What's a Group Buy (GB)?
Group Buy (GB) is a lot like a fundraising project where, during a set time period, money is raised to produce a made-to-order product that is unique, exciting, and specifically dedicated to the members of the mechanical keyboard community. The GB products are often, but not limited to, keyboard kits, custom keycap sets, switches, deskmats, etc.
A typical GB run is summarized with the following steps, please note that each GB is very different and may or may not follow this exact process.
- Interest check: survey for general opinions
- Finding manufacturers & vendors/distributors
- Pricing: get quoted from manufacturers and finalize discounted price vs. retailed price.
- Launching GB online for pre-orders: customer place an order and pay at discounted price.
- Submitting payment to manufacturers
- Production: color-match, samples approved/rejected, manufactured & assembled.
- Shipping to vendors
- Vendors fulfilling pre-orders
- Extras are released for sale at retailed price
Unlike in-stock, a GB product requires a minimum amount of people signing up and committing to come thru with its creation. This number is called MOQ or minimum order quantities. A GB can run with multiple thematic products at the same time, and each has its own MOQ. If one fails to meet it MOQ, it doesn’t necessarily mean the whole GB will be cancelled. Regardless, if a product doesn’t meet its MOQ, it will be removed from your order and you will be refunded in the full amount.
And unlike an in-stock product, a GB product is NOT available to ship now, but will in at least 6-9 months from now, depending on the products. Each GB will have an ETA provided by the manufacturers, but note that it is an estimate, not a guarantee.
TL;DR: A GB is where you pay to support a creation of a product that will be shipped in the future, and if you pre-order, you’ll get it at a cheaper price than if you buy them as extras. Think of GB price as discounted price and extras price as MSRP.
What is the average timeline of a GB?
The details and tentative timeline of each GB are in the product description, and can also be found in the Group buy status page. The lead time for each GB varies; typically, between 3-6 months for deskmats and artisans, 6-12 months for keyboards and keycap sets.
The following table summarizes the general process. The speed of each step is based on the manufacturer workload and the current global incidents that would affect production and logistics, such as natural disaster, or the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Delays are inevitable, but generally, the expected timeline for each process are as below.
|
Task |
Estimated processing time |
|
GB Launch for Pre-orders |
1 month |
|
Pay Invoice & Submit Order |
2-4 weeks |
|
In-Queue for Production |
3-6 months |
|
Color Matching |
1-3 months |
|
Making the Product |
1-3 months |
|
Ship to Vendors |
3-6 weeks |
|
Deliver to Customers |
2 weeks |
|
Total Turnaround Time |
6-12 months |
Please kindly note that as the world recovers from COVID-19, this timeline will be improved significantly when the pandemic subsides.
Where can I find the status of my GB order?
The status of each GB is frequently update here: www.mekibo.com/pages/group-buy-status
To avoid spamming our subscribers, please kindly note that we will not be sending emails regarding these GB updates.
How can I edit an existing order?
While the GB is open, if you want to modify an item in your order, please contact our team at support@mekibo.com with your order number and the changes you'd like to make.
Running a GB is often a collaborative project involving multiple vendors of different world regions. After submitting the GB to the manufacturers, any changes in order quantity of one region will always affect the turnover and delay shipping to all others. As a courtesy to each other, we will strictly close the book and will not allow any changes or cancellations after the GB has closed.
How can I change the shipping address?
If you need to update your shipping address, please reach out to our support with your order number and the new location. You will receive the confirmation email again once the new address is updated.
Once it leaves our hand, we will not be responsible for loss or delays due to incorrect or outdated shipping address.
Signature Confirmation
All keyboard kits and orders valued more than $500 will require signature confirmation upon receipt. Unclaimed packages, when returned to us for whatever reasons, will be cancelled and refunded the amount of the merchant only, minus transaction fees.
Cancellations
The window to cancel a GB is from the date it opens for pre-orders to the date it closes.
While the GB is live, you can always submit a request for cancellation, no question asked; but not after it ends, as we are required to forward the payment to the manufacturer.
Again, no cancellation after GB ends. These are unlimited GB so please take your time to consider before joining!
ETA provided by the manufacturers are an estimate, not a guarantee. As the results, delays may happen, and are not an acceptable reason to cancel after the window allowed.
We reserve the right to reject and cancel an order for, but not limited to, the following reasons:
- Fraudulent orders.
- Orders exhibiting patterns of suspicious behaviors.
- Orders containing an in-stock item.
- Orders containing different GBs with different fulfillment timelines.
- Customer not being aware of our policies and fulfillment timelines before purchasing.
All cancellations & refunds are subjected to the transaction fee without exceptions; 5% for US orders and 8% for international.
Refunds can only be initiated as a reversal on your original payment method. Refunds cannot be undone. Check your bank account/credit cards/etc. before requesting a refund.
Refunds, Returns, & Exchanges
Due to the made-to-order nature of this GB, all sales are finals, and no returns, refunds, or exchanges of the items are accepted. If you believe that you have received a defective item or an incorrect order, you must notify us within 14 days upon receipt. Please also take a picture in the original packaging to help us submit a claim with the manufacturer.
Packages that are refused and returned to us for whatever reasons will not be automatically reshipped, cancelled, or refunded unless requested by the customer.
Please visit our Refund Policy for more details.
Transfers
We do not extend our customer service, offers, or compensation to buyers that did not purchase the product directly from our website.
We will not honor or accept transfers of GB pre-order, or ship it to a different recipient on your behalf. If you intend to resell, please kindly wait until the order reaches you.