Under $100 mechanical keyboard for gaming and typing, possible?

[gr1m]

Some guy helped me out on vent, said that to clean the dirt out of the laser etching, I get a Q-tip and toothpick with some rubbing alcohol. I'll try that.

He also said to apply a tiny bit of WD40 to the sticking switch, but not too much to avoid ruining it. Any ideas on how to fix a sticking Cherry Black switch?

[gr1m]

So I'm not going to mess with the switch but I'm not happy. If one switch ****ed up, are the others as fragile? It's not a key I use often (or in fact, ever use) so I don't think it's worth the trouble to RMA it.

Still. Did I break the switch? Did the keyboard arrive like this and I only just noticed? It's like when hit even slightly downwards, the switch snags onto the inner wall.

[gr1m]

I'm RMAing the keyboard. So much for "18 billion keypresses" when the switch is ****ed right out of the box. Let's hope the second one works fine.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

[gr1m]

Probably. But then imagine a broken switch on a keyboard I had payed $80 shipping/customs for.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

Probably. But then imagine a broken switch on a keyboard I had payed $80 shipping/customs for.

Elitekeyboards packs their keyboards well, and if I remember correctly, tests each switch before sending it out (at least with the blues, because the click leaf makes them more issue prone).

I could be wrong, but I believe majestouch mentioned this at some point on GH.

[gr1m]

Hm. Well, I guess that's the advantage of buying from an exclusive keyboard store.

**** **** **** **** ****. My ideal fix to this situation would have been fixing the switch myself but I'm 90% sure I'd have ruined the keyboard (and as far as I know, Steelseries 7Gs are hard to open up and 6Gv2s are probably no different). So I guess I'll have to RMA it. Since it's a key I do not use often, I can potentially let it be but if I pay $107 hard earned dollars for a product, it better not be broken.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

Hm. Well, I guess that's the advantage of buying from an exclusive keyboard store.

Definitely.

Sorry that I'm trolling you nonstop, but with the trollface in your avatar, I feel compelled to.

**** **** **** **** ****. My ideal fix to this situation would have been fixing the switch myself but I'm 90% sure I'd have ruined the keyboard (and as far as I know, Steelseries 7Gs are hard to open up and 6Gv2s are probably no different).

Some of us were not meant to tinker with hardware. I am one of those people. You're making the right choice if in doubt.

So I guess I'll have to RMA it. Since it's a key I do not use often, I can potentially let it be but if I pay $107 hard earned dollars for a product, it better not be broken.

Where did you buy it from? Do they cover return shipping on defective items, like Newegg?

[gr1m]

I think they do. NCIX, it's like the Canadian Newegg (Newegg Canada isn't as good as Newegg US). They just accepted the RMA with an e-mail confirmation and they provided a shipping label via PDF but I still doubt they cover costs. Or maybe if I call Purolator like the e-mail says they'll know what to do when I tell them it's an NCIX RMA.

[gr1m]

If in doubt pester tech support. So I plugged my G15 back in after packaging up my new mechanical for RMA and I'm such a sad bunny. I never noticed until after using a linear switch that rubber domes have tactile feedback (well, maybe not as good as blues or browns so don't sue me but I do feel a bump when I type on them). As soon as I realised that, I also realised I miss my Cherry blacks.

Yeah, I hate this thing.

[gr1m]

Hi,
You will have to pay for shipping because at the time of check out when you made this purchase for the system you did not purchase Express RMA.


Sincerely,
Billy
NCIX Tech Support - Product/System Support & RMA
NCIX Customer Care

****ing ***gots.

[gr1m]

Well, I just sent them a piece of my mind. Short and sweet, the same line I used on XFX to avoid paying for shipping when the RMA replacement card arrived DOA:

"I do not understand why I have to pay for your mistake."

If they don't acquiesce, I'll fix the switch myself or live with it or something. I'll also send them another piece of my mind, about how common business practise is that customers shouldn't pay to get faulty products replaced. But then there's that outraged manly-man inside me that says "YOU PAYED $107 FOR THIS PIECE OF **** SO IT BETTER NOT BE BROKEN, AAAAARGH!"

How hard would it be to fix a Cherry switch?
And I've just decided. When I'm done with college, I'm moving to somewhere in the US with a Fry's, Microcenter and a close Newegg warehouse.

[Bumrush]

****ing ***gots.

Dude, language!

[gr1m]

And the award for most irrelevant insult goes to gr1m!

