I'm in complete agreement. Yuktsi is doing a good job at communicating about the logistics of the group buy, but leadership is sorely lacking from TGR, Aconic, RAMA, and Originative.
I have bought from Sherry before and, ****, he's even sent me stuff for my meetups in Portland. Despite hearing lots of issues previously, I've never had any with his services until now.
I've said this before, but I think it would do the community good to have some sort of statement from the designers and organizers. I don't advocate brigading other threads or badgering them, it should be done on their own accord. Having not done so (and I'm assuming the same into the future), I don't know why anyone would do business with them after this GB.
I'm really hoping for some leadership/resolution/statement here to, at least, salvage the dignity of the GB.
I personally don't fully agree with this. Yes their names are on it, but I believe Juahenza should be the one held accountable. He commissioned the design, he ran the IC and GB, this is HIS gb that he is ignoring. All Rama did was design the case, that's all he is/was responsible for. Sherry arranged the caps/switches, which to my understanding the hold up there, surprisingly enough was due to lack of communication and he also picked up extra kits to help with moq. Yuktsi helped with things and bless him for at least attempting to try and keep us updated, but this is not his gb.
Choosing not to do business with any of them is obviously your choice, but for now, the only one I'm pissed off about is Juahenza.
This GB has been a dumpster fire. That I can 100% agree with. Garbage pcb's, broken bottoms, delay after delay, complete lack of communication and transparency. 100% regret.
Pwner, I completely see your point/perspective. Thanks for setting the record straight on how this GB was set up. Yuktsi is a god-send. I can't believe the amount of work he/she is putting into this GB.
I did not know this was only Juahenza's group buy since there are many names attached to it. Sherry can't help GMK's schedule, so I get that. Props to him for helping with the sets. I didn't know that RAMA only did case design, but that makes sense, as he is mostly a designer...
Thank you for setting some things straight. I'm not
pissed at anyone, especially since my board is in the mail, albeit untrackable. Regardless, the product was marketed as a team effort. I'm not boycotting anyone, but it would be nice for someone with some clout could help move the GB in a better direction. All it takes is some communication. Juahenza's probably busy or doesn't frequent this forum, but really, it doesn't take much to give a little explanation or to rally the troops. Even if it was from one of the other players. Keeping people wondering is bad form.
Still no word on shipping for an alu bottom order. No response to anything.
**** it. I'm out.
Anyone want my EXENT? You can have it for free. This has left such a sour taste in my mouth, I'm getting out of the hobby all together. If you know me, you know what I got, hit me up if you want it. For the rest of you, keep an eye on r/mechmarket for the motherload of all sales.
Dibs? But really, don't go!
yutski, please send my exent order to MaNiFeX.
And thank you to everyone who sent messages, really means a lot. After taking inventory of my collection, this could be trickier than I thought... I may donate most of my boards to a local school and just sell keycaps.
Wow dude. I'll get you back with some cash. I'll send you a PM to get your details.
Still no word on shipping for an alu bottom order. No response to anything.
**** it. I'm out.
Anyone want my EXENT? You can have it for free. This has left such a sour taste in my mouth, I'm getting out of the hobby all together. If you know me, you know what I got, hit me up if you want it. For the rest of you, keep an eye on r/mechmarket for the motherload of all sales.
I've been building toward this conclusion also. Exent was the final straw. I'm not looking forward to troubleshooting these PCB problems, and if it comes down to desoldering I will just throw it in the damn trash. A rash of flakey, shyster group buys recently, and a community seemingly reluctant to hold them accountable, have forced me to step away from the hobby -- I have enough keyboards. It isn't worth the stress and heartache.
I might still join the SBXX case GB. It's simple enough that Plastik should be able to pull it off without too much issue, and he's got a really good prototype. The guy obviously knows what he's doing.
I'm also vaguely looking forward to the Kira, if Input Club ever gets it off the ground. And clearly I'm going to stick around for Round 2 of Danger Zone later in the year. But beyond that... I'm over it. Time to move on.
I’ve been feeling kinda the same way too lately. And I didn’t even get in on the exent. I’m debating liquidating my collection and going barebones. With that said, R2 Danger Zone???
Man... I've been debating selling most my stuff. It's getting a little heavy for me too. Also considering running a second group buy. This hobby is both gratifying and tough. I got my ass chewed out by some douche for posting a discussion thread on /r/mk. lol.
Oh well. Only time will tell. Let's do our best to stay positive! I'm sure we can all figure out our PCB issues/bottom replacements and move on. Thanks all who made this possible and are helping move toward the conclusion of this GB.