[GB] Koala Switches

Hello All,

As some of you may be aware there has been a recent IC for Koala switches. Due to personal circumstances with Fropsie the initial IC runner this IC never made it to a Group Buy as of yet.

Fropsie has been kind enough to give me permission to continue on from his IC and run this Group Buy.

Original IC link

Discord Server

The koala switch, designed by creator biip, is a tactile switch using a POM stem and 62g gold spring inside a Nylon housing, with a color scheme matching that of Extended 2048.

The Group Buy will take place on my website. Each switch will cost ~$0.50 USD or ÂŁ0.41GBP.

I will be honouring Fropsies original intentions to donate the proceeds to the Australian Koala Foundation. $0.05 USD per switch sold will be donated to the foundation.

I will be having a soft minimum limit of 70 switches. I reserve the right to cancel orders below this minimum. However if you purchase over 200 switches you can use the coupon code “SaveTheKoala” at checkout for free shipping!

LINK TO GB

Thanks,

George

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Is the manufacturer on this still Durock?

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We have this thread every week

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The manufacturer is indeed Durock. I didnt have any problem with them in my recent T1 Tactile switch group buy. They feel like decent switches. Stealuos drama aside, it has never been made quite clear what happened and which parties were to blame. I’m letting the people decide. And so far we are less than a week into the GB and at 8,000 switches sold. People just seem to want the switch.

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image

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Fair enough, it is a yes for some though!

Yes, you can actually buy Koalas directly from them: Keyboard Tactile Switch 62g Mechanical Keyswitches With Cream Housing Koala Style Tactile Switches For Diy Gaming Keyboard - Buy Keyboard Tactile Switch 62g,Mechanical Keyswitch,Koala Style Tactile Swithes Product on Alibaba.com

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Found out from that link that Durock makes a Gateron Ink ripoff, so that’s cool.

Why are we buying these switches, again?

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Because people have no problem buying ethically questionable stuff to save a few cents.

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I can think of a few reasons, but I do agree that morally, its not great.

  1. Durock switches are cheap, and have lots of color options.
  2. They arent bad switches. I find them quite good. That being said, questionable ethics.
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What ethics are they engaging in that are questionable?

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They were the manufacturer at the heart of the stealios debacle earlier this year.

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I will need to Google this. I am out of the loop it appears.

Ok, I remember this. Dang.

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Ethics is a little weird in this situation, since Durock wasnt the one marketing them as Tealios. honestly, I dont know what to think of the situation. Personally? I will keep buying durock switches, but I understand that others will not.

Sure they weren’t the one marketing them as tealios, but they were molding the housing with “zeal” on them and I’m not sure how that’s any better, if not worse.

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That, exactly: they were manufacturing a switch with Zeal’s name on them and (to my knowledge) it’s not like somebody over at Durock went “Oh, god, we were duped into making these because so-and-so posed as a representative of Zeal.”

Until and unless they do something along those lines, I am personally not comfortable buying their switches. Not gonna rage at anybody for doing so, but as it stands these ain’t for me.

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Oh I actually didnt know that. Thank you for pointing that out for me.

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Here’s the thing though (playing devil’s advocate), there is no specific Zeal branding on any of his switches. The stem colors always served as the branding for Zeal. The top housings have always been Gateron branded & there is no company branding on the bottom housings. From I have read/heard about the situation, the guy driving the the stealios scam was a former gateron employee. So it is possible Durock was also duped to some extent & that guy swapped in the Gaterom top housings without anyone’s permission.

That said I am still fairly wary of Durock & wouldn’t buy from them just yet. Although if they keep their nose clean from here on out & keep working with the community. It would be foolish of us to shun a manufacturer that has already proven they can deliver pretty good switches & worked to rehab their image with the community.

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That’s a good point I forgot they say gateron and not zeal on them. That being said, it’s still not much better imo, and a very poor way to introduce the company to the community. It will be a long time if ever before I would be okay with buying switches for them.

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I agree, in no way was I trying to absolve them of any culpability or say we should overlook the Stealiois debacle. Just was playing devil’s advocate.

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