That said, unfortunate situation. Retailers should be required by law to pay return shipping on faulty merchandise. Retailers who find this unfair are the type of retailers who would ship out faulty merchandise anyway.

I've been kind of interested in a G15, to be honest, to get the screen for use in other project.

And I forgot to say that, yeah I want to get rid of the G15. The keycaps are filthy (like, 2 years of Red Bull, Cheetos, procrastinated late-night essays and Counter-Strike: Source filthy), but if you only need the LCD...

Dude, language!

Hey, you try buying a keyboard that people promise will blow your mind with how reliable and solid and amazing it is and have it arrive broken and then find out that you have to pay to get it replaced. I bet you wouldn't be calm.

[gr1m]

I should have never decided not to get the Filco tenkeyless Cherry Brown keyboard. This is punishment for it. An RMA only takes my total cost closer to what I would have payed for the Filco.

[wellington1869]

I should have never decided not to get the Filco tenkeyless Cherry Brown keyboard. This is punishment for it. An RMA only takes my total cost closer to what I would have payed for the Filco.

dude any seller worth his salt would cover cost of return shipping if its a faulty keyboard.  there's no reason the consumer has to pay in a no-fault situation.  where did you buy it from?

ergogeek.com covered my return shipping when my m10 had a bum key. das covered my return shipping when the first das I bought arrived with a chunk of plastic missing.  Its only some individual ebay sellers (like even the well-liked brian on ebay) who demand you cover return shipping even when its not your fault. Thats a pretty amateurish policy if you ask me. This is why i like full retail shops. You never know what you'll get when your order a keyboard, best to make sure the store's policies are generous in that regard.

i dont know elite keyboards policy on covering return shipping if the board is faulty, but i know that they dont take returns, period. I was burned with that once and learned my lesson for good.

[gr1m]

It is pretty stupid. I'm not going to RMA it when I have to pay for it. And how does Elitekeyboards not accept returns? Like, if I had bought a Filco from EK and it had a lousy switch, I'd be screwed?

I bought it from NCIX. Biggest Canadian e-tailer.

[ch_123]

They mean no refunds. I'm almost certain that they have an RMA facility...

They certainly do for their Topre keyboards.

[gr1m]

Oh, OK. Well, NCIX has a refund system (even if your item is not defective but that involves paying a restocking fee). I understand paying a fee for returning a non-defective item but paying a fee to get a broken item replaced?

Fail.

[Bumrush]

Hey, you try buying a keyboard that people promise will blow your mind with how reliable and solid and amazing it is and have it arrive broken and then find out that you have to pay to get it replaced. I bet you wouldn't be calm.

One of the reasons I enjoy participating in this forum is because its members, by and large, are friendly, good-spirited adults who are wholly capable of expressing themselves without resorting to unnecessary profanity and hateful commentary.  

Don't get me wrong, I know the feeling.  I paid $200 for some bunk OCZ RAM and both kits arrived defective.  Even one of the kits I got back from the RMA was defective.  In each return, I had to pay for the postage, which, while not as expensive as your case, was little consolation for the fact that the product has a lifetime warranty.  What good is a lifetime warranty if the product has such a high failure rate that the cost of investment is increased 50% by the return shipping charges?  I have since vowed to never purchase their products again, since my power over them is limited to my choice not to give them any more of my hard-earned money.

In any case, you are projecting your hate on this company for their denial of a service.  A service that, according to them, you implicitly declined during the finalization of your purchase.  If you weren't aware of this service because they obscured it from you, then shame on them.  Otherwise, buyer beware.

I do hope that you are ultimately able to resolve this issue to your satisfaction.  Sorry for the rant and I'll shut up now.

[gr1m]

Please, don't lecture me. If you want to experience the friendly, good-spirited adults who don't use bad language that make you enjoy participating in this forum, then by all means avoid my threads, ignore-list me or do whatever but I don't appreciate being told how I should behave in my own thread.

[gr1m]

So I got a pretty good reply from NCIX.

Hi,
We assume everything shipped out is in %100 working condition any defects and so forth we cannot account for and is why it is suggested to purchase Express RMA as if an item is defective we would pay for shipping the item back to us.


Sincerely,
Billy
NCIX Tech Support - Product/System Support & RMA
NCIX Customer Care

Which is basically true. So I just e-mailed Steelseries with an attempt at being semi-cute. "Uncle Steelseries, Naughty Cousin NCIX is making me pay shipping, can you do it for fwee?" If they refuse, then I'll switch my NCIX RMA to a refund and take my $107 back and chill with my G15 (ugh) until I muster up enough funds for a proper Filco tenkeyless.

