So I ended up getting this one and upon picking it up locally as they are literally just down the street from me. It turns out they have a decent sized crate with approx. 20+ of them for quite some time and they ended up putting it by the wayside as they didn't know about the griffin imate to test them with.
Their supervisor wasn't there when I went to pick mine up but from the looks of it and what the employees were expressing, there's a good chance I can start a groupbuy due to my close proximity to them. Probably for a better price too considering they've been around for awhile and there's no need to trans-ship or taxes as they accept $cash$ in person. If you're interested let me know via PM, otherwise you'll find them on ebay as they're planning to do soon*.
They all appear pretty clean with only some yellowing of the case and spacebar for reasons mentioned above. Otherwise, the keycaps are in great condition. Switches are *not* gritty.
Yes these are ex-school district. Newark Unified School District to be exact. But they are by no means abused or used to the ground. The one I bought worked perfectly as is. I could test them all given I have time.
They are engraved on the back with school district information and inventory and some have been written with sharpie on the back as well with school district asset related information.
There are a few cables but most are without cables. But it's common knowledge that you can use a s-video cables in place of ADB cables.
It didn't occur to me in the excitement of one of the employee's showing me the trove of them to take a picture of them until the last minute but they're in the container on the ground:Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/jBmIjte.jpg)
The one I got:Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/PJwlur3.jpg?1)
They are *all* in this condition. None of them are missing caps.
I'll take one, why not?
GeekHack: Why Not?I'll take one, why not?
That's the spirit and kinda what dragged me in too, ha ha.
and a link to the deskthority wiki for some more information on these:
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Desktop_Bus_Keyboard (http://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Desktop_Bus_Keyboard)
How good are orange Alps? I might be in for at least one board if they are superior to Matias tactile switches.
How good are orange Alps? I might be in for at least one board if they are superior to Matias tactile switches.
I believe they are generally considered second only to blue as far as clicky Alps go, but somewhat easier to come by.
I hope I can get in once this actually launches. :eek:
I hope I can get in once this actually launches. :eek:
As mentioned before, I am doing this first come, first served.
There'll be a waitlist if they all get spoken for.
Everybody who has expressed interest whether in this thread or via PM has been noted and their respective quantities desired earmarked considering at the moment there's still some left.
Is shipping to Sweden possible? I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one or two of these.
Is shipping to Sweden possible? I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one or two of these.
It's not going to be cheap at all.
if only iMates were not thrice the price of the keyboard :'(
In preparation of creating the official group buy thread in the respective subforum, I've managed to double check my PM's and this thread for interest expressed by members toward acquiring one or multiple of this board. From that, I've managed to compile up a spreadsheet with googledocs to help me and everybody who's interested here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l51aOkxIvlRdGYxHTw5-cpxLc1Tb1la66UiRGZf-dWA/edit?usp=sharing (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l51aOkxIvlRdGYxHTw5-cpxLc1Tb1la66UiRGZf-dWA/edit?usp=sharing)Nice work. Soon the orange Alps will be mine!!!
Participants listed will be notified with final instructions soon.
The price of the boards will be $17 each + USPS flat rate shipping (2 boards will ship for the same price) + paypal fees
I will finalize shipping prices tomorrow.
Went to the post office today and ran into some bad news. Please read below:
Shipping will be over the $12.65 anticipated. The board is just one column of keys and an edge too long to fit in the medium flat rate box. So close, I know.
After holding up the line, me and the nice post office clerk lady came to the conclusion that the next best alternative to ship 1 board is$13.52on the scale with online discount.
For 2 boards, the large flat rate board game box which is the same price as the large flat rate box of $15.82 with online discount.
It's just like my momma used to tell me, "son, always buy two keyboards. You'll save a ton on shipping and end up with two keyboards."
Went to the post office today and ran into some slightly bad news. Please read below:
Shipping will be over the $12.65 anticipated. The board is just one column of keys and an edge too long to fit in the medium flat rate box. So close, I know.
After holding up the line, me and the nice post office clerk lady came to the conclusion that the next best alternative to ship 1 board is $13.52 on the scale with online discount.
For 2 boards, the large flat rate board game box which is the same price as the large flat rate box of $15.80 with online discount.
