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geekhack Marketplace => Interest Checks => Topic started by: PuNkShoO on Mon, 10 July 2023, 15:16:10

Title: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: PuNkShoO on Mon, 10 July 2023, 15:16:10
(https://i.imgur.com/3aqNYLv.png]http://)

On the most beautiful of days, you’ve gathered together with your closest friends and family for a delightful summer picnic. The air is filled with the sweet scent of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers as you spread out your picnic blankets and set up a colorful array of food and drinks. Laughter and lively conversations filled the air as you played games like frisbee and cornhole, with the sounds of friendly competition adding to the joyful ambiance. You indulged in an assortment of delicious homemade dishes, from refreshing fruits to mouthwatering grilled burgers, and washed down with your favorite summer beverages. As the sun begins to set, you huddle around a crackling bonfire, sharing stories and toasting marshmallows for gooey s'mores. It was a carefree day of laughter, good food, and cherished moments with friends, leaving all of you with memories that would be treasured for years to come.



Heya! PuNkShoO here again with my final design of the year. If you’re unfamiliar, I am the designer of the Cream Soda, Root Beer Float, Melody, and Runner switches. Today I would like to introduce you to Summertime, a switch premise heavily built around community input and designed to capture a special spot in the hobby which I have not been able to in my journey thus far.

Summertime is inspired by fond memories growing up spending time on my Memaw's farm in the summers with my cousins and extended family. Every year we'd have a big get together with lots of good grub, fireworks, farm chores, and plenty of wild shenanigans. One of my favorite things about those summers was picking fresh watermelon from the garden, sitting on the back porch on a hot summer day with a nice breeze and enjoying a well-deserved slice while surrounded by family.

The colorway is not meant to precisely represent a watermelon but takes inspiration from the color palette and combines it with other fond summer memories such as Koolaid, picnics, grapefruit, strawberry shortcake, and more.

Summertime features a full polished rail Milky top and bottom with molds being custom polished just for this project. The switch also brings the Ink material in the form of a lightly lubricated and polished 3.8mm travel linear stem paired with a dual stage 63g long spring. The goal is to provide a nostalgic feeling and sounding quality linear with a bright sound profile akin to BCPs (black cherry pies) and a crisp bottom out at a mid-tier price point.


Switch Specs:

Linear
Polished Milky Top Housing
Polished Gateron Long Pole Ink Material Stem
Polished Milky Bottom Housing
63g Dual-stage Long Spring
3.8mm Travel

Expected Price: 50-55c


Interest Check Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1L02M5caR3mAFpUc3Y533-uHw41DxSm5RduEM9ZbGBtU)

Available for pre-purchase in August 2023

Expected fulfillment by late Q3 2023


Vendor List:

US: Keebhut (https://keebhut.com/products/pre-order-gateron-summertime)
CA: RNDKBD (https://rndkbd.com/products/gateron-summertime-switches)
EU: Keygem (https://keygem.com/products/pre-order-gateron-summertime-switch-10pcs)
UK: SerpentKeys (https://www.serpentkeys.co.uk/products/gateron-summertime-switches)
CN: MoYu.studio (https://moyustudio.world/)
VN: Shibay Mech (https://www.facebook.com/shibaymech/)
SG: Qwertyqop (https://qwertyqop.com/)
PH: Squishy Types (https://shopee.ph/squishytypes)
AUS: KeebzNCables (https://www.keebzncables.com)
...more to come


Renders (https://imgur.com/a/FMYwLj4)


(https://i.imgur.com/16jX7Jy.png]http://)

(https://i.imgur.com/g78d2Q6.png]http://)

(https://i.imgur.com/XPocidW.png]http://)



Photos (https://imgur.com/a/qX2GvBk)

(https://i.imgur.com/Erq5fW6.jpg]http://)

(https://i.imgur.com/ba4jRVu.jpg]http://)

(https://i.imgur.com/bDog8QF.jpg]http://)

Force Curve

Coming Soon!

FAQ

Will you offer these unlubed?
No. The intention of these switches is to be amazing out of the box/bag and require no extra work to enjoy much like the Cream Sodas. The factory lubrication is fairly consistent and is only lightly applied on the rails to deliver a smooth experience without feeling overlubricated.

Is there going to be fancy collector packaging?
That is entirely up to vendors. At the moment there is no plan for packaging but, as with all my designs, I am having a sticker design commissioned so that if vendors opt to purchase and distribute them they can.

Is this a group buy or in-stock?
These will be in-stock just like my other switches. So long as these are received well Gateron and I will make sure that all our will have better availability to vendors to reduce gaps in stock availability.



Addressing product delivery delays:

tl;dr: There was an error at the Gateron factory severely affecting the quality of the end product. QC fell short and a subpar product was delivered to vendors. Gateron owned the mistake thoroughly and promptly. They are in-process of making it right. Timelines have been extended 5-6 weeks and we are working internally to discuss preorder handling, vendor QC, and more. Additional discussions related to these events can be found in my Discord server.

What happened?