[instantkamera]

Yeah this sucks, I order a ****load from NCIX, and GENERALLY also decline express RMA. I know the policy, but I really think it is horse****. It defeats the benefits of ordering online if I have to wait forever to get a product, have it broken, pay to ship it back and wait even longer...

Really your only recourse is to make life difficult for them over the phone. This should work especially well if you spend a lot of money with them, and have never been trouble for them before. Dont give up, just escalate it as far as possible and threaten to take your biz to basically anybody BUT them. It might help if you could also find an e-tailer who does accept paid returns. Most actual companies will send you a replacement and pre-auth a card while they wait for you to return the defective product with their provided box and label.

Good luck.

*edit - I gave out too many "good lucks" for one post.

[gr1m]

Thanks for the sympathy. Well, aside from not being happy with NCIX, I have decided on a refund for other reasons too - I figure if I'm gonna buy a mechanical keyboard, I'll buy a proper one from a specialist store and not some gamer stuff. Should I go through "call them for free shipping" for the refund as well, or should I just suck it up, pay the shipping for the refund and then punish NCIX by never buying from there again.

As for what you're saying, I recently RMA'd an LG monitor and it was just like you described. They sent me the replacement first and in the box, there was a label to send back my defective monitor. A phone call to Purolator and the whole thing was done in 2 days with no money out of my pocket.

[gr1m]

I thought of a funky comeback to the NCIX response. "Well, I assume that everything I buy is in 100% working condition".

[niz]

I have since vowed to never purchase their products again, since my power over them is limited to my choice not to give them any more of my hard-earned money.

Good choice. Some companies just don't get it.

[instantkamera]

I thought of a funky comeback to the NCIX response. "Well, I assume that everything I buy is in 100% working condition".

Exactly. If you have the time, I would still bust their balls to try and get a free return.

[gr1m]

I have all the time in the world.

Well, I also assume that everything I buy is in 100% working condition. If I'm going to have to pay to get a defective item replaced, I would rather get a full refund and start shopping at stores that offer better RMA services.

[gr1m]

As a one time exception, I would like to offer free return shipping on this item.

Hey, cool. That was smooth.

[gr1m]

Does anybody know if I can print a shipping label (bar-code and all, the kind where the Purolator guy comes to your house, scans the barcode with his hand-held scanner, sees that the shipment is A-OK and takes your box) from home?

[instantkamera]

yeah i think a simple printed sheet of paper will work. So are they going to allow the return for free?

[gr1m]

Yup. I guess the "I'm taking my money elsewhere" warning can encourage any company to provide good RMA services.

[instantkamera]

****ing A. Getting a replacement then instead of a return, since it will be "free"? You have to encourage their good response by showing that it pays to treat the customers well.

[wellington1869]

glad its free, but yea, why not get a replacement? ask the guy to click each key before he puts it in the box. Ergogeek.com did that for me when they replaced my m10, i asked the guy to take a minute and check each key before mailing it to avoid any further issues and he was more than happy to oblige (after all, he saves a lot of money too to ensure its working and not risk another return if its not).
he said he can only do it if buyer requests it, obviously, since its not their policy to poke around inside NIB boxes generally. Maybe this guy will oblige too, since he seems willing to please you so far.

[gr1m]

Yup, replacement. I like the keyboard and already miss it dearly. I only said refund if I didn't get the free shipping. Now that it's free, I'm proceeding with my initial replacement course of action (I'm aware I made a post about why I should buy from a specialist store from now on but if I like the keyboard, why not get it replaced instead of spending an additional $100 on a similar Filco).

I'll ask for the new keyboard to be checked. I'd be much happier that way (as opposed to getting another broken one).

[instantkamera]

Yup, replacement. I like the keyboard and already miss it dearly. I only said refund if I didn't get the free shipping. Now that it's free, I'm proceeding with my initial replacement course of action (I'm aware I made a post about why I should buy from a specialist store from now on but if I like the keyboard, why not get it replaced instead of spending an additional $100 on a similar Filco).

I'll ask for the new keyboard to be checked. I'd be much happier that way (as opposed to getting another broken one).

Yeah it only makes sense, plus there will be plenty of time to order a new filco, who only owns ONE keyboard.

