If we made a $150 TKL keyboard (similar to the one in this thread), the question then becomes, is there enough demand to justify producing it? My inclination and assumption has always been "no" but I'd love to hear (and not derail the thread) as to why you all think this keyboard would warrant the price tag and why it would appeal to non-enthusiasts who shop on Amazon and Newegg, for example.
Interesting to hear your company's viewpoint. Whether it's coming from Management or Marketing that would be nice to know....... but if you always design to the lowest common denominator then your product will be shelved into a low standing within any community. Rather than always making products for mainstream, why not risk making a single product (like what MAX Keyboard has done) and see if it sells?
If keyboards aren't your thing then think about why did you join here on Geekhack? Also ask yourself why certain MUCH smaller companies are selling keyboards quite successfully worldwide, yet you still have that terrible inclination of listening to ONLY accountants and number crunchers. If that's the case then stick to making the same stuff always but I see you're interested in branching out. The BEST way is to start making TOP-shelf items that only a limited amount of people would like. Plus only make say for example 300 or 600 TKL's with double-shots and see how they sell.
I suspect the people in the know will swoop on them. When it finally filters out to everyone that you are making a top quality keyboard with caps then the item sells itself throughout the world.
Sometimes you need to take a risk to make something if not, stay with the accountants and be content to play with calculators and spread sheets all day long.
Hm, I think you have to take a step back to look at the bigger picture. I'll address each of your points. First, I joined Geekhack to get all the opinions and feedback possible. In any community, you will get opinions from big keyboard enthusiasts like yourself, but I also do want to hear from those who may not be able/want to buy a $150 TKL keyboard. Both types of feedback are very important and I wouldn't weigh one over the other in the quest to make the best product for most people since everyone is impossible.
Second, we would love to make something for everyone whether it is mainstream or enthusiast. However, there are a lot of factors as to why we can't. One example of why is R&D resources. While it is easy to say "just make it and see if it sells," every action must have justification for the resources to be allocated for it. When we design a keyboard, we have to use a large amount of resources to gather the team of planners, buyers, engineers, accounting, and sales to make it happen (per specific product). This gets harder the larger the company is, and is why companies like Ducky, MAX, etc. can do so without a lot of bureaucracy (and a closer smaller team where people may be both engineering and marketing). They also have the advantage of making very small orders for fulfillment and would be satisfied making X margin with Y products. Companies like Razer, Logitech, and ourselves operate on a much larger scale and if something only sells for a miniscule amount (or in worst case does not sell at all), the damage is exponentially bigger due to our scale of operations. It's also easy to throw out a random number like "300-600 keyboards" but it's not as easy in reality when you have to consider molds, minimum order per batches produced, shipping logistics for the keyboards, and then convincing our retailers and distributors that this is worth the $150 its commanding and won't sit on their shelves (thus increasing opportunity costs).
Corsair started as an enthusiast company so we have done what you suggested which is start small and sell high end enthusiast items to only enthusiasts. I would find it difficult to do that now though in this retail market and stay in business because it is the mainstream stuff that allows the revenue to come in to make more cool stuff. I'm not saying that we shouldn't make cool stuff because it won't sell (the 900D is another good example that we definitely cater to enthusiasts) but we have to be very very picky on what that limited item is, and why I thought a $150 TKL keyboard isn't as viable in comparison, as say for example, a full size keyboard that can have enthusiast parts like the double-shot keycaps.
Finally, as many pointed out, everyone here on Geekhack knows what a true quality keyboard is but it definitely cannot make up for good marketing when we consider who the number one player for gaming peripherals is based on volume of sales. As much I hate to recognize it because I am an enthusiast myself, mainstream has a completely different set of criteria to go by when deciding what is good and what is not. This is why my job is to be here to find a balance between both types of market in order to pass feedback to create something. We never are dictated by accounting either or number crunchers, but they are always a stark reminder that successful products keeps the lights on, and to allow me to post here.
PS: As a side note, everything I post here is my opinion. I am not told what to post, and I'm really doing this just to engage with everyone during my free time.
Official "stuff" usually will be on our main page and social media, but outside of those channels, I like (and hope that everyone approves) to be a bit more frank and direct with everyone despite the Corsair tag in my name.
