[blanderman]

I believe that it's a combination of a satisfying sound (to the user), a complete disregard for the comfort of those within earshot of the user, and a lot of marketing to justify luxury pricing for what is now a commodity item. The target demographic for these skews younger from what I've seen.

[DennisP]

I used a board with Cherry Browns at work in a cubicle, with zero complaints. They aren't all that loud, especially once you've learned to mostly avoid bottoming out the keys.

I'm not a younger demographic, and I was getting pain in my finger joints while typing. Switching to a mech fixed that.

[azthec]

"a complete disregard for the comfort of those within earshot of the user"

I have a feeling the issue here is not the keyboard...

[Lendal]

Logitech's Romer-G keyboards are my choice, because they have no sound but they do have the tactile feedback and longevity that I want.

It sounds like you're forced to work with some annoying people, but that doesn't make the market "commodity." That's just objectively wrong. Tell those people to get the quieter keys. Don't let them tell you it isn't possible. It is.

[blanderman]

Sorry I wasn't clear, I meant that keyboards are a commodity. They're mass produced low margin items and there's little differentiation for the most part. There's rarely a compelling event that causes someone to replace their existing keyboard. The industry always wants more profits and better margins so creating the perception of mechanical being better and therefore more expensive allows them to extract more money from an already mature market through the illusion of superiority. I do find the whole thing annoying but I suppose it's good for the economy, so more power to anyone that cares for them.