The MPC market is a ridiculously small niche. Tiny. It's also fragmented, with over a dozen different models many of which use components unique only to that model.
To compound the issue, 90% of MPC models are now discontinued and most OEM parts are now no longer available from Akai, and that now includes most parts from the 1000/2500/500/5000.
So this isn't just a case of MPC Stuff buying in a load of parts dirt cheap and selling huge quantities every day, basking in high profits. Instead he's having to spend time, money and resources sourcing these parts for the handful of people who want them.
That means identifying, sourcing and testing alternative compatible components, often having to buy in bulk as that's the only option and then having to sit on that stock for months or even years, or hunting down used parts etc.
This isn't Walmart or Amazon, where they can buy in 1000 toasters and sell them with $5 markup in full confidence that two days later they'll all be sold out. In such a niche market, it's likely that only a handful of people each year will require some of these parts. Yet the expectation is that not only will these parts be available to them when they need them, but they should also be cheap? Never going to happen.
This isn't a conscious decision to 'take advantage' of a niche market by charging high prices because they can 'get away with it' being the only shop in town. If they sold items with little profit, the business would go down.
This isn't blind support for a friend, I do appreciate we all want a bargain, and I can see why some people are disappointed to see tact switches at $8 when they know they can buy a batch of them from Mouser for significantly less unit cost, but of course those people are not the target market. An $8 tact is there for the producer whose MAIN button isn't working anymore, who just wants the damn thing fixed and working again. So he just nips over to MPC Stuff, pays his $8 for a guaranteed compatible part and a day later he's back on track.
The other guys can instead download the service manual, hunt around for somewhere selling the compatible part in stock, then be forced to bulk buy more tact switches than they'll ever need. TBH it doesn't matter what price MPC Stuff would charge for a tact switch, $8 or $1, someone is always going to whine about how they only cost $0.06 each on Mouser (if you buy a 1000 of them), while plenty of other people are just happy to have a reliable and quick supply source that's done all the hard work for them and is able to just sell them the single unit they actually need.
The other thing to consider is that MPC Stuff do not just source existing parts, Mike is also actively developing completely new parts for the community. Need a new sensor sheet for the MPC3000? Guess what, Akai stopped making them years ago, so Mike spent the time & money developing his own version. Hate that wobble on your MPC1000 data wheel? Guess who's been working on a solution for over a year now?
Were you one of the forum members who always wanted a big screen for the 1000 or 2500? Look what's magically appeared on the MPC Stuff web site for you - the ultimate niche product, a large screen for two discontinued MPCs that requires a specially developed OS to take full advantage of it. Do you think such a ridiculously niche product is selling in the numbers that would allow him to sell it at bargain basement pricing?
So yes, he's going to sell a used screen at a decent profit, because that profit means he can afford to invest the money in developing more cool stuff for you guys. Plus when running a proper business, his expenses and responsibilities are significantly greater than some geezer on ebay selling his used MPC, so the pricing is going to reflect that as well.
MPC Stuff "aren't really even competing with anyone" quite simply because no one else would be willing to run such a niche business, it's clearly a labour of love and I think many of you take it for granted that these parts are there on tap for you, whenever you need them, with all the specialist support and advice you need to get them up and running. Mike has given a lot to the MPC community and I find it incredibly embarrassing to read people talking about 'boycotts' and 'group action', when you should instead be supporting people who put so much work and passion into this community.