Several of our vendors and I received our Summertime switch orders yesterday. It goes without saying that we were all very excited, and some of us even shared photos of the deliveries with all of you, anticipating that you would have them in your hands this week and the next. However, last night, one of our vendors discovered something troubling during the quality control process, which sparked a surge of coordination among all of us to ensure that we weren't delivering a subpar product. As we went through our switches, it became evident that a significant percentage of the Summertime switches exhibited varying degrees of tolerance issues in the top housing. This, in turn, led to a less than desirable keypress experience. Consequently, the overall product delivery fell significantly short of the original design intentions, except for a few outliers which could be seen as "unusable".

Gateron's Response:

I promptly reached out to Gateron, and their response was swift. They advised us to halt the delivery process and assured us that they would identify and rectify the error. Replacement switches, which adhere to my standards, will be sent. Their exact words were, "...we can't give the bad switch to the customer..." and I must commend them for upholding this principle. In a hobby where accountability is sometimes overlooked, it's refreshing to see a manufacturer that has consistently maintained high standards of quality and consistency take responsibility for their oversight. Following this incident, Gateron proactively contacted all the affected vendors, without requiring my direct involvement, to notify them of the issue. I am personally impressed by this demonstration of their integrity.

Resolution and Timeline Adjustments:

Now, what implications does this have for our delivery timelines? During the initial interest check (IC) phase, our goal was to ensure that these switches would be in your hands by late August or early September at the latest. The IC explicitly mentioned "late Q3". Our progress was on track until these recent developments came to light. While it remains plausible that replacement switches could be dispatched to the vendors by the end of September, I would estimate that the likelier timeline for receiving them would be early Q4. Thankfully, Gateron employs mold markings on their molds, enabling them to accurately identify problematic molds, address the issue, and provide us all with the expected high-quality product. Given this context, I believe it's imperative to afford them ample time to rectify the situation. The rough production timeline encompasses a minimum of three weeks, followed by shipping times to the vendors and subsequently to you, the customers. Please rest assured that we will diligently monitor the corrected production process and any associated fixes. As soon as we receive updates, we will ensure that you are kept informed.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your patience and understanding in this matter. While I acknowledge that this situation is less than ideal, I can unequivocally assure you that the design's worthiness is underlined by the positive coverage we have garnered so far from our esteemed partner creators.



Reviews and Coverage

Alexotos (https://www.twitch.tv/alexotos)
Captain Sterling (https://www.instagram.com/captain.sterling/?hl=en)
Georen (https://www.twitch.tv/georen)
Maker Mods (https://www.youtube.com/c/MakerMods)
Nainaigogo (https://www.twitch.tv/nainaigogo)
Staceysmash (https://www.twitch.tv/staceysmash)
Xinxinwong (https://www.twitch.tv/xinxinwong)

...more to come!

Typing Sound Demos

Mode Envoy PC w/ Carbon Fiber Plate

Zonex75 w/ FR4 Plate

Griffin w/ PP Plate
(https://i.imgur.com/csceSXA.png]http://) (https://www.twitch.tv/staceysmash/clip/DistinctPuzzledJalapenoKippa-MgH1Ehi9arcj4Q1o)

MKC75 w/ PC Plate

Space65 w/ FR4 Plate
Staceysmash (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UZUfrRtubEc)


Cycle7 w/ FR4 Plate
[/size]

Avalon Plateless
Xinxinwong (https://www.twitch.tv/xinxinwong/clip/DarkHorribleLlamaRitzMitz-eoVAsQmM8-SE-Unf?filter=clips&range=24hr&sort=time)

...more coming soon!

Content and Other Projects

PuNShoO's Project’s and Links (https://www.linktr.ee/punkshoo)

Join the Discord

(https://i.imgur.com/VPw0zYQ.jpg]http://[url=https://discord.gg/jZqSySGdJx]PuNkShoO's Playground) (https://discord.gg/jZqSySGdJx)

Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: gokving on Mon, 10 July 2023, 17:42:47
Looking forward to more sound tests for this switch. The preliminary ones you have on the Discord definitely make it very exciting.
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: PuNkShoO on Mon, 10 July 2023, 19:29:08
Can't wait to hear what content creators are able to come up with. I will try to get a showcase done for these in the next week.
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: jdenyc on Mon, 10 July 2023, 19:41:14
Looking forward to trying .. Punkshoo hitting it out of the park again
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: codecoffeecode on Mon, 10 July 2023, 23:42:02
Very much looking forward to these! I've been very impressed with the stock Cream Sodas. I appreciate that these switches will be available in stock!
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: Foretump on Tue, 11 July 2023, 20:44:39
I've really been looking forward to it for a long time.
sonic exe (https://sonicexe.io)
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: garrdub on Tue, 11 July 2023, 22:26:17
I'm in.
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: PuNkShoO on Tue, 11 July 2023, 22:59:09
Thank you everyone for the love, vote of confidence, and for participating in the IC!
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: mvxx on Wed, 12 July 2023, 03:32:20
Give me a hell yeah!
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: marcin_nyga on Wed, 12 July 2023, 07:25:03
i need it
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: tactilesbad on Wed, 12 July 2023, 07:54:20
I'll be all over that seeing how amazing cream sodas and root beer floats turned out to be
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: nainaigogo on Thu, 13 July 2023, 09:34:44
Another banger incoming
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: PuNkShoO on Mon, 24 July 2023, 11:13:51
Update content creator and vendor lists!
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: thesky on Sat, 26 August 2023, 10:44:02
Addressing product delivery delays:
More

