ALWAYS has w**d.

Wow. The auto-censoring really sucks.

[RiGS]

Touchtypists of the world, unite!

A perfectly reasonable solution was posted by sordna, that people should not buy these keycaps at inflated prices. You then complain that this action won’t work. Then you suggest that we “Stand up to this.” In what way should we stand up? Maybe by… not buying the keycaps at an inflated price? Oh wait, you just dismissed that idea because “I guess it still won't help.” I don’t know man, I guess violence is the answer?

In all seriousness, what are you smoking? You are posting in a thread about luxury KEYCAPS, in a forum dedicated to keyboards that regularly cost over $100 and complaining to people who most likely have more than one of these keyboards, and you are angry about rich people? Really?

Are you a troll?

I said it won't work because richer people would still buy it. I have no problems with richer people, but I do have a problem with profiteers.
My solution is to pick on members with such a profiteer behaviour. It would likely discourage folks selling keys at ridiculous prices to some extent.
This thread is good for starting.
Also I suggested that ClickClack should increase the price of his keys to begin with, or make them mass produced. Either way would work.

[Hazborgufen]

Just to clarify, I'm not standing up for rich people necessarily. Nor am I really standing up for these resellers. I'm sure they're all the scum of the earth. My point is, getting this worked up about keycaps and then launching into diatribes about society's faults, the rich, socialism, capitalism, basic economics, etc. is really astounding. I mean seriously, it's a keycap shaped like a skull. It's a luxury item not a microcosm of society.

[RiGS]

Nope it is not a luxury item. It is keycap originally sold for 9 bucks.

[Quarzac]

Having been raised in a family fed by a small business and a country driven by capitalism, I'm inclined to disagree with some of the people here. I view my personal financial management as a business. If I have an opportunity to make money because that door is open for me, I will often walk through it, unless the investment is unjustifiable. When I have the opportunity to purchase something that I know will have a excellent profit margin, I will do so. As Ripster tries to make clear with his graph, the demand is out there, and I then have the supply. I will take advantage of that. I don't view it as exploitation; I am in no way forcing the buyer to purchase the caps from me. They are doing so of their own volition.

Sordna was definitely on to something when he suggested that those who are angered by the inflated prices should not purchase them, but likewise they are correct in that it will have a minimal effect because they cannot stop those who are not irked by the pricing. If change was to be enacted, they would need to unite and boycott resellers. However, a key aspect of successful boycotting is united belief in the cause, and due to the exclusivity of the caps, that would definitely be hard to achieve.

I personally don't care for the skull caps, and have not bought any because of it, even though I know the market is there. I don't have the finances to invest, even with an almost definite return, so I don't. Would I if the opportunity presented itself and all prerequisites were fulfilled? Most likely. While I agree that the idea of price hiking can be "ethically wrong" as someone put it, I feel that only applies to bare necessities, or things that are basic human rights. A keycap? I'm going to do what is best for me.

[Hazborgufen]

Are you a troll?

I said it won't work because richer people would still buy it. I have no problems with richer people, but I do have a problem with profiteers.
My solution is to pick on members with such a profiteer behaviour. It would likely discourage folks selling keys at ridiculous prices to some extent.
This thread is good for starting.
Also I suggested that ClickClack should increase the price of his keys to begin with, or make them mass produced. Either way would work.

We aren’t talking about profiteering on the rice crop and causing a famine. We aren’t talking about profiteering of water supplies that are causing a drought. We aren’t talking about the military industrial complex and how it profiteers off of war and misery.

No no! You’re angry about profiteers over a luxury commodity. A skull shaped keycap. Seriously?! Maybe I’m the one being trolled.

As to your last point about ClickClack raising prices, I wholly agree. In fact, these profiteers are the ones he can thank for all the extra money he will make doing so, as they are the ones who took the financial risk to help determine what prices the market will bear! See how that works?

[reaper]

CC has spoken.  Submit your stories, people.

