Black Friday always felt transparently manipulative to me — they dangle cheap prices in our faces and we run, run, run. In this economy, it feels more cynical than ever.
If they can offer great prices all year round, why not do it? And if they can't, then who's paying for the great deal I'm getting today?
Buy what you need.
When I buy something because it's on sale, it's easy for me to lose sight of what I actually need. "That's a great deal!" — but is it, really, if it's something I wouldn't have gotten otherwise? I fall for this all the time, myself (I'm writing this post for me, too, not just for you).
If you need a new phone, buy a new phone. If you need a new laptop, buy a new laptop. If you need a new keyboard, buy a new keyboard.
Not because it's on sale. Because you need it.
And when I say new, I mean "new to you" — it can be used (people sell secondhand ZSA keyboards all the time). That's another way to get a great deal, and not one that's subject to the whims of a big retailer.
We've been working extremely hard to keep our prices where they are. Chip costs are up. Shipping costs are up. They've been trending up for a while, but we've been holding prices steady, and I plan to hold them steady for as long as we possibly can. No sales on our keyboards. Just the best price we can offer, sustainably, for the long haul.
Use what you have.
I recently saw a "phone strap" on Amazon. It's a short piece of webbing that wraps around your phone case. Goes in through the camera hole, out through the USB-C port (of the case, not the phone). Stick your hand in, and it makes the phone easier to hold.
It was $10.
Sometimes I'd buy something like this, but this time I decided to get crafty. I got a roll of nice webbing for $2 (enough to make 100 of these straps), a sewing needle and some thread I had lying around. Made one in ten minutes. So satisfying.
You can do that, too — and much more. Hack the heck out of your stuff. It's a way to make something old new again, and to assert ownership.
To all of our users who modify our keyboards with Lego, plywood, cardboard, neoprene, and anything else you have handy — you rock. It's inspiring to see you take something we made and make it better for you. Using it as raw materials rather than as a sacred "product".
We work hard to make keyboards that stand the test of time, and that invite you to change and fix them. Pull out those switches. Swap out the cable. Print out your own accessories. Make it yours, make it new.
All of our latest features work on the very first ErgoDox EZ we released, in 2015. Longevity matters.
Thank you.
ZSA is small and independent. There are no hungry VC investors breathing down my neck, telling me I can't write this.
We don't advertise the Moonlander at all. We don't have affiliates. We don't sell on Amazon (we never will).
You are the reason we've survived so far. I'm pretty sure we have one of the kindest and nicest user bases any company could wish for. Thank you for saying nice things when you email us. Thank you for talking about us with your friends.
Thank you for reading.