Im happy to hear that they did this for you, I have always been a fan of NCIX and would hate to see a reasonable request denied because of a BS policy that is only there to deter abuse of a free returns system. It isn't fair that a proper customer, who by all right COULD have taken their mechanical keyboard biz elsewhere, would have to suffer extra costs after spending hard earned cash on a niche product.

[instantkamera]

IF this all works out I might consider picking up the latest DAS from them instead of going through the import BS from elitekeyboards with a filco... living in Canada sucks sometimes (although I have had good luck in finding older boards for cheap )

[gr1m]

Thanks a lot, I'm glad to keep shopping at NCIX and I will use ExpressRMA in the future.

Now, is it OK if I request one more thing. Can the replacement keyboard be opened up and checked before being sent out (have all the keys pressed to ensure none of them are broken)? Not that I am blaming NCIX for the first one being defective, since NCIX does not make or package the keyboards and it is not common practice to open and test products before shipping them, but it would seem to be the best way to avoid problems with mechanical keyboards.

Thanks again for the free return shipping,
Sevag

Let's see. If he refuses, no biggie. I still get a free replacement keyboard. If he accepts, NCIX wins.

[wellington1869]

it might not be a bad idea to point him non-chalantly to this thread (or mention gh in general) so he knows others are watching his response. I mean seriously.  I honestly think part of the reason das' customer service ramped up radically was when they realized how much of a topic of discussion (and intense scrutiny) they were on this board.

[gr1m]

Not after I called him a "****ing ***got" in the thread. Lol. Besides, I tried that with XFX and it didn't make my struggle to get an RMA any easier. Or maybe it did, because at the end of the day I still got my RMA.

[wellington1869]

Not after I called him a "****ing ***got" in the thread.

hahahahahaha good point

[instantkamera]

Not after I called him a "****ing ***got" in the thread. Lol. Besides, I tried that with XFX and it didn't make my struggle to get an RMA any easier. Or maybe it did, because at the end of the day I still got my RMA.

edit button??? Oh, but now we just keep quoting it ...

[muchadoaboutnothing]

You never know if they actually will do it, but it's worth a shot. The worst he can say is "lol no", he's not going to go "PAY FOR SHIPPING AGAIN JERK".

Anyhow, might want to follow up with SteelsSeries on this too to let them know that NCIX made a one time exception, you love the product even though you were disappointed in the defect, etc.

[gr1m]

Hi Sevag,


Yes we can do that but you will have to call into customer care and tell them to hold the package and let them know as to you want someone to test it. If you wish to proceed with this meathod it would delay the shipping date by at least a day.


Sincerely,
Billy
NCIX Tech Support - Product/System Support & RMA
NCIX Customer Care

Cool. The broken keyboard should be picked up any time now.

[instantkamera]

That is quite boss. I will be ordering a DAS at some point from them.

[wellington1869]

that is indeed "boss". very cool

[gr1m]

So apparently that's another hidden service of NCIX, like pricematch. Instead of purchasing ExpressRMA, I can just ask them to inspect the item every time.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

So apparently that's another hidden service of NCIX, like pricematch. Instead of purchasing ExpressRMA, I can just ask them to inspect the item every time.

They're probably doing it as a one time courtesy, especially since a computer keyboard is easy to test (plug it in, try every key, put back in box).

[gr1m]

The way the guy worded it made it sound like something typical though. He didn't say, "Alright buddy, I'll make you an exception". IDK but to me it sounds like a legit NCIX service. Also, they actually do offer to assemble and test your computer parts (if you bought all the components to make a computer), but that costs $50 because it also counts as an assembly and operating system installation fee. Maybe it's an extension to that service. Not that I'd ever use that service but it's nice to avoid DOA motherboards and stuff.

Yeah, don't count on them testing a processor.

Well, I usually don't count on processors being broken (has that happened to anyone here?)

[instantkamera]

The way the guy worded it made it sound like something typical though. He didn't say, "Alright buddy, I'll make you an exception". IDK but to me it sounds like a legit NCIX service. Also, they actually do offer to assemble and test your computer parts (if you bought all the components to make a computer), but that costs $50 because it also counts as an assembly and operating system installation fee. Maybe it's an extension to that service. Not that I'd ever use that service but it's nice to avoid DOA motherboards and stuff.



Well, I usually don't count on processors being broken (has that happened to anyone here?)

Only to customers of NewEgg.com, and they weren't so much broken as they were... NOT REAL.