[RiGS]

We aren’t talking about profiteering on the rice crop and causing a famine. We aren’t talking about profiteering of water supplies that are causing a drought. We aren’t talking about the military industrial complex and how it profiteers off of war and misery.

No no! You’re angry about profiteers over a luxury commodity. A skull shaped keycap. Seriously?! Maybe I’m the one being trolled.

As to your last point about ClickClack raising prices, I wholly agree. In fact, these profiteers are the ones he can thank for all the extra money he will make doing so, as they are the ones who took the financial risk to help determine what prices the market will bear! See how that works?

Nope I'm angry about the greedy behavior causing damage to this community, what you probably cannot grasp as a new member....

[Hazborgufen]

Nope it is not a luxury item. It is keycap originally sold for 9 bucks.

Really? A skull shaped keycap isn't a luxury item? Your $100 keyboard won't work without one?

While I agree that the idea of price hiking can be "ethically wrong" as someone put it, I feel that only applies to bare necessities, or things that are basic human rights. A keycap? I'm going to do what is best for me.

Quarzac knows what’s up.

[RiGS]

Now it's clear that you don't value art, and you are not a keyboard enthusiast.
Even worse this community means **** to you.

[mehkat1974]

I am kind of on the fence with this one.
Agree with some of the points on both sides. There is some shameless profiteering going on and I have paid top dollar for some of the caps. However, I have also been a bit conscientious with my purchases - I have only bought from ppl that have been here for a while and appear to be genuine collectors that have had the caps for a while (like the first run of tri-colours). It does annoy me when caps that were just released pop up in the classified section 2 days later at 4x the price... I won't buy them. I am new to geekhack and the way the sales forum operates is a bit weird too, there is very little transparency, but again, it's up to me if I want to participate or not.

If you don't approve then don't buy it, if enough ppl feel the same way then the price will come down.
If you do buy one however let's say for 100 bucks and this continues then you will always be able to sell it on for more than you paid for it.

Also I really hope he doesn't start mass producing them, regardless of the price these caps are desirable because they are produced in limited runs.

[Hazborgufen]

Nope I'm angry about the greedy behavior causing damage to this community, what you probably cannot grasp as a new member....

Ouch, my delicate sensibilities!

I’ve been part of several communities that revolve around niche hobbies and whatnot. One thing that is very common amongst almost all of them is that something is always “damaging to the community.” Then discussion always seems to get heated up and people start to miss the forest for the trees.

The truth is that the people who want these keys are able to get them. The person who is making these keys is getting paid for them, and in the future might get paid even more than he used to. Seems to me that the community is just fine. I’m guessing that “damaging to the community” in this case really just means “I can’t get what I want for the price I want.”

Now it's clear that you don't value art, and you are not a keyboard enthusiast.
Even worse this community means **** to you.

It is true that I’m new to this hobby, so you got that one correct, though you are wrong about how I feel about this community.

Finally, to think that I don’t value art because of a discussion over a skull keycap is adorable. I do want one though, if the price is right.

[RiGS]

There were free giveaway contests in the past, but seeing how the winner just sold the prize for profit discourage members to contribute.

[whiskerBox]

This thread is useless without names of the offenders.

Burn the witches :mad2: (jk I don't care... at all)

[Hazborgufen]

Listen, I can kind of understand why someone might be upset. But the reality is that nobody is doing anything wrong. This issue will always come up, especially for anyone in a niche hobby with products that are released in limited quantities.

[RiGS]

Clickclack sells his keycaps for lower prices probably for a good reason. Seeing how some members take advantage of that and make profit that they don't deserve is just wrong.
I'm sorry if you really can't get it.

[RiGS]

I'm sure if he cared about your chart, he wouldn't pursuit of arts.

[Gin]

There's nothing wrong with profiteering from an objective point of view.

But at the same time, you have to balance the objectivity of the action and the subjectivity of social situations. You can't just go through everything with just one of those in mind.

