Monacokeys from Munich sells XDA White on Black. Only in German though.
But you could hit 'em up on discord and ask if they are able to source you an US layout or point you to a shop that has those in stock.
Drop is one of the rare shops that don't run group buys, but have in stock items instead. Mostly. No need for fomo unless stated otherwise on the product page.
Also, they have at least one buy-one-get-one-free sale per year. Because of that, you have a good chance of getting one second hand for less than a new one.
Regarding kitting you have to watch out for modifiers in the correct size for the correct row, but most keyboards are fairly standard with the exception being the bottom row. Check Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Space and Fn/Win for correct size.
i think you might overestimate the building part.
If you get a barebones board with a hotwap PCB you have to screw in stabilizers for all keys larger than 2u