the thing is, for most of us that use keyboards/computers at work, these are our tools. a mechanic isn't going to wrench on a car all day with a socket set bought from walmart, he needs a quality tool that he can count on and be comfortable with to make his living. it's no different with my keyboard, mouse, and headset.
Exactly!
The funny thing is, I'm (tooting my own horn) a fairly decent amateur mechanic and also fairly handy around the house... my roommate has aspirations to be the same. I keep trying to tell him that e.g. Craftsman is the minimum acceptable quality for mechanic's tools but he really wants S-K, Proto, etc. and similar comments regarding tools for home repair but he doesn't listen and keeps buying crap at Harbor Freight... his rationale, "well, if I break it, I can buy two more for the cost of one of your tools." Yeah, but mine *don't* break, and they don't exude that aura of cheapness and don't piss me off every time I use them, either.
He's still using the keyboard that came with his PC
The other thing that I find amusing is that so many cheap, crappy tools come from the same geographic area that makes such nice keyboards...