Total Destruction Suggestions Requested

[hellothere]

Brief story:
I bought a nice keyboard off of ebay about a month ago. Seller is in a different country. Package arrived a couple days ago. Wrong keyboard was shipped . I contacted the seller and he issued me a refund. He doesn't want the keyboard he sent me back because shipping is too high, but, as a condition for the refund, I have to destroy the keyboard and send him pics. It's an NTC KB-6251EN. Plastic mounting plate. Alps.tw Type OA2 clone switches. Looks like a mix of single shot/pad print keycaps and double-shot keycaps. So, we're talking a relatively low-end keyboard that's fairly common.

So, any suggestions on how to dispatch this unit? I do have some basic power tools and a 15lb sledge hammer. I'd prefer minimal clean-up. (Even though I'm in 'Murica, I don't own any guns.)

[jsheradin]

I'd feel bad destroying a perfectly good keyboard, even if it's nothing special. At the very least you should try to do it in a way that the switches or caps are still salvageable.

Think you could get away with something like cutting off the cable?

If you want to go with total destruction, toss it in a bucket with some solvent (acetone, MEK, xylene, etc). You'll end up with keyboard soup.

[mrprofessor]

Ooof, breaks my heart

[M9HM]

go big or go home: I would suggest flamethrower.

but I would prefer you to talk the guy into not destroying it, maybe donate it?

[xxhellfirexx]

Or maybe you can stencil the back of it with a "Not for resale" just like one of the DT starter pack keyboards.

[Muirium]

Giving it away sounds the right idea. See if he's open to it, given he's evidently driven not by profit but the proven absence of *your* profit! A give-away thread about it here on DT might convince him.

Otherwise:

Spoiler:

[Yasu0]

I have shittier boards than that which I keep around. If it works maybe give it to somebody who needs a keyboard.

I recall the scene in "the toy" where a wealthy character will only wear socks once. He wonders what they use all his sock fabric for afterwards. Then Pryor's character says "maybe they use them as socks?"

[headphone_jack]

Brief story:
I bought a nice keyboard off of ebay about a month ago. Seller is in a different country. Package arrived a couple days ago. Wrong keyboard was shipped . I contacted the seller and he issued me a refund. He doesn't want the keyboard he sent me back because shipping is too high, but, as a condition for the refund, I have to destroy the keyboard and send him pics. It's an NTC KB-6251EN. Plastic mounting plate. Alps.tw Type OA2 clone switches. Looks like a mix of single shot/pad print keycaps and double-shot keycaps. So, we're talking a relatively low-end keyboard that's fairly common.

So, any suggestions on how to dispatch this unit? I do have some basic power tools and a 15lb sledge hammer. I'd prefer minimal clean-up. (Even though I'm in 'Murica, I don't own any guns.)

Photoshop. Pretending to be a shitty photographer means you can get away with a lot of blur to cover up your mistakes. Alternatively, find someone with an already smashed board.

[Rhododendron]

Maybe snap the PCB in half? That might be enough for the seller, and you can salvage the switches and caps.

[Man from Mars]

If you ask me, that's a pretty weird request. It was seller's mistake, the refund was nice of him but you shouldn't be supposed to destroy the keyboard. Maybe propose a small payment which would avoid you the hassle to break the keeb and show the actual destruction? After all you might still make some use of the board, since it works.

[Go-Kart]

Type OA2 Alps clones aren't bad switches. They're a twat to reassemble but type like a lighter White Alps. I'd vote give away; someone would love that board.

[Yasu0]

Yeah what headphone said.. do that.

Agree it is a strange request considering you have naught to do with the mis-ship. Geesh destroy it for no good reason, what a request.

[hellothere]

Think you could get away with something like cutting off the cable?

That was also requested, so, yeah. I'll be cutting the cable, as well.

Donate it or give it away!

If I donated it or gave it away, there's the probability that the next person would sell it. It's not in that great of shape and I'm very sure Goodwill/another surplus sale charity would put a $5 tag on it.

Spoiler:

Came for the Peter Gabriel video post. Was not disappointed .

