Excellent Keyboard. Great service!
by SadSack963I purchased a Ducky One 3 Keyboard from Overclockers UK in January. It arrived promptly a couple of days later. The delivery box was large with only minimal padding, but the keyboard itself is very well encased in its box. I was not happy with the RGB lighting on the keys. On some keys, the light shining through the key legends was dim in places making the legend look faded or dark. I removed a couple of the affected keycaps and noticed there was a dark lump of plastic in the moulding. I had not seen this mentioned in any of the reviews I had read and watched, so I assumed it was a manufacturing defect. I reported this back to Overclockers and they arranged for an immediate RMA, no questions asked. I duely sent the keyboard back, and they reported that other keyboards in their stock also had the same problem and they were returning them to the manufacturer. They suggested I cancel the order which I did. Meanwhile, I did further research because I really like the keyboard itself. I had never seen this problem on my cheaper laptop keyboards so it was definitely unexpected. I discovered that it is a natural consequence of the double-shot moulding process when you have a dark area enclosed by the light legend, e.g. in B, O, %, 8, etc. It was actually a conscious design decision by Ducky to go with this process since the keys will last forever! So, it wasn't a manufacturing fault after all. I placed a new order, but unfortunately Overclockers had no stock. Presumably they had sent the "faulty" units back already. This meant that I had to wait abour 6 weeks for the new keyboard. It's here! It is lovely to type on. I went for the Silent Red switches and they still have the pleasant "thunk", while being much quieter than the clicky switches. I haven't even noticed any spring ping. The keycaps are cupped making typing mistakes less likely. Some letters are still slightly faded as mentioned above, but they seem less so than before. Maybe the manufacturing process has improved? But it doesn't bother me now since I know it's not a fault after all. All in all I am extremely pleased with the way Overclockers handled my complaint. I am also very impressed with the keyboard itself. I just wish that this particular issue with the keycaps was mentioned more up-front to consumers. Then there wouldn't be a shock when it is first seen and unnecessary returns. Customers need to know what to expect!
