Leopold FC660C and FC980C Inventory Shortage

So recently I noticed a lot of different places were out of stock (of raising their prices) of the Leopold FC660C and FC980C keyboards.

I was a bit concerned when I saw the Leopold FC660C listed out of stock on the “Archived” section of Mechanical keyboard.com.

I decided to send an email and they responded extremely quickly!

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Maybe they’re updating the boards with similar features as the new realforce boards? It would be nice for those that don’t have or want to install a Hasu controller.

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Maybe the Norbauer Curse is in full effect and we’re all d0med.

On that note, I personally believe that Mr. Norbauer would make a fantastic villain in a high budget movie. He seems really nice, he’s tall and articulate, he has no mustache to twirl. NOBODY will see it coming. Enthusiasm is his middle name.

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I asked MK.com about a few of their Leopold offerings and why they have been pushed back on the “Incoming Stock” page. I think it’s them changing a lot of their keyboards from Dye-subbed PBT to Doubleshot PBT in addition to other manufacturing delays. The latest FC750R Two tone white for example has the Doubleshot PBT Keys and apparently people are waiting for their pre orders from January for that board (I was one before I cancelled after delays).

JFYI, Leopold’s Korean website is well stocked with 660C and 980C.
660C and 980C switched over to Made In Japan assembly models several months ago, and Made In China stock was phased out.
It could be that restock is being held until current inventory is depleted. Leopold is very conservative in inventory management.

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Master Norbauer’s daily driver is CTRLkeyless, because Master Norbauer is always in CTRL

All hail!

Widebasket on eBay has these in stock. That’s where I got mine from. He restocks quite regularily.

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I purchased a FC660C from Widebasket on eBay in July. Its wasn’t listed, I had to PM him directly and he responded within a couple of hours.

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Thanks for the heads up Huey, you’re always on top of things man :metal:! I’ve been really thinking about picking up a 980C for awhile now, but after hearing this I think I’d be better of tinkering with my ALPS projects to hold me over till Leopold sorts this out. Sounds like they will have hopefully improved versions of both the 660C & 980C once the stock starts rolling again from @oraclekev’s reply. Gonna have to wait & see I guess. :thinking:

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Up and at em!

Looks like FC980C stock is inbound for ETA Sept 13th

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Yay

Although this makes me wonder if there will be any discernible differences since they have switched where they are manufacturing the boards :thinking:

Tough to say.

Some have written that the Japanese made FC660C’s feel higher quality than of Chinese origin.

But I’ve also read that the latest batch of FC660C’s from Japan are super scratchy as well.

I’ve had both the Chinese 660c with gray PBT dye subs and the Japanese 660c with black PBT dye subs and loved both. A friend now has the gray one and I kept the black one. I found it on eBay since I couldn’t find it in stock from a retailer. I’m in the U.S. I don’t notice any differences between the two. I think there’s a general bias against Chinese-manufactured goods and a general bias in favor of anything Japanese in this community. That might account for some perceived improvements with the Japanese-manufactured 660c. There may well be improvements, but I would recommend either very highly. This is a beautiful board and is an absolute pleasure to type on. You can’t go wrong with either in my opinion. I just checked eBay and the Buy It Now prices have shot up significantly since I bought my black 660c. Good luck to all in the market for one of these. I sold mine for $100 :joy:

I was recently in the market for a FC660C two tone. I found one if I wanted it with Korean symbols for ~$300 USD, $500 USD for English only. If MK or Widebasket ever gets the two tone back in stock at normal (<$300 USD) prices, I’ll grab one. For now, its going to be a FC660M with tealios.


Uh… wut O.o

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Maybe they’re including the Norbaur Monolith and carry bag :joy:

and california tax apparently…

mechanicalkeyboards dot com has a couple of models available for pre-order now. Looks like they’re available to ship mid-Feb.

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They need to bring back the beige FC660C tho.

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