I will be posting the official group buy thread and sending out confirmation PM's later today. If you're on the spreadsheet posted above, keep your eyes peeled on your GH inbox and email!
Went to the post office today and ran into some slightly bad news. Please read below:
Shipping will be over the $12.65 anticipated. The board is just one column of keys and an edge too long to fit in the medium flat rate box. So close, I know.
After holding up the line, me and the nice post office clerk lady came to the conclusion that the next best alternative to ship 1 board is $13.52 on the scale with online discount.
For 2 boards, the large flat rate board game box which is the same price as the large flat rate box of $15.80 with online discount.
I will be posting the official group buy thread and sending out confirmation PM's later today. If you're on the spreadsheet posted above, keep your eyes peeled on your GH inbox and email!
Have you checked out the regional boxes or the secondary versions of the boxes that you can sometimes only find online? Sometimes those allow for cheaper shipping.
I was actually expecting the $16 shipping, but just seeing if you might still be able to do cheaper.
The Made in Taiwan A9M0330 type are white SMK switches and double-shot keycaps. The Made in Japan 658-4081 type are orange Alps + dyesubs.
If jacobulous is right, getting white Alps also means getting doubleshot keycaps. That's a pretty good trade-off. And white Alps are not bad at all. I have a board with clicky white Alps and I like them a lot.The Made in Taiwan A9M0330 type are white SMK switches and double-shot keycaps. The Made in Japan 658-4081 type are orange Alps + dyesubs.
Hmm I was going off the deskauthority wiki. I just sent an email to the supplier for them to specify which.
The supplier has gotten back to me and those 8 boards are NOT orange. I am waiting for specifics after replying them.
As for priority of ALPS orange, what do you guys suppose I do? 1st come 1st serve w/ no limit or limit 1 ALPS orange board each? I am leaning toward fairness and spreading the wealth of the find and limiting 1 ALPS orange board each.
Regardless of whether we accept the non-orange ALPS boards, pricing is not affected.
Vanilla go ahead and change one of mine to a white. I don't mind getting one of each.
My personal (selfish) opinion is that the orange Alps boards should go in order to the first people who requested them, unless they state otherwise. :)
Does the buy go through with just orange Alps or do you have to buy the whole lot?
Does the buy go through with just orange Alps or do you have to buy the whole lot?
The buy will happen whether we get the SMK monterey white boards or not.
The price for each board regardless of switch is still $17 each.
Well then first come first serve is totally fair. There will be some dashed hopes, but nobody will have lost money.Does the buy go through with just orange Alps or do you have to buy the whole lot?
The buy will happen whether we get the SMK monterey white boards or not.
The price for each board regardless of switch is still $17 each.
If I were to limit everybody to just 1 orange board there is enough orange boards to go around for everybody who has expressed interest so far.Classic economics problem: unregulated free market versus compulsory wealth redistribution? Someone's going to be disappointed either way.
With no further immediate participants.
Otherwise we're in a deficit of 6 orange ALPS boards.
If I were to solve this with classic economics, I'd come out on top by having to charge more to quell demand.... which I won't.
JD is the keyboard 1%.If I were to solve this with classic economics, I'd come out on top by having to charge more to quell demand.... which I won't.
I'd still be in for two orange boards at $22 each. :)
Sorry, but I have to bow out of this group buy. Stupid grown-up responsibilities have hacked my wallet.
Alright I've slept on the issue and I'm going to just do it first come first serve with quantities already posted. In everybody's best interest, especially mine, I want to get this group buy delivered and completed as the supplier might have other plans. Otherwise I might just end up hoarding them all for myself. :))This was a tough call to make, but don't beat yourself up over it. You were given bad information by the seller. At least you caught it before the boards were paid for and shipped!
Alright I've slept on the issue and I'm going to just do it first come first serve with quantities already posted. In everybody's best interest, especially mine, I want to get this group buy delivered and completed as the supplier might have other plans. Otherwise I might just end up hoarding them all for myself. :))This was a tough call to make, but don't beat yourself up over it. You were given bad information by the seller. At least you caught it before the boards were paid for and shipped!
