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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: rebcabin2 on Fri, 24 October 2014, 07:56:23

Title: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: rebcabin2 on Fri, 24 October 2014, 07:56:23
I'm in shock... There don't seem to be any Leopold keyboards on elitekeyboards site, let alone my all-time favorite the FC660C. I'd better take better care of the one I have ...

Out flew the web and floated wide-
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: SpAmRaY on Fri, 24 October 2014, 07:57:38
Someone mentioned elitekeyboards was dropping some of the brands they used to sell, perhaps leopold was one of them??
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: exitfire401 on Fri, 24 October 2014, 07:58:10
EK moved away from leopold when they decided to start carrying KUL boards. They can still be acquired throu f h qtan or another proxy service though.  :thumb:
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: Flyersfan1 on Fri, 24 October 2014, 07:59:22
I think Elitekeyboards dropped Leopold altogether unfortunately, and replaced at least their MX line with KUL.  If you're really keen on an FC660C, there are some available on ebay, and sometimes pop up in the classifieds here.

edit: exitfire and spamray are much quicker than me.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: a_ak57 on Fri, 24 October 2014, 08:10:15
As mentioned, EK no longer sells Leopold stuff.  I actually sent them an email and they confirmed they will no longer be selling their products, which is a shame.  Importing is obviously still an option, but it's not as convenient/cheap as just buying from EK.
Title: .
Post by: esoomenona on Fri, 24 October 2014, 08:21:36
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Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: dante on Fri, 24 October 2014, 08:31:02
On a related note does anyone know what is going on with KUL?  Still no MX Blues and not a peep about the multi color top case replacements that were promised this summer.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: rebcabin2 on Fri, 24 October 2014, 08:46:49
Perhaps this is evidence that HHKB is better than the FC660C, and EK might have seen that evidence which caused them to drop Leopold altogether.

I like the HHKB, too, but the FC660C fits much :eek: better on top of my Mac Book (the HHKB is narrower and its little legs sometimes trigger the chicklet keys underneath). Running a real kbd on top of my laptop is an absolute requirement for me
Title: .
Post by: esoomenona on Fri, 24 October 2014, 08:49:21
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Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: Novus on Fri, 24 October 2014, 15:05:07
EK got fed up with Leopold
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: keyton on Fri, 24 October 2014, 18:11:19
I got fed up with you.

Anybody know if Elitekeyboards is having Halloween Clickclack sale?
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: paicrai on Fri, 24 October 2014, 18:19:49

I got fed up with you
same, wanna shag?
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: pbtforever on Tue, 28 October 2014, 17:33:05
You can buy on Ebay
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: ideus on Tue, 28 October 2014, 17:46:52
Perhaps this is evidence that HHKB is better than the FC660C, and EK might have seen that evidence which caused them to drop Leopold altogether.

I just cannot see how EK switching suppliers that manufacture multiple keyboard models each should be related with only one particular part number that uses Topre SW.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: Dyslexic on Tue, 28 October 2014, 18:03:59
Perhaps this is evidence that HHKB is better than the FC660C, and EK might have seen that evidence which caused them to drop Leopold altogether.

I just cannot see how EK switching suppliers that manufacture multiple keyboard models each should be related with only one particular part number that uses Topre SW.

Not to mention I've used both and it comes down to preference. I use excel a lot in my day-to-day work, and the dedicated arrow keys are a godsend on this form factor. I also prefer plate-mounted topre to the HHKB's plastic housing. I have 2 FC660Cs and these things are tanks, I wouldn't trade them out for any other topre.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: Hyde on Tue, 28 October 2014, 18:17:29
From what I heard is that it's not EK dropping Leopold, it's more like Leopold want to keep most of their stock inside Korea due to higher demand now that mechanical keyboards are more mainstream.

I'm assuming EK can't just sit there and wait for their limited stocks so they had to find substitutes to sell.

So unfortunately for us getting a FC660C would be harder and probably cost more now.  It one of the best 60% layout at the moment.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: ideus on Tue, 28 October 2014, 23:36:45
From what I heard is that it's not EK dropping Leopold, it's more like Leopold want to keep most of their stock inside Korea due to higher demand now that mechanical keyboards are more mainstream.

I'm assuming EK can't just sit there and wait for their limited stocks so they had to find substitutes to sell.

So unfortunately for us getting a FC660C would be harder and probably cost more now.  It one of the best 60% layout at the moment.

I see the point. I have one sample of the MX version and the 66 layout is terrific for Excel navigation. I will have my upcoming Infinity with arrows and delete keys in the top layer a la 66. Also tilde and escape with dedicated keys.
Title: .
Post by: esoomenona on Wed, 29 October 2014, 09:34:43
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Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: rowdy on Wed, 29 October 2014, 16:49:11
Perhaps this is evidence that HHKB is better than the FC660C, and EK might have seen that evidence which caused them to drop Leopold altogether.

I just cannot see how EK switching suppliers that manufacture multiple keyboard models each should be related with only one particular part number that uses Topre SW.


I just cannot see how you cannot see that EK cannot see that HHKB cannot see that Leopold cannot see.

Leopold cannot see? :eek:
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: ideus on Wed, 29 October 2014, 17:18:12
Perhaps this is evidence that HHKB is better than the FC660C, and EK might have seen that evidence which caused them to drop Leopold altogether.

I just cannot see how EK switching suppliers that manufacture multiple keyboard models each should be related with only one particular part number that uses Topre SW.


I just cannot see how you cannot see that EK cannot see that HHKB cannot see that Leopold cannot see.

Thank you very much for having enlightened us.  :thumb:
Title: .
Post by: esoomenona on Wed, 29 October 2014, 17:20:59
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Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: ideus on Wed, 29 October 2014, 17:27:10
Thank you very much for having enlightened us.  :thumb:

I suppose this means you now can see.

Not yet, but thank you anyway.  :D
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: a_ak57 on Thu, 30 October 2014, 12:49:23
Man, now that I look into buying a 660C the EK loss is more painful.  Cheapest option for a black board is near $250 and the white/mixed ones are even more expensive, whereas EK used to sell the black model for $190 + shipping (which would probably be like $200 flat for me).  And the secondhand market isn't really useful since they seem rather sought after and nobody really sells them often.
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: byker on Thu, 30 October 2014, 12:52:17
I would keep an eye here and /r/mechmarket. I have seen one or two for sale each week. I sold one a few weeks ago for $180
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: a_ak57 on Sat, 01 November 2014, 16:44:55
Well, I have something come to me that isn't supposed to:  a dye-sub FC660C from EK.  You can still access the product pages for leopold stuff (they just removed the links on their site, can use google or browsing history) and out of curiosity I tried to buy one.  Apparently they actually still have some lying around since I not only got through the payment stage but just got a shipping notification.  The pad-printed version does seem to actually be out though, and unfortunately they never did get any of the white version in or I'd have tried that.  Obviously this is YMMV since it could have just been a single board lying around but hey, worth a shot.


either that or I'm going to get a surprise
Title: Re: Leopold & FC660 disappearing?
Post by: shut up on Sun, 02 November 2014, 06:46:32
That's strange, Probably just stopped selling them as others have said?
EBay is probably your best bet if you want one.