Keyboardio - a Cautionary tale about getting a product manufactured in China - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 09:36:38 am
content: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keyboardio/the-model-01-an-heirloom-grade-keyboard-for-seriou/posts/2369985

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 11:24:24 am
content: 1) that is not corporate or company fraud, thats individual (middlewoman) fraud, i believe it can happen in any country other than china. the factory owner tried to do what they suppose to do...2) for $300+, that keyboard sucks. their overblown profit is what made them survive the fraud imho.and if you hire people to give good reviews, that i consider fraud, you can name whatever you like, advertisement or what i dont care...https://shop.keyboard.io/?utm_source=kickstarterjust for fun comparison...a $300+and a $50

author: mrpackethead
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 11:32:15 am
content: The bank account change was the big red flag.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 11:38:38 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on December 17, 2018, 11:24:24 amTrue but far more likely where there is such a substantial language, cultural and distance barrier.More so where there are numerous common problems that can be used to cover the fraud and buy time to extend the damage- classic quote was how most of the issues were ones that commonly occur, but nobody sees all of them at once.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 11:56:59 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on December 17, 2018, 11:38:38 amso learn chinese, just as we have to learn english to get into this forum. such as "ni hao ma" (not NiHaoMike) is "how are you"i will learn more when i deal with them more. or get one of your team that can speak their language as international relationship affair staff (a person like Jesse in their case). i dont think its a problem finding one in multiracial country such as US and us. last time i went to arab i installed arab dictionary app into my phone, just in case i stumble with native cavemen.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 12:02:54 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on December 17, 2018, 11:56:59 amExcept it's far from being just a language issue - no app can deal with majorly different culture, ways of doing business and legal systems.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2018, 02:13:06 pm
content: So much to the chinese "save face" cultural practice. The fraudster is now free to go and rob the next victim.

author: Smallsmt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2018, 01:14:03 pm
content: I think it's not a common chinese problem.There are a lot of man in the middle attack's where people stealing the communication account passwords and modify the communications on both sides.Finally they use a different bank account to steal the payment to the chinese company.So never use email on common known servers like MSN or GOOGLE or GMX .... what else for business communication.Company's use their own mail server where it's not too easy to fake an email account.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2018, 05:15:32 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on December 17, 2018, 12:02:54 pmthinking about it, this is still isolated (individual) incident where language barrier is the most contributing factor. the conwoman is probably the only person in the position that can talk english comfortably, others not so, so the team fell into her. be it the appointed staff from keyboardio know how to talk chinese, they will have more option to choose their "account manager" or talk their way around other people in the factory asking things etc. there is no anything wrong with the "culture" generally, other people are doing ok, you pay i do you dont pay i dont release, thats what happened to the factory owner, he also get conned by the lady and wasted piles of qwerty pads collecting dust. its just they want to get rid of anybody they dont understand, this is normal happening even to you and me. putting this occurence in the shoulder of "China" is a bit misleading and unfair imho.Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on December 17, 2018, 12:02:54 pmyes maybe there are differences in the workflow and requirement. knowing the language may unravel more.Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on December 17, 2018, 12:02:54 pmfrom the story, the legal system is pretty strict there, 10 years imprisonment and in full control of law enforcer once the issue get in their hand. it will not even benefit the victim, unrecovered money due to she will not see the sun again for the next 10 years. that why they want to resort this on their own and the lady didnt try to get lost, otherwise she will not be able to leave country. try another country where tourists got killed, and nothing happened, no action and no justice to the demised family however many they made the report/complaint.any country has their conmen and conwomen regardless of culture and legal system, thats why they have detention area (jail) everywhere. this is more of a bad and good people matter. ymmv.edit: and why they want to sub contract this to China anyway? there are many other places, like Malaysia for example, we have many english talking people here and factories, currency is a quarter vs US or worst compared to EURO, even why dont go to manufaturing facilities in their own country? the answer is simple, but yet China is advancing due to this simple reason... as someone said you get what you paid for, but its still not suitable in this case imho due to this isolated incident, they were just having bad days with the wrong people. or maybe this is just karma (unproven) effect, you did bad, the bad will come back right at you.

author: mrpackethead
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2018, 05:46:34 pm
content: I once was looking to buy some production equipment for my fabtroy. it was all looking good, the company told me they were german, and i'd had a one on one demo. Given it was going to be a five figure purchase i thought i better double check them out. Well, they wanted me to pay the money into an individual persons account, in china. Red flags went up. It was just too dodgey to me. The company had claimed it was registered in China, but there was no offical bussiness registraiton either.you can reduce ( not eliminate ) your risks, by a bit of up front checking.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2018, 10:20:00 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on December 17, 2018, 11:24:24 amI'm not saying their design is any good or not but if you want a keyboard made with wood you are going to be paying a premium, as its a niche product. Cutting boards are not.Ms ergo 4000 is a decent keyboard, ergo wise probably better than this keyboardio, but is garbage in terms of tactile feel as it uses membrane switches. Also has no RGB lighting.interesting story either way.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 19, 2018, 02:55:52 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on December 18, 2018, 10:20:00 pmif you are talking about mechanical type and feel of it. i've tested them and bought one from China (for backup of my aging but loved membrane wireless keyboard), they are just awful. not just that it click sounds exactly like an old typewriter that cant be ignored from a distance, but i think it will strain my finger tips quickly. i think there's reason to switch to membrane nowadays. and light waste power and watching screen in the dark is bad for your healthbut well, your mileage may vary, personal preferences, you may be right..

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 19, 2018, 05:57:58 am
content: Quoted in case it gets pulled:Quote