Thanks for the update! I'm waiting on  Batch 2 of Neo65 Cu from DeskHero, hoping it will arrive before May 8th to avoid all this, /sigh.

The White House just issued a modification to the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. Smartphones, computer monitors, computers and computer parts have been exempted in full. I do not yet have sufficient detail to know if computer parts include keyboards and keyboard parts sold at retail. And things likely will change day by day anyway.

I think it was upped to 104% for goods from China. The $800 exemption continues until May 8. If you're going to buy a special order board, pay for expedited shipping!

I read that the 30% was tripled to 90% today.

The $800 item exemption from customs and tariffs applicable to goods from China and Hong Kong will disappear this week, replaced by a 30% tariff (and customs inspection). The minimum charge starts low but over time escalates to $50 per package. The days of buying single keyboards, a set of switches or keycaps directly from China seems to be over.

So I’ve been really curious and wanting to try a split board for a while now. Think I’m finally about to bite the bullet and order one from somebody on Etsy

^exactly.

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Appreciate the feedback boys.

I think it was Howard Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory who said to his wife: "I'm naked under my clothes."

Every prebuilt board is barebones if you remove the switches and keycaps. And because the manufacturer buys in bulk, the cost reduction in selling the board without switches and keycaps would only be about $10. Several reasonable prebuilts in fact offer barebones versions.

The prebuilt race to the bottom has many companies copying each other. Which means they do start to be a lot alike. But then there is also keyboards like the Polygon 7 that bring custom board personalization to a new price point. It certainly has changed with so many in stock keyboard to chose from these days. I can see why you would say the market is over saturated. Having only been in the hobby a couple of years it just seemed normal, but I don't have your prior experience with the market to draw from. My take on the saturated market and things being sold out all the time is that its alive and well as a hobby. I think more people are likely starting with prebuilt boards these days simply because they are in stock and available. Have been waiting for a prebuilt board to come out that has mods available so you can swap plates and gaskets to make it fully custom. Assuming someone will go that route to stand out from the crowd at some point. Which I think is where the Polygon 7 is headed but its a strange layout. It would be nice to see more prebuilt boards offer a bare bones kit as well.

I have a slightly different take. Over the last eight months, pre-built keyboards have gotten really good. For about $125 or less on Amazon, you can buy an aluminum keyboard with plenty of foam and passable switches. The keycaps generally can best be described as nonoffensive. Stabilizers usually are well lubricated, and nobody lubes switches now since virtually all manufacturers have moved to pre-lubing. Does anyone apply a tape mod or a holee mod anymore? It is sad but true that the expertise that separated the experienced from the novice has been devalued because of the vast improvement of prebuilts. And the expensive custom builds are, once they are built, not much better than what you can get for much less. To be sure, you can pay an extra $200 or more to have a pretty weight and badge on the bottom, but do you really care what the side you never see looks like? I actually like my expensive boards (Meletrix and Qwertykeys), but I am much older than most people on this site and so likely have more disposable income (your salary rises over time but your fixed-rate mortgage stays the same). If all you want is a keyboard that looks, sounds, and feels good, go to Amazon and buy an Epomaker P75, or an Epomaker + Feker Galaxy 80, or a Rainy, or any of a dozen similar boards. This explains, I think, the dramatic shift in business model of Monsgeek from selling premium boards at premium prices to cutting corners so it can sell good-enough boards at more competitive prices. It's now a race to the bottom because the bottom has become so much better.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like the keyboard hobby is starting to decline? Like everything else in the hobby, this is subjective to person opinion and preference, but I’ve been losing interest. I’m a 75-68% layout nerd who’s been in the hobby since 2014. Love the hobby, just feels like the market is over saturated, prebuilts all kind of the same. Custom builds are stupid expensive and usually out of stock. Anyone else feeling this way or just me?

Yes, the LK98 includes the numpad. Only caveat is hidden on/off switch under a key, no dongle storage, and no per-key lighting beyond those for connectivity. It's also plate-mounted

Thanks for the reply, I like the look of the Luminkey98. It also seems like it would be the less expensive option if the $200 price tag includes the number pad.

The Luminkey98 and the Zoom75 TIGA series allow you to place the numpad on either side, if you don't mind the modularity

Realizing that I really like having my number pad to the left of the keyboard. Keychron is the only place I know of that makes full size boards with the number pad to the left. Wondering if you all know of any non Keychron boards that have the number pad to the left?

https://a.co/d/2CSSpTA

HMX switches will be coming. I have a lot of switches to test. I prefer louder switches. My current favorite is Gateron Green Apple. Loud and heavy spring generating both auditory and tactile feedback for a poor typist.

I love Vertex V1's, especially for the price! Super smooth and thocky.  You should try HMX Hyacinth V2U switches - currently my favorite.  They're a little clacky, similar to the Feker Marble Whites, but better in every way in my opinion.  Cost is only slightly higher ($29 for 100 on milktooth.com).

Melody 96

I have started posting comparative sound recordings of various keyboard switches. You can find them at https://www.taxnerds.com/keyboards.html . More recordings will be posted over the coming days. Nothing is for sale on my web site.

Looks great! What keyboards are they?

I recently put this board together. I love it, but the GMK Shoko clones make me wish I had the real thing

Sale is live now! They're offering $10 off (Early Bird special) for both boards currently, though I'm not sure how long this will last.  I bought Neo65, ano grey with mirror dusk weight - I just hope the weight looks nice in person.

https://www.qwertykeys.com/products/neo65-cu-custom-mechanical-keyboard

Anyone planning on buying Neo60 or Neo65 Cu? Group buy starts on the 28th!  I dislike Qwertykeys' shipping fees, but I think I'll bite the bullet and get a Neo65 Cu.  Still torn on which combination to get

That was from a few days ago - it looks like the sale price on the blue one has ended. Now the purple one is also $59.99 though!

Where is the blue one listed for $70

Epomaker Tide75 (pink) is on sale for 59.99, blue one for 69.99.

Thanks for the heads up on that. Your note was the first I heard it was reversed. Sounds like they realized they need a proper way for the tariff taxes to be collected. The system just is not prepared for that change yet.

The de minimis exception to Chinese tariffs has been restored. Problem solved, at least for a while.

You should be notified when the keyboard arrives at US Customs. They accept payment by check but not by credit card (unless they are changing that). You may also have to pay a customs clearance fee of almost $40 in addition to any tariff.

So I have an order from a company in China and they are guesstimating that I will owe a 35% tariff on the order. Do any of you know how we will be expected to pay the tariff? Wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation? They removed the deminimums exemption for small orders so tariffs apply to everything coming from China. Just not sure how the government expects to collect all the tax for these small orders.

I would probably wait for the Neo65 Cu if you are picking between the 2. Even with the silly shipping from QK, I think I'll bite the bullet and get the Neo65 Cu also when it comes out.

I have the Neo 75 cu and like it a lot. But it was quite a bit more expensive than the Neo65 will be, so I don't know what to tell you. Both boards should be keepers.

Should I buy the Polygon 7 or wait until the Neo65 Cu comes out

The Polygon 7 looks to be a very nice board. You can get it with all three plates, the foam kit, and an extra tri-mode PCB for a very reasonable $170. I like it a lot.

It's like having a 65% keyboard with extra Macro keys