If these will work with PC's, I'm in for two, possibly three.
You guys are silly with the shipping thing. These boards in similar condition often sell on ebay for about $50 + shipping (though price is fairly variable depending on how good the pictures are, how many keywords the ebay title covers, etc., so you can occasionally find one for $20�25). Getting one for $22 + shipping is still a great deal.
I hope my comments below don't sound argumentative, because they're not intended to be.You guys are silly with the shipping thing. These boards in similar condition often sell on ebay for about $50 + shipping (though price is fairly variable depending on how good the pictures are, how many keywords the ebay title covers, etc., so you can occasionally find one for $20�25). Getting one for $22 + shipping is still a great deal.
The GREED is strong.... in all honesty I'm pretty disheartened and fed up by this.
I work a full time job with a family. This is something I don't need. No good deed goes unpunished I suppose.
I hope my comments below don't sound argumentative, because they're not intended to be.You guys are silly with the shipping thing. These boards in similar condition often sell on ebay for about $50 + shipping (though price is fairly variable depending on how good the pictures are, how many keywords the ebay title covers, etc., so you can occasionally find one for $20�25). Getting one for $22 + shipping is still a great deal.
The GREED is strong.... in all honesty I'm pretty disheartened and fed up by this.
I work a full time job with a family. This is something I don't need. No good deed goes unpunished I suppose.
Maybe I missed something, but I saw two people who already have orange Alps boards willingly surrender their rightful spots for two boards each. Both of them made it sound like it was totally not a big deal to them.
I personally offered to change my second spot to a Monterey board when I thought the buy was in jeopardy, but then changed my mind when I found out the seller was willing to part with only the oranges for the same price. Does that seem greedy to you?
You guys are silly with the shipping thing. These boards in similar condition often sell on ebay for about $50 + shipping (though price is fairly variable depending on how good the pictures are, how many keywords the ebay title covers, etc., so you can occasionally find one for $20�25). Getting one for $22 + shipping is still a great deal.
This 110%. I personally have a full collection of ALPS & SMK switched boards and I paid $40 for my orange ALPS board.... without considering the groupbuy, $22 is a steal already.
The GREED is strong.
If you're going to talk trash about people looking to be in your GB like that, I'm out. Before it was me being nice and being willing to give up my boards for people who wanted them more than me, but at this point I'm out and not looking back.
Talk to anyone on here and you'll see I sell things at cost and never try to go around making a profit off of other people's work. This just wasn't worth it to me unless I had two. It had nothing to do with greed and everything to do with what I'm willing to pay for something. I set hard limits for myself and don't go over them.
I'll be sending out confirmation emails with further instructions for payment tonight.I'm cool either way.
ALPS orange boards *may* be all gone BUT there are still SMK white boards w/ double shot keycaps up for grabs. ;)
I would suggest adding a few dollars per order as a group buy fee. That way you don't end up paying out of pocket when things don't go exactly as planned, as usually happens.
You guys are definitely more experienced with these than I am. Any suggestions? I want to be fair. I'm all ears.
You guys are definitely more experienced with these than I am. Any suggestions? I want to be fair. I'm all ears.
Actually I've never run a group buy either. But having taken part in several. $3-5 per order seems pretty fair to me.
Can you fit Matias switches in a SMK Monterey board?No. They use a different mounting hole and pin layout. http://deskthority.net/wiki/SMK_Alps_mount
Update: all invoices to those that made it in and responded with a paypalable email address have been sent!Yes, that's an old saying. I believe it was coined by Abe Lincoln.
Any stragglers should pick up the pace!
Like the saying goes, the faster everybody posts payment, the quicker the boards will arrive! ;D
I will give mine up
Here they are guys!
In all their fruity gloryShow Image(http://i.imgur.com/9pwcXQ4.jpg)
I'm not a lawyer and I don't know what your options for legal recourse are
Here's a good deal for an ADB compatible cable for those who haven't bothered to get one yet:Thanks! I was going to tear mine apart for parts, but wanted to try it out first after I clean it, which should be a fun process
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=72722.0 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=72722.0)
Pretty hard to beat $.99/each to your door.
Props to Blaise for finding.