We are a small community, camping CC's posts for chances to profit on his keys is not a sensible thing to do. You definitely can argue your action with objectivity, but it's not the whole picture.

[Hazborgufen]

Clickclack sells his keycaps for lower prices probably for a good reason. Seeing how some members take advantage of that and make profit that they don't deserve is just wrong.
I'm sorry if you really can't get it.

Clearly demand is such that he should increase his prices. This would put more money in his pocket and discourage speculation. As it currently stands, the economics are behaving just as should be expected. I'm sorry if you really can't get it.

[Hazborgufen]

Actually economic theory states he should just adjust his price.
(Attachment Link) 36292[/ATTACH]

Beat me to it!

[RiGS]

The problem is you came here and care about economics while disrespecting the choice of the man who made those keycaps you desire.

[kriminal]

QQ thread, you dont like the prices.. dont buy.. thats all...

[guilleguillaume]

Clearly demand is such that he should increase his prices. This would put more money in his pocket and discourage speculation. As it currently stands, the economics are behaving just as should be expected. I'm sorry if you really can't get it.

So after reading you I guess that you find this like a good way to act here on Geekhack making profit of Click Clack's work:

"Toxic Green Cherry MX Skull: Current highest offer $100 - Anonymous
Painful Red Cherry MX Skull: Current highest offer $85 - Anonymous
Vader Cherry MX: Current highest offer $100 - Anonymous
Candy Corn esc key Cherry MX: Current highest offer $45 - dr_disciple
[....]

I will assume your offer does not include shipping unless you specify otherwise"

Seriously without shipping and the profit is like 86$.

I'm going to say something: Click Clack you should stop making keycaps.

They are making like 86$ without paying any taxes, without paying paypal fees... I mean what's wrong with you people? He trusted on this community time ago, he stoped making keycaps for a while and when he comes back we found that people are here just to earn a lot of money from his work. I found this to be a joke, a bad one to be honest. And I supose he won't say anything about that but I don't think he approves that.

Oh and is not a that I want those keycaps because I already have some but If I pass them I'm not going to enter this game people started.

I don't like to judge anyone or point them with the finger but just the last thread about that Ripster: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?25500-Various-ClickClack-Skulls-Vader-Candy-Corn-ESC-key!!-CherryMX

I remember 2-3 weeks ago someone sold in the classifieds some candy arrows and other keycaps without making any profit like that even if they were 4 keycaps. Just put a damn price and stop making auctions, then we will see if you're here to make some profit or to recover your money back.

[keyboardlover]

\Grabs popcorn

[Hazborgufen]

Again, if the market will bear a higher price, then ClickClack can charge the higher price. He will make more money and discourage speculation. If he doesn't, then this situation is inevitable.

I will not pay the insane markup for the skull key cap, but it is fine if someone else will. You have no right to tell someone what they can do with their property. Likewise, once ClickClack sells the keycap to someone, he no longer has a right to tell them what they can do with it.

If he in fact dislikes the profiteering, then I would respect this and I wouldn't go into business profiteering off of his work. But that's just me and it's my choice. Nobody else has to follow it.

[cactux]

I am not in fabor of reselling cc keycaps for such prices.

Nobody seted the rules here regarding, the resold conditions.
I do not think is fear to criticizes those sellers, because of lack of such resold conditions.

We need to propose solutions ( resold conditions) from future auctions in GH

[RiGS]

If he in fact dislikes the profiteering, then I would respect this and I wouldn't go into business profiteering off of his work. But that's just me and it's my choice. Nobody else has to follow it.

Now you are starting to get it.
Indeed they have every right to do it, but we have the right to pick on it.
Time to move on.

[Gin]

Just imagine how Van Gogh feels!

Oh wait.

He's dead.

*

[RiGS]

*

WTF is wrong with you?

[Gin]

It was a joke, come on.

Maybe in really poor taste though, I'll delete that.

