GMK and Cherry stab inserts are not the same, they’re made from different molds. ZealPC modeled their stab inserts after Cherry, not GMK. Durock and KBDFans look more like GMK than Cherry.
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Cleaning up my work area today, found solder tips fit in 1/4 bit holders. This is way more convenient then loose in a box or in a zip lock bag which I was doing before.
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I’ve been totally over lubing my switches. Ugh.
Less is more. That is all.
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Story of my life.
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We’re definitely in a bear market for selling keyboard parts right now.
A few months ago, it was still possible to just put up something like Silent Alpacas with little information, and get multiple people bidding for them.
I was busy this summer so couldn’t sell a lot. Last summer, I hinted in a comment that I might sell a KBD8X MKII and people started hitting me up for it.
Now, you can’t sell that for the price you paid for it. It’s all very predictable, though. When there was economic stimulus and a COVID-induced production halt, there was lots of money chasing fewer parts, ~summer 2020. Now, there’s very little stimulus, Chinese production was going pretty strong until recently, so less money and more supply.
Plus most people have the switches and parts they want, except for boards and GMK.
This summer, people were doing builds for school / college so there was still significant demand for certain parts, but after September not so much. Might pick up again if supply chain failures continue to cascade.
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I have found it really tough to sell switches in the last 6 months. It seems like unless you have the latest “meme” switch nothing really sells.
I would almost apply that same logic to boards too. Not many good deals out there either. I always surprises me when browsing /r/mm that amount of boards with dings and scratches where the seller is wanting MSRP or more 
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That’s absolutely true.
I’ve noticed that decent, solid switches like Silent Alpaca (esp. V1), RARAs, etc… just don’t pick up interest precisely because they are not a meme switch [like the latest Durock sensation, their recoloured T1s and silent-T1s, Pewters, and so on].
It’s all very predictable, too. It seemed like Pewters were going to be hot, and I guess I could have stocked up on them and flipped them? Same for IKKI68 Auroras. I bought one for my own use, but it was obvious they would be a hit. They are being flipped for $250 right now [they cost like $120-150 in GB] and I am not shocked.
Basically, anything that catches on in Discord or among certain communities is bound to be a great resell, you could follow whatever is a meme and just flip it, they don’t want anything else. But I only buy for my own use.
After KBD67 Lite, Aurora, and Frog, I don’t know what if anything will be the next entry-level flip, because we might start to see more production issues and inflation. I don’t even know how Frog TKL keeps up with demand and doesn’t raise prices.
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I am kind of interested in what will happen with the Frog. I would love to get one eventually, but I am not really into the idea of playing quick draw mcgraw with Apple Pay in order to get them. I have done that before and it is not my favorite.
In fact, I did it with CannonKeys Brutalist series of boards. Now those are in stock and mentioned as being still in stock in every email… I will probably never know, but I am curious how they sell these days. There are so many other offerings. Is it a steep decline in sales? Has it plateaued? If so, I would be curious what the monthly sales would be.
I guess I just need to remember about the Frog in a years time. Who knows, what else will be offered by then though. Maybe myself and others will be chasing something else.
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Yes. I don’t want to take up too much space in this thread, but I will say that the Brutalist series name isn’t thrown around as much these days. Everyone talks about Frog.
I think Frog is actually pretty decent, from the sound tests and such that are available. Tadpole mount seems interesting. It could become an entry-level staple even if the initial frenzy declines, since it has largely replaced the KBD8X MKII in that role.
Things do plateau in this field.
In desperate times you can jump start a car from a lawn tractor… Also what the heck it is 2021 how can we allow a tiny light bulb on take down a whole car.
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It’s 2021 and a faulty SD card took down a family member’s Tesla 
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JLCPCB and they now offer 3d printing.
Unfortunately they don’t combine shipping with other products but it is still a good cheap deal if you don’t have a printer. Trying a thick plate 4.7mm plate to see how it comes out no idea on the surface quality or what 8000 resin is but for $14 
its worth a shot.
They must suspect a lot of keyboard business because they are mentioned twice like once in their order form and another on the FAQs.
(upcharge for large items, my order didn’t get flagged for a plate but suspect up to the JLC employee reviewing the order)
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This is WAY cheaper than other 3d printing manufacturing service.
And it makes prototyping keyboard case with this technology a viable alternative: other platforms propose prices at around the same range as CNCd aluminium case for PA12 prints.
Thanks for the link !
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I experienced my first keeb-related ESD today, two of them. I learned that winter isn’t the best season to bring an aluminum keeb to work. Once I had to plug the keeb back in to reset it, the next time I had to reboot the OS - still works though.
This was on a KBD67 v3 - currently, I don’t have the ESD pads installed on the PCB because I’ve heard they hurt more than they help - anyone here have any experience with those either way?
I lost the RGB on 2 HB-85 PCBs to ESD. It was then that I stopped using desk mats (it was making the issue worse from what I could tell). Replaced the LEDs, but would love a good ESD solution for that board.
It’s already really dry here in my house. I’ve started using my wood and plastic cases almost exclusively. Will be that way for at least 4 months.
I occasionally use metal boards in the winter (especially new ones that come from group buys). In that case I have an iPhone charger stand beside my computer that I shock myself on every time I sit down to discharge static. It’s become a habit over the years.
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Is it a dry room thing? Would a humidifier help?
Humidifier.
When I was living abroad I had a wool rug whilst wearing leather indoor slippers and would shock my laptop almost every time I used it, to the point the DVD drive stopped working.
I ran a humidifier for 4 months beside my desk. Shocked myself every day. To be fair, I have a chair mat under my desk that creates static and a desk mat on my desk that makes static. But I value my mouse accuracy and carpet too much to give either of them up. 8 out of 12 months is fine by me for metal boards 
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Huh. I looked this up because it’s an interesting topic. Hopefully someone does a dedicated post on ESD with more technical guidance. It’s not a problem I’ve encountered, but it’d be cool to learn more about it.
At a basic level, it seems:
Humidity will help reduce the likelihood of ESD, but won’t eliminate it. Some combination of the following is usually needed to eliminate the risk:
- Built-in ESD protection: Properly designed, it guides the charge away from traces, etc.
- Grounding the case or yourself to (safely) discharge any static build-up
- Reducing the amount of static buildup: Usually environmental things like rubbing against carpets, mousepads, synthetic clothing materials, etc., will contribute to static buildup
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