Your observations are totally accurate, normal and logical reactions too. I dived recently into mechs myself and had a similar experience. The humanity in us tells us things could be better, if not we would still be living in caves. All is done to improve comfort.

This hobby is pretty uncomfortable... it still has some way to go before being something one would expect out of the 21st century.

Most people here like things the way they are. They have been here for a while, got used to it, and even fetish the cryptic nature of it all. Some time ago having your own custom keyboard was even harder than today, longer wait times, more expensive and less customizable options (materials and soldered pcbs instead of hot-swaps), so you can expect people here really really love their custom keyboards. For them, the less people know about the hobby the better, the less demand the better. It makes them and their keyboards feel special.

Today, newcomers have a lot more options than before, with more affordable prices, more stock, less wait times and a lot of customizability. Veterans feel bitter about newcomers having to go through much less pain than they did to get a custom keyboard.

This is why most replies you got are old.

Today, it is not true that most keyboards are designed by the community like you and me. But rather people who one way or another make a living with mechanical keyboards. Definitely not your average r/MechanicalKeyboards redditor.

Today you have well established brands which design and produce several keyboard models a year.

Today, it is not true that group buys are still relevant because there is not enough demand. The hobby did start on them, but right now vendors basically abuse the model to minimize risk and maximize profit. Here a good video which summarizes the current state of the matter.

Hopefully you find some relief in seeing that many people agree with the impressions you got. Group buys also have really bad consequences for the hobby such as the existence of 'cloned' designs at lower prices which basically infringe copyright laws by cloning designs of group buys that ended. Of course here everyone is ok with that and minimize the issue because that would mean group buys are bad, and how dare you? "That's what made this hobby possible in the first place!"

Don't let yourself be discouraged by these people, telling you maybe custom mechs are not for you just for expecting normal wait times and availability. That is where the hobby is going since years now. There are a lot of options out there and everyday there is more. Group buys will soon go extinct and always in stock options will become the common norm.

Having said that, I disagree with you on the price view. For sure there is artificial scarcity, specially with groups buys, but machining is expensive and so is aluminum, copper, and brass. Also, prices are more than affordable when you put things into perspective: A pair or sunglasses can cost more than a custom keyboard, most phones cost more, most watches cost more, many cloths including shoes cost more, many bags cost more, etc etc. There are countless everyday items than are extremely expensive and people happily pay the price. So keep things in perspective. Investing in a tool you will probably use five or more hours a day is more than justified.

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>It would be nice to hear how you manage to have fun with the limitations I mentioned above or whether I’m wrong.

HOW DO I HAVE FUN?

I would say the fun comes from many many sources regarding this hobby. Research is a big part of it. Watching videos, watching reviews, following designers and vendors on instagram, discord. Watching streams (Alexotos) Seeing new designs, new keycaps, new keyboards, new switches. Seeing what others have done, what they share, their combinations, etc. That's really fun for me.

I also have fun saving stuff I like. I save images, screenshots, etc. And this takes me to think about possible builds, what I am interested in, wanting to try x switches and wanting to experiment with different plate and case materials. For instance, I am a TKL person. I thought I would always want my keyboards metallic, because it feels elegant, manly, heavy, luxurious, but I am currently really really digging 60% keyboards with acrylic cases, which I never though I would, but it has grown on me, so I am thinking about how that build will go and making some research about the best 60% keyboard out there or upcoming.

Then fun is finally pulling the trigger and preparing for your build, is like expecting a baby. You might want to buy a new deskmat, some keycaps, some switches, some lube and some tools. I got the my switches before the keyboard, so I will be lubing those across weeks to get ready for when my keeb arrives. You might think lubing is not fun, well, you can now buy pre-lubed switches and pay someone else to lube them for you. I have to make time for my keyboard so it's a win-win situation for me.

When all the pieces finally arrive you have fun putting it all together, experimenting with different materials (if you ordered different plates), switches, etc. Trying different mountings until I stick with the one I like and maybe change it all over again in time.

Hope you can find some fun in the process too! Good luck!