[59nadir]

I've found that overwhelmingly it's brand perception, fashion and trends that build these situations more than anything else. Add to that the situation where people have spent hundreds of dollars on something and generally feel like they will have to justify it. It must be great, right? They spent hundreds of dollars, of course it's great!

I bought a mechanical keyboard (ErgoDox EZ) for more than $300 after import taxes and it wasn't remarkably better than anything else. I don't use it nowadays, I just use "classic" models from either Logitech or Microsoft (or even a lower-status brand) for the equivalent of ~$13-$17 a pop. I bought several at once but they've never broken so far so I just have a few in storage.

P.S. I had problems with wrist pain and stuff before I bought the ErgoDox which was one of the reasons I bought it. It only got worse after I started using it and the only thing that helped was voice coding and not using a keyboard for some time. After that I started using these bland, uninteresting keyboards and I've never really had the same issues again.