Do you find yourself wasting too much time to decide if you want to buy the keyboard or not?
Are you waiting for the last day of the GB to make the decision?..
Or is it an impulse buy?
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I try to ask myself ādo I really need thisā instead of ādo I want itā.
And with more time spent into the hobby, as you find out your preferences, it gets easier, at least for me.
That being said, I have 3 TKLs on the way 
How?
Simple.
HMKB GB came first - ok, I need this.
Then came KBD8x MKII open GB - ok, this is nicer, Iāll get this one as well.
And then came RAMA u80 seq2 GB - whatever, I really need this one.
See my point?
At this point, I try to convince myself that I wonāt be buying any more keyboards for quite some time.
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Tomorrow is the last day of mark65 GB.
Still cannot decide If i need a 65% layout or not.
I currently have 60% and everything is where it should be.
Do I really need to get used again to separate arrow cluster just for the sake of having something new but great looking?
Where does functionality end and esthetics come into play?
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Iāve tried 60% and itās unusable to me as I rely heavily on nav cluster (arrows+pgup/dn etc).
I find reasoning that I could use layers laughable, as keyboard as a tool should not introduce complexity to simple tasks - my personal opinion, yours may vary and itās quite ok that way 
65% is ok for me, I can use it without too much hassle, but I still prefer TKL.
On the subject of aesthetics - 65% looks just fine, no worse than 60% (again, IMO).
To me, keyboard is a tool that must fulfill functional needs first, sound and feel come second, aesthetic comes third (and also depends on keycaps used).
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One advantage with this hobby is that usually you donāt lose money when you resell.
So you can buy even if you are not sure of the choice and decide when it reaches you.
This if you are ok to have the money blocked for some months/years.
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Iām still new to the hobby but there are some things I can put on a list between āMaybe in the futureā vs āI wanna build it like Iām bob the builderā. If things are unlimited I wouldnāt think too much about it, just pop it into bookmarks for a rainy day. Being super picky also helps in decision making. I canāt impulse buy if it isnāt laser focused to my aesthetic.
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I try to plan out what Iām going to get at least a little bit, usually my thought is if I need to spend time deciding if I really want it then I donāt really need it. I will say though at this point I have so many damn keyboards that I have a pretty good idea whether Iāll like something before I get it. I think my goal for next year is to end the year with less keyboards than I started with.
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What bothers me more is the question: āwhich purchase will satisfy me most for my buck (if at all)ā.
For example, right now my issue is to decide between plate materials and cases. Iād watch and rewatch videos, read and reread threads, reference against availability, go back and forth between ādecisionā etc. I guess Iām also overthinking the returns: I donāt feel comfortable about ordering 3 cases, 2 plates, multiple keycap sets of different profiles, just to maybe keep one of each.
About the resell, Iām not sure how well it works for someone in the EU (like me)ā¦ I mean most action is in the US (judging from the posts in r/mechmarket), and second hand from Europe is probably both more expensive and take longer (both due to shipping) than new from the variety of US-based vendors.
Feels familiar
I feel like
Are you overthinking keyboard related purchases
really translates to:
Are you able to afford the change in monthly payments on your credit card if you make this keyboard related purchase?
9 Likes
I totally feel this. I feel like planning ahead for what I really want, and giving myself a short grace period has helped me get over the initial infatuation and hype when I first see some boards.
Iāve totally had gbās I was super into at first, but after sitting with it a little, I later realize I wouldnāt like it long term. Very grateful for the times I realized this sooner.
Also like to review what gbās Iām currently in - and when I see 2 or 3 boards already in the queue I feel more content that I have enough. There are more coming that will satisfy my time.
And then thereās some that pop up and Iām totally in! (I bought two mark65s btw lolol)
Plus there are so many buys cycling through these days, it almost feels like if I miss this one, thereāll probably be another Iāll like at some point that satisfies whatever it was. Just got to be patient.
I think I underplan and end up with tons of parts, PCBs, etc. and groupbuys are always spur of the moment.
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