[keyboardlover]

With every post in this thread the price of all my rare keycaps has increased by $100.

You don't even WANT to know how much my cherry corp red esc key is worth now...

[cactux]

WTF is wrong with you?

What is may tried to said is that. There will not be not way to control such selling prices.

[Hazborgufen]

Just imagine how Van Gogh feels!

Oh wait.

He's dead.

He wouldn't have heard about it anyway...

[RiGS]

That's a good one.

[Hazborgufen]

That's a good one.

Thanks!

[BiNiaRiS]

If click clack simply took requests to make caps for say $40-$50 for any cap he has ever made, that would give people the ability to buy the exact ones they want at a higher price directly from him.

It would also prevent anyone from spending more than that on the secondary market. Its the limited runs of these keys that is causing the problem.

[RiGS]

That's a good idea, but I think he is way too busy to make custom keys on request.
I think something similar to a group buy is more doable.

[JimBobMorris]

Oh wait, you did.


dr_disciple

JimBobMorris

They look like legit Geekhack members to me.

Thanks, I like to think I'm a legit member.

They are making like 86$ without paying any taxes, without paying paypal fees...

This is a moot point. Are you saying I should be paying more taxes and paypal fees? What does this have to do with anything?

 I mean what's wrong with you people? He trusted on this community time ago, he stoped making keycaps for a while and when he comes back we found that people are here just to earn a lot of money from his work. I found this to be a joke, a bad one to be honest. And I supose he won't say anything about that but I don't think he approves that.

From what I gather from a lot of people who are opposed to selling these at a higher price than they initially costed is that these people don't want complete control over the product that they purchase.
They would rather be dictated morals and rules related to buying and selling said item by the manufacturer of said item afterwards.
I find this just plain ridiculous.

I don't see anything wrong with selling the items that I OWN at the price of their perceived value.
At this point actually Id like ClickClack himself to say what he thinks of this as I'm curious to know where he stands. Obviously I don't mean any disrespect to him by simply selling a product that he made at the price of it's perceived value.

Also I'd like to note that I did not sell all of my clickclack keys nor do I plan on it,
 
But for the ones I am selling/did sell why should I not profit off of them?
We are talking about valuable items that I personally have ownership of.

If you had a rare car that you initially purchased for a small sum and then the time comes to sell it; are you really saying you would sell it to another owner at the same price you paid?
This simply leaves them to potentially profit off of your blissful thinking.

[REVENGE]

IMO, cleaver > prick.

[whiskerBox]

It is not unethical to allow the market to determine the price of a good. All of this fuss will do nothing. Well it might piss off CC to the point where he quits making them which is bull****. I hope he doesn't take this crap seriously. The fun part about getting and collecting these keys is that they are expensive and hard to get. I have spent entire days camping out in the virtual clackfactory so that I did not miss a sale, but that just makes me appreciate my keys even more and if someone else doesn't want to do that and has to pay more for the same key then thats their fault. This isn't a communist keyboard forum we have a free market!

[demik]

With every post in this thread the price of all my rare keycaps has increased by $100.

You don't even WANT to know how much my cherry corp red esc key is worth now...

oh god, you're turning into the one person you hate.

[mehkat1974]

It is not unethical to allow the market to determine the price of a good. All of this fuss will do nothing. Well it might piss off CC to the point where he quits making them which is bull****.

Why on earth would he do that? It's great for him that the caps have become so valuable. The smart thing to do would be to continue releasing limited runs and let the value increase.
I have only been into kb and on gh for a short time and in that time the value of the caps has increased, and I hope it continues to do so. I think what ppl are annoyed about is that others have seen an opportunity to buy these and sell them on immediately to make a fast buck. It's annoying, but it's inevitable.

I have also camped out for days on EK and ended up missing out, but it's just bad luck. If I then have to pay 40 to get the cap off someone else well so be it, I've made that decision. I also know that if I fall on hard times I will at the very least be able to recoup what I paid for them. I much prefer this to CC suddenly releasing 10,000 caps, and I don't think he would be that stupid either.

[Greenbean]

oh god, you're turning into the one person you hate.

qft

[keyboardlover]

oh god, you're turning into the one person you hate.

qft

Jeez, NOBODY can take a joke??

And for the record, I don't hate anyone on this forum.

I wish nothing but peace & love to my GH bros and hoes.

[demik]

you're right, hate is a strong word.

somebody you REALLY dislike

[mehkat1974]

hate is not a strong word it just means dislike intensely
loathe and despise are strong words

[Zamorph]

KBL is like his FOIL.  theres some lingo for any of you readers.

[keyboardlover]

somebody you REALLY dislike

Patrick Monahan?



The next time I hear "Soul Sister" I'm going to punch a bunny.

[demik]

now i have lady marmalade stuck in my head, the new version.

[keyboardlover]

Just look at that smug smirk...

[ricercar]

Don't say this thread is worthless. It's quite motivational. Now I want to sell my ClickClack keys in this thread for absurd profit.

[Hazborgufen]

Thanks, I like to think I'm a legit member.


This is a moot point. Are you saying I should be paying more taxes and paypal fees? What does this have to do with anything?



From what I gather from a lot of people who are opposed to selling these at a higher price than they initially costed is that these people don't want complete control over the product that they purchase.
They would rather be dictated morals and rules related to buying and selling said item by the manufacturer of said item afterwards.
I find this just plain ridiculous.

I don't see anything wrong with selling the items that I OWN at the price of their perceived value.
At this point actually Id like ClickClack himself to say what he thinks of this as I'm curious to know where he stands. Obviously I don't mean any disrespect to him by simply selling a product that he made at the price of it's perceived value.

Also I'd like to note that I did not sell all of my clickclack keys nor do I plan on it,
 
But for the ones I am selling/did sell why should I not profit off of them?
We are talking about valuable items that I personally have ownership of.

If you had a rare car that you initially purchased for a small sum and then the time comes to sell it; are you really saying you would sell it to another owner at the same price you paid?
This simply leaves them to potentially profit off of your blissful thinking.

See this post? It is full of truth. Nothing is wrong with it.

[fossala]

Wow this thread carried on a lot after I went to sleep. I wish CC commented on his opinions. I just want to say I don't think control over the classified is the way to go, I just think selling things that another member did for "community" is bad form.

[poxeclipse]

Hi guys, happy new year.
Where I can get a set of lasered keycaps for Cherry G84-4100PPAUS ? Or two.
I have 3 G84-4100PPAUS and the keys are worn off on them, I want to replace them.
Thank you

[woody]

Where I can get a set of lasered keycaps for Cherry G84-4100PPAUS ? Or two.
I have 3 G84-4100PPAUS and the keys are worn off on them, I want to replace them.

Nowhere, as far as I know. Brand new lasered G84-4100 pop up now and then for cheap on eBay and similar places.

[poxeclipse]

Thanks, woody.
qtan5370 has a post on eBay, wrt color-kaps gaming keyboards Cherry, for $2 with shippement $3. What does it mean ? How can I find more about them ?

[fossala]

What as a troll or as the #1 keyboard expert?

[sordna]

LOL

Hey ripster, can you please shrink that sig back? It's unergonomic and aggravates the RSI having to spin the scrollwheel so many times to read a thread.

[Barn]

Noob question: What makes these keys so expensive? Out of production? Give the meaning of life? Or just uber-rare?

[cactux]

^ short production, design, quality

[eth0s]

I won the #1 Poll.
(Attachment Link) 37252[/ATTACH]

The Troll Poll is here.  Vote FOR ME!
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?25737-The-OFFICIAL-2012-Troll-Poll!

I'm going to buy ripster.  And then sell him off to the Chinese on Taobao.

[fossala]

My son is ginger and I keep telling him I will sell him because he is a rare model.