geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Interest Checks => Topic started by: frew on Wed, 19 June 2013, 17:39:56
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(Originally posted in the wrong place: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44914.0)
I think it would be really cool to replace F1-F12 with the signs of the zodiac. I didn't realize what I was getting into and emailed SP about it and discovered how expensive it would be to get these on my own. So would anyone else be interested in this? The symbols are
If your browser doesn't render these correctly for whatever reason, check them out on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_symbols#Signs_of_the_zodiac
Since they are so simple it would be cool to get them doubleshot. My keycaps are DSA (got the keycaps from the ergodox keycap massdrop) so I'd prefer to get them that way. I was thinking black keys and orange symbols but really any color would work and maybe we can have it per buyer. Also, we might be able to get more interest if we went with colors that match homestuck (eg aries is maroon, see here (spoilers for homestuckers) http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Aradia_Megido))
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I could get behind this. Do you have any pricing info? And as for different colors, that tends to get messy/expensive pretty quick and it'll be harder to reach MOQ with more options (correct me if I'm wrong here), so I think a simple set or maybe two or three options would be your best bet. Since you want DSA profile, something to match colors of common DSA sets already out there might be a good place to start.
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I have basic pricing info from SP and it's not too bad if we can get enough people. Basically, the first key each is $150 and after that they reduce in price significantly. So going with what you said for simplicity sake, let's say black keys with what "text." Here is the breakdown, not including shipping (no idea how that works in a GB)
price for 1 person: $1,721
price for 5 people: $348
price for 10 people: $177
price for 15 people: $119
price for 25 people: $74
price for 50 people: $38
If more than a handful of people express interest I'll try to figure out shipping and get numbers that are %100 accurate, but I think we can all agree that unless at the very least 10 people are in this is too crazy.
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I have basic pricing info from SP and it's not too bad if we can get enough people. Basically, the first key each is $150 and after that they reduce in price significantly. So going with what you said for simplicity sake, let's say black keys with what "text." Here is the breakdown, not including shipping (no idea how that works in a GB)
price for 1 person: $1,721
price for 5 people: $348
price for 10 people: $177
price for 15 people: $119
price for 25 people: $74
price for 50 people: $38
If more than a handful of people express interest I'll try to figure out shipping and get numbers that are %100 accurate, but I think we can all agree that unless at the very least 10 people are in this is too crazy.
Honestly, you'll need to be in the 50 person range to spark a lot of interest, I predict. A lot, if not all, of the full-set (104 keys) group buys are less than $100. For this set, $177 puts it at ~$15 for a single key. That's a bit crazy to be honest.
What I would suggest (I'm no expert) is to simply list the set at $38 with a MOQ of 50. Gather interest and perhaps go ahead with the buy, but this way people will be more likely to sign up knowing that the most they'll be charged is $38. With the tiered GBs it's a bit of a gamble, but much more reasonable since the molds don't need to be made, so the highest tiers are still do-able. Anyway, given the nature of this set you're trying to get made, I think it'd be best to do an "all or nothing" GB and set an MOQ of 50. My 2 cents.
Oh, and at $38 for the set, I'm interested.
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OK, so I guess based on what HoffmanMyster said this is MOQ 50 and a ~$38 buy, not including shipping. Does it make sense to leave it at that and when ~25 people comment here create the GB post?
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I would be interested. You could even run this past some astrology-boards to gather some more interest.
But it would depend on colours and prices per price-rank, the availability of single caps and #11 being bolts instead of waves. :D
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Turns out there was some corporate interest in these :) Get a set for $25 USD here: http://www.pimpmykeyboard.com/marketplace.php
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Wow I think that was the shortest successful IC I have ever seen. What is your secret?
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My guess is that I got lucky by not picking anything copyrighted, something that makes a good set (12 symbols) and apparently someone at SP just liked the idea in general :)
I'd say there are a lot of other symbols that could be done that would make sense in the same way. The heart, diamond, spade, club; an alien head; hazmat, radioactive, poison warnings, etc.
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My guess is that I got lucky by not picking anything copyrighted, something that makes a good set (12 symbols) and apparently someone at SP just liked the idea in general :)
I'd say there are a lot of other symbols that could be done that would make sense in the same way. The heart, diamond, spade, club; an alien head; hazmat, radioactive, poison warnings, etc.
And there are exactly twelve unique symbols that are familiar to a lot of people, just right for the function row.
Nice set, by the way!
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thanks for these. i am gonna be picking them up soon.
i think they will match well with orange on charcoal set from Sherry. :)
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Hey, congrats on getting this picked up! That's awesome. And $25 is not bad at all!
Great to see these made it to production. :D For that price I may have to pick some up.
(Although, if you ever run another GB, don't expect it to be this easy. :p )
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I'll be interested, and i'm really glad you got the prices worked out because that was insane lol!
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Hey, congrats on getting this picked up! That's awesome. And $25 is not bad at all!
Great to see these made it to production. :D For that price I may have to pick some up.
(Although, if you ever run another GB, don't expect it to be this easy. :p )
I hope they sent him a set for free since they picked it up based on his idea.
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I hope they sent him a set for free since they picked it up based on his idea.
Good point! That would seem appropriate. Hopefully they did.
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Yeah they sent me a free set :) It was especially cool because, as you guys saw, I started a dialogue and basically was hoping this IC would get wildly popular, and then out of nowhere they emailed me back and were like, "we have some good news! some people here are interested in your idea, so how about we make them and give you a full set, as long as you help with placement, sizing, and coloring?" Which of course is awesome anyway because it means I got to pick the colors :D
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I like this idea, and not to go off topic, it makes me think that we should also get a set of roman numerals for numbers 1-0.