>A mech shouldn't cost more than $30 You can't buy a set of switches for that. Building a mechanical keyboard is inherently expensive, before you even get into

>A mech shouldn't cost more than $30 You can't buy a set of switches for that. Building a mechanical keyboard is inherently expensive, before you even get into economies of scale. Adjusted for inflation, mechanical keyboards are far cheaper than they used to be. The amortized cost of a quality keyboard is tiny, because it will have a lifespan measured in decades rather than years. There are tons of non-hipster keyboards available. Filco, Leopold and Cherry have been around since well before the current trend. Unicomp still make buckling-spring keyboards based on the old IBM designs.