tl;dr: There was an error at the Gateron factory severely affecting the quality of the end product. QC fell short and a subpar product was delivered to vendors. Gateron owned the mistake thoroughly and promptly. They are in-process of making it right. Timelines have been extended 5-6 weeks and we are working internally to discuss preorder handling, vendor QC, and more. Additional discussions related to these events can be found in my Discord server.

What happened?

Several of our vendors and I received our Summertime switch orders yesterday. It goes without saying that we were all very excited, and some of us even shared photos of the deliveries with all of you, anticipating that you would have them in your hands this week and the next. However, last night, one of our vendors discovered something troubling during the quality control process, which sparked a surge of coordination among all of us to ensure that we weren't delivering a subpar product. As we went through our switches, it became evident that a significant percentage of the Summertime switches exhibited varying degrees of tolerance issues in the top housing. This, in turn, led to a less than desirable keypress experience. Consequently, the overall product delivery fell significantly short of the original design intentions, except for a few outliers which could be seen as "unusable".

Gateron's Response:

I promptly reached out to Gateron, and their response was swift. They advised us to halt the delivery process and assured us that they would identify and rectify the error. Replacement switches, which adhere to my standards, will be sent. Their exact words were, "...we can't give the bad switch to the customer..." and I must commend them for upholding this principle. In a hobby where accountability is sometimes overlooked, it's refreshing to see a manufacturer that has consistently maintained high standards of quality and consistency take responsibility for their oversight. Following this incident, Gateron proactively contacted all the affected vendors, without requiring my direct involvement, to notify them of the issue. I am personally impressed by this demonstration of their integrity.

Resolution and Timeline Adjustments:

Now, what implications does this have for our delivery timelines? During the initial interest check (IC) phase, our goal was to ensure that these switches would be in your hands by late August or early September at the latest. The IC explicitly mentioned "late Q3". Our progress was on track until these recent developments came to light. While it remains plausible that replacement switches could be dispatched to the vendors by the end of September, I would estimate that the likelier timeline for receiving them would be early Q4. Thankfully, Gateron employs mold markings on their molds, enabling them to accurately identify problematic molds, address the issue, and provide us all with the expected high-quality product. Given this context, I believe it's imperative to afford them ample time to rectify the situation. The rough production timeline encompasses a minimum of three weeks, followed by shipping times to the vendors and subsequently to you, the customers. Please rest assured that we will diligently monitor the corrected production process and any associated fixes. As soon as we receive updates, we will ensure that you are kept informed.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your patience and understanding in this matter. While I acknowledge that this situation is less than ideal, I can unequivocally assure you that the design's worthiness is underlined by the positive coverage we have garnered so far from our esteemed partner creators.


Just want to say that I'm glad that you, the vendors, and the manufacturer are all on board for making sure that a quality product gets delivered. This delay must have been a tough decision, but it's very refreshing to see this level of integrity these days. Thank you all for getting ahead of the issue and choosing to make it right.
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: juliday on Sat, 26 August 2023, 12:29:55
excited!
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: drfilco on Sun, 24 December 2023, 22:07:11
Got mine in from Keebhut (US vendor) the other day. Oof.

To KH's credit they warned all of their customers ahead of time that a portion of the batch wasn't good / as-intended and gave the option for a full refund, which I chose to pass on. A much larger portion of my order was bad than they mentioned in that warning (almost all of it), but that's not a shocker and something I accepted as a possibility when I passed on the refund. They also noted this issue only affected the batch sent to Keebhut, so hopefully that's true and everyone else is getting good ones.

The good ones in my bag are really good and indeed represent a fantastic switch design - unfortunately I don't have enough of those to populate a numpad. No complaints on the vendor (or the switch) here, just a little bummed I can't properly try these as-intended just yet.

I am kind of curious what happened here with the Keebhut shipment, since it seemed like Gateron would rather delay than ship bad product - I certainly would have been fine with waiting another month or two longer than all the other vendors for all-good switches, for example.
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: phoenixrage on Fri, 29 December 2023, 15:45:13
I got lucky, I ordered 270 and all mine are fine (I ordered directly from Punkshoo).  Nothing stuck or anything, some felt sluggish, but after using them for a bit they worked in and are fine.  So I assume it was just lube that needed to spread out a bit more. 
Title: Re: [IC] Gateron Summertime Switch
Post by: b21 on Fri, 29 December 2023, 20:23:50
lucky I came across this post. I was about to buy these switches. Shame they dropped the QC on these. :(