A big part of the angst now is also due to the fact that your first prototype was perfect for tactile/linear alps. Like really perfect. So it really doesn't sit well that people using tactile/linear alps should compromise for the extra height when there exists a perfect solution for this group of people, I guess me included.
So if your new idea works, if you can keep it short and still have clicky switch compatibility, then go ahead with that. I believe this is the solution everyone is hoping and waiting for. If you can make that happen then be confident in your product and its success.
If that idea fails then you'll just need to reach out to vendors and see if anyone is willing to purchase extras for resale stock.
Don't forget that there is an active asian community that enjoys alps switches as well. Consider reaching out to Chinese vendors like kprepublic to see if they're interested in being the asian/china proxy or if they are interested in buying extras for stock.
And don't base your success off the survey or poll numbers because those aren't entirely accurate, especially because you haven't really been advertising or promoting your product much in the other forums, so it definitely has not reached all the potential buyers yet.
Yeah, but therein lies the problem, it was meant to be a product for all, not a product for some. I am not 100% happy with it not supporting clicky switches, so I hope the next idea works out well, and is received better than the last prototype. And the fix is super tiny, but I am have a feeling that people will still not like it.
As for vendors, I have been working on that for a while, but for the GB to run I have to get 11,000 as the total order needs to be a certain quantity for pricing reasons, So I can't go any lower as price will go up.
And I know that the forms don't accurately show what amount will be ordered, but it helped figure out how far this project could actually go. I have an IC over on DT that I update when I have anything new, but no one ever comments on it like they do here. And I have posted on reddit, but the way reddit works, it is hard to reach people for longer periods of time unless a lot of people upvote it. So it never really grew on those platforms as much as it did here.
Unfortunately the thread starter uses clicky Alps so that's his priority. And you're absolutely right why would a linear Alps user buy a compromised design when the 1st was superior?
Clicky switches aren't my priority, but I don't want to make a product that I myself can't stand behind as a user. I didn't set out to make money from this, I wanted to make a product I wanted to use personally, so failing to do what I set out to do, even if people may like the shorter version, makes it a failed product.
Also, I get new ram tomorrow, so hopefully my computer will be up and running so I can get the new prototype finished and get opinions on it. That is if the ram was the issue though...