If the funding fails, mass production with injection-molded plastic would be impossible, but it still might be possible for us to produce the keyboard anyway.
The crowdfunding campaign will end on March 20th 2019. The campaign will only receive funds if at least $200,000 USD is raised by that date. That’s approximately 1,000 people willing to buy Moonrim II. It’s possible that we fail to gather that many people.
In that case, what happens? The obvious answer is that the mass production of Moonrim II does not happen. This is, apparently, making many backers unhappy. I was surprised to hear that many of them are willing to buy this even with a 3D-printed frame or a higher price.
First I wish you could kindly understand that I cannot say for sure about what I’ll be able to do if the funding fails. I do want to build and deliver for those who are willing to buy this keyboard, but things will be far less certain as I’ll have no budget to begin with. Since I won’t be able to order the parts at a thousand-unit wholesale price any more, the price will also be higher than the current crowdfunding promise ($179).
But if we assume that it’s possible to do a smaller batch… Then definitely I’ll prioritize the crowdfunding backers.
Crowdfunding, after the initial popularity and enthusiasm, is now enjoying less and less reputation. There have been multiple crowdfunding scams where you pay the money but you neither receive anything nor get refunded. But more than 200 (as of now) people decided to take the risk and make the payment that will go to an engineer, not even a known manufacturer, with nearly nothing but a prototype keyboard of a radical idea that you have never even used. It feels natural for me express my gratitude and give you something in return.
The idea is, when I can do a small batch, to send promotion code via email to the backers so that they could enjoy the benefit. The product for the backers may be with a lower price, or with an earlier delivery, or both.
Therefore, it should be more advantageous for you to join the funding regardless of whether the campaign will reach the goal or not.