Maybe propose a small payment which would avoid you the hassle to break the keeb and show the actual destruction?

The "small payment" was requested by the seller to cover the shipping cost. Shipping was almost $70 and this NTC is maybe worth half that, so I didn't want to take that deal. That $70 has already been refunded, too.

Type OA2 Alps clones aren't bad switches.

I partially agree. I've got a bag full. Ones in nice condition are pretty good. However, when they're bad they're really bad.

[Palatino]

Type OA2 Alps clones aren't bad switches. They're a twat to reassemble but type like a lighter White Alps. I'd vote give away; someone would love that board.

Ooh, never tried these. I’ve actually shunned them thinking them inferior to alps from some review somewhere. Got a board with them for sale/loan?

[Go-Kart]

Type OA2 Alps clones aren't bad switches. They're a twat to reassemble but type like a lighter White Alps. I'd vote give away; someone would love that board.

Ooh, never tried these. I’ve actually shunned them thinking them inferior to alps from some review somewhere. Got a board with them for sale/loan?

I do but it's currently in pieces... It's right at the back of the queue but still very much in the queue! It's an NTC and I quite like the large chassis. Caps aren't up to much. Problem is, I just sold all my boards with spare Alps caps to some guy on the internet without considering why I had the boards in the first place

[hellothere]

Photoshop. Pretending to be a shitty photographer means you can get away with a lot of blur to cover up your mistakes. Alternatively, find someone with an already smashed board.

I could take a marker and mark up each one of the stems and call them "Canadian Blue Alps." Those are Matias switches.

Nah. I'm relatively honest. At this point the keyboard really is the seller's and not mine, as he's already refunded me. If he was asking me to climb Mount Everest and throw it off the top, I think that would be excessive and not agree, but destroy and trash, that's not excessive.

[hellothere]

Type OA2 Alps clones aren't bad switches. They're a twat to reassemble but type like a lighter White Alps. I'd vote give away; someone would love that board.

Ooh, never tried these. I’ve actually shunned them thinking them inferior to alps from some review somewhere. Got a board with them for sale/loan?

If I was across the pond, I'd definitely loan out my unrestored Focus FK-2001 to you. I really bought it just for caps for an OmniKey. I think I only paid $40 or so for it, tho.

[DrunkUkrainian]

I mean, I could destroy it for you. Just send it to me and you won't have to worry anymore! I have... uhhh... FIREWORKS!! Yes fireworks I'll blow it up with fireworks I definitely won't add it to my collection

[snacksthecat]

He doesn't want the keyboard he sent me back because shipping is too high, but, as a condition for the refund, I have to destroy the keyboard and send him pics.

... Well that's straight up insane. Send him something like this:

Spoiler:

What keyboard did you actually intend to get, by the way?

[thefarside]

How about a Viking funeral? Death by fire!

[Findecanor]

"Destruct" it by giving it to a center that recycles electronics, and show proof that you gave it to them.
You can say that you gave it to a recycler because you care about the environment.

If it is a good recycler, they'll take care of it and put it on the market for a low price.
The important point for the seller is that you have shown that you yourself don't make a profit on the keyboard.

[Palatino]

The important point for the seller is that you have shown that you yourself don't make a profit on the keyboard.

In this case, you can post it across the pond to me, and I’ll be sure only to pay for postage and not a penny more

[Palatino]

Type OA2 Alps clones aren't bad switches. They're a twat to reassemble but type like a lighter White Alps. I'd vote give away; someone would love that board.

Ooh, never tried these. I’ve actually shunned them thinking them inferior to alps from some review somewhere. Got a board with them for sale/loan?

If I was across the pond, I'd definitely loan out my unrestored Focus FK-2001 to you. I really bought it just for caps for an OmniKey. I think I only paid $40 or so for it, tho.

Thank you for the thought. I’ve also bought a good few boards just for the caps which have turned out half decent in themselves. Always a nice surprise.

[hellothere]

What keyboard did you actually intend to get, by the way?

I'll back up just a bit to answer that.

I'm one of the folks that bought 11 keyboards through inozenz's "group buy" for NIB Space Invader keyboards. As I have no need for 11 keyboards, I posted some on ebay. In my first auction, I had several people trolling my sale saying things like, "Don't charge more than what you paid!" and "Respect the group buy!" (I didn't have this problem in subsequent auctions, probably because more people from the group buy were selling off their keyboards. I even saw one yesterday.) So, as to not make sure that the seller doesn't get the same trolling, I won't specifically say which keyboard was supposed to arrive. However, I can say that it cost about $200 and, if I didn't like it after restoration, I could probably sell it for $250 or so.

[hellothere]

Gotta run. I'll try to respond to other posts later.

[mrprofessor]

What keyboard did you actually intend to get, by the way?

I'll back up just a bit to answer that.

I'm one of the folks that bought 11 keyboards through inozenz's "group buy" for NIB Space Invader keyboards. As I have no need for 11 keyboards, I posted some on ebay. In my first auction, I had several people trolling my sale saying things like, "Don't charge more than what you paid!" and "Respect the group buy!" (I didn't have this problem in subsequent auctions, probably because more people from the group buy were selling off their keyboards. I even saw one yesterday.) So, as to not make sure that the seller doesn't get the same trolling, I won't specifically say which keyboard was supposed to arrive. However, I can say that it cost about $200 and, if I didn't like it after restoration, I could probably sell it for $250 or so.

Even though you have all the right to sell your stuff the way you want, it seems unfair to many members (including me). There were folks who didn't know about the GB and joined late. You could have just helped them.

It's just a matter of spirit.

[kbdfr]

[…] At this point the keyboard really is the seller's and not mine, as he's already refunded me. If he was asking me to climb Mount Everest and throw it off the top, I think that would be excessive and not agree, but destroy and trash, that's not excessive.

Absolutely correct.

[Palatino]

You could suggest to the seller that you sell it and transfer him the money from the sale? Then at least a usable board isn’t destroyed, which does seem very wasteful.

[digital_matthew]

Ship it to yourself and write "FRAGILE" all over the box.

Seriously it does seem weird that the seller cares what you do with the keyboard even after a refund due to their mistake. I've been able to keep many items that were shipped to me by mistake and there were no strings attached. I'd snap the case and PCB, harvest the switches and keycaps, then put them all in a pile and photograph it to make it appear "destroyed".

[hellothere]

Here's my response to mrprofessor. Using Spoiler tags, as it's a little off topic.

Spoiler:

inozenz's "group buy" for NIB Space Invader keyboards. As I have no need for 11 keyboards, I posted some on ebay. In my first auction, I had several people trolling my sale saying things like, "Don't charge more than what you paid!" and "Respect the group buy!" (I didn't have this problem in subsequent auctions, probably because more people from the group buy were selling off their keyboards. I even saw one yesterday.)

Spoiler:

Even though you have all the right to sell your stuff the way you want, it seems unfair to many members (including me). There were folks who didn't know about the GB and joined late. You could have just helped them.

I don't think I'm required to tell people there's a group buy. There's not a forum rule or anything. Arguably, inozenz should have asked a moderator/admin to move the thread into the Group Buy forum section when he started the group buy. However, there's no requirement for him to do that, either.

If you go to your local surplus store and find a box of 10 keyboards for $1 that are worth $100 a piece, are you required to sell each keyboard for 10 cents? How about all the people on this forum that say that they bought their Beamspring (for example) for $10? If you offer them $11, shouldn't they sell you the keyboard? Hey, they're making a profit! They should have to sell it!

All the Space Invader keyboards I've sold on ebay have had a starting price set to $50, which is a great price for a really good new mechanical keyboard. That allowed the market to set the value. I think the max I sold one for was $75. They were also available to ship internationally, except to one country I've had problems with -- and no, I'm not going to name the country, but it's not India.

As far as this particular community goes, I've had some nice people here send me stuff for free. I've reciprocated that on several occasions. I also don't post just sales threads -- although that also isn't a rule -- and I've tried to be helpful and share my limited knowledge. I've also updated and written a couple Wiki articles. I'm just mentioning this to show that I don't owe the forum anything and it doesn't owe me anything.