Hey everyone,
We are super excited to have this community favorite switch on Massdrop. When I first heard about the Holy Pandas from @quakemz, I was definitely intrigued. The barrier to entry was quite high back then.
You had to get the original Panda switches from the group buys or hope one of the community shops had stock. Additionally, Halo switches were scarce.
When the opportunity came up in March to collaborate and actually make Holy Pandas available without having to purchase additional switches or reassembled components to make them happen, we jumped at the opportunity.
It took awhile to get all the pieces into place. What we are doing is highly unconventional since different parts of this small component are actually made by different manufacturers. In the end, we will be using the original Invyr Panda switch housing tooling and, of course, the original Halo stem tooling to make these switches a reality.
I’ve been pretty impressed by the tactility of the switch and will be sending samples out to some community members so they can verify that these are indeed the same switches. We’ll also have some force gauge graphs made and we will update here when that’s ready.
Thank you everyone for your support and we hope everyone will be pleased with their switches.
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Some notes about the estimated fulfillment timeline. It is a long due to a few considerations -
1) Chinese New Year is around the corner and this results in almost a month long manufacturing shutdown.
2) We will be repairing the injection tool to bring back the original switch housing - this does take time we've budgeted more time so this process isn't rushed.
3) This switch is an amalgamation of parts from different manufactures which is rare for production switches. Since this is the first time we are trying anything like this, we have been more conservative in our estimates.
YanboWuCould I get a sample? Not sure when the drop is dropping & if I could receive it before the drop ends, but I'd like to get a set but I am also debating about zealios.
YanboWuDamn, you couldn't even wait til after Christmas to destroy my wallet /s
Real talk though this is really cool and can't wait to get my hands on these
YanboWuEDIT: never mind, looks like this question was answered in another comment!
Can you verify the housing material?
Polycarbonate top housing from original Panda switch tooling
Nylon bottom housing made from original Panda switch tooling
The original Invyr Panda housing was Polyoxymethylene (POM). Is this not true or are you manufacturing this round in a different material than the original?
YanboWuAny way I could get a sample? If they are what you say they are, they'll go in at least 3 keyboards.
Edit: and I have 16 or 17 tactiles with which to compare them. all 4 zealios, all 4 aliaz, and basically every relevant Cherry clone or box switch except for Box Royals.
YanboWu"2) We will be repairing the injection tool to bring back the original switch housing - this does take time we've budgeted more time so this process isn't rushed."
I thought the tooling has been fixed already. So how are the samples being made? How closely will the samples match the final product, since you are still changing the manufacturing process?
ckofyIt's time to stop. This meme / not meme has gone to far. Massdrop will most likely only be sending these to well known community members / reviewers
ckofyWhat others are saying, and what is probably true, is that well known members of the mech kb world will be receiving samples to review. These are people that have already been reviewing pandas and such. No chance to get them whether you ask or don't. You could however wait a few months and see their opinion. Or join the drop.
ZeimusI'd argue that the drop is being left open for long enough that we'll see opinions before the drop finalizes anyway. Either way, no harm in dropping from the drop if you don't like what you hear from those reviewers.
I'm having issues making my decision, as typing on v1 Zilents might have ruined every other keycap out there besides the new v2's that I'll 100% be buying. Translucent tops and quieter sound is a tough battle for me :-)
YanboWuIs the housing injection material same as original invyr panda, or a different material? The finish looks a lot different in picture. The top right picture shows a gap between top and bottom of housing - is this because of prototype has less qc, or some other reason. The entire selling point of invyr is stable housing and minimal wobbling - we hope this get clarified before place an order.
YanboWuCould you explain why Massdrop had original holy pandas sent out as samples instead of production samples for review? This is not very encouraging trying to fool the community in order take the profits away from another group buy when this was clearly no way close to being ready.
poodudeI second that. Had I known earlier that these were og Pandas' samples sent, I'd had joined gsus drop. Now, it's too late for me. Hope these will turn out like they are supposed to be.
HeroicDreamerIt is because GSUS ended yesterday. Massdrop launched this campaign long before it's ready while giving the illusion that it is. People hold off on gsus , massdrop fucks you and everyone loses because massdrop needed to maximize their profit and not support competition
KrasztestI have no plan to reopen the GB. But I will think about providing an opportunity for guys who want GSUS after I shipped the GB orders out. It's rude that you tried to surmise what I will do.
HeroicDreamerIts more rude that you tried to gouge everyone.
Fuck the Holy Panda - im not supporting shady bullshit. This switch has created some shitty moves taking complete advantage of this wonderful community.
Im buying Zealios , Its worth the premium and he puts work and money into his R&D and is a catalyst for progress with the community.
The infamous Holy Pandamonium
HeroicDreamerThat's what I'd do to make sure I sell as much as possible. And the way things turned out so far, it was safe to guess that's what you care for. And that's fine. We are doing business here, not helping one another, right?
HeroicDreamerPrice them right, Be open and transparent and don't call potential customers rude for having an opinion. You need to run it better and you won't have issues. Otherwise you are going to be stuck with all the inventory you didn't sell.
JohnklacksYou cannot imagine how much I spent and how many personal attacks I got. Some guys tried to paint me as an asshole even I don't give a fxck. They fxcked up their business and defamed me.
HeroicDreamerYou got attacked because you tried to fool everyone and got caught trying to make a buck. That is the natural consequence for doing bad business in a community where information is passed around at light speed.
HeroicDreamerYou're denying your own statements , Trump.
"Considering my own financial and social costs I have incurred, and the risks I have taken, I think $1 is a reasonable price."
Edit: you were originally charging more than a dollar and you marked it down as you got attacked more and more..Now denying your statements proves a lot.
Kidn3yBecause he sold a .35 cent (arbitrary figure,, it probably cost about 5 cents to mfg each switch @ the 10k he purchased. ) switch to his inner circle for .60 cent , then tried to sell it to the rest of us for $1 ( actually higher in the original IC , ,,$1 if he sold 5k of them or whatever). He dropped the price to .60 cent when massdrop came into play (showing that he didn't NEED to charge that much in the first place, never mind $1.50 that the original price was)) . He was exploiting the lack of alternative options, he made no improvements to the original design while charging a massive premium. The switch is only desireable to make holy pandas and his premium priced product contained only 1 of the 2 necessary parts. Nothing wrong with trying to make a buck but you can't get fight with your potential customers act like a child when you get caught and called out for it.
edit: if i understand correctly , he is asking for proof of his pricing , which i quoted him directly and he asked for "meaning of proof" which makes no fucking sense ,,, as you see he took this as a personal attack and blocked me for quoting HIM .lmao
JohnklacksBut as it stands now, hes selling them for .60
So the bullshit between the IC to the final GB price doesn't matter. IMO as long as the product received is what i expected and what was advertised then I don't see the issue.
I really don't care what he said or didn't say to people. If thats what sways you on a purchase so be it. I have a hobby need and he had the supply.
Same thing for this MD purchase. $$$ talks.
Kidn3yIt sure does. If you wanna pay more for a product that you will ultimately have to pay even more to achieve the desireable aspect then so be it ! Who am i to tell you how to spend your money. idgaf about him or his gb because i am not joining it.
I was just address how he calls people rude for disagree with him like a fucking child and went off.
JohnklacksI'm out of the loop on this, but isn't massdrop charging the exact same thing ? This drop shows the switches for $1 each... 60c sounds like a steal!!
x2ox2oWell actually not the same thing. MD in theory, is selling the Frankenstein switch already built. Gsus was selling the housing only for 60 cents, you had to get the other switches and built them after.
XyzacI just joined, and I must say I am rather excited for the ride!
Can't wait to hear what the consensus is once actual samples show up in reviewers hands.
YanboWuThere was a payment error on my order for holy panda, The email from massdrop was only sent to me to update my card details, after the deadline has passed, is there a way people under this bracket can still join the GB?
YanboWuYanboWu
There was a payment error on my order for holy panda, The email from massdrop was only sent to me to update my card details, after the deadline has passed, is there a way people under this bracket can still join the GB?
YanboWuHi, my switch is lost its tracking since Jul 4. I need phone number and address to request package searching service. But drop says I can only have refund and no other information. I waited this switch so long time and refund is kind of my loss. I'm so disappointed.
YanboWuDrop lost my order and is refusing to do anything about it. Urging all not to join this. Customer service is not even responding to my queries. What a joke. I'm exploring what options I have.
erickongLooks like you're one of the mods, good. How is it an acceptable response for Drop to only offer refunds (no replacements), when there is clearly enough stock (available for purchase even now). Also the product description explicitly reads "Shipped by Drop," when in reality you guys are getting your vendors to ship with the cheapest nonsense option via China Post. Get the CS team to reach out to immediately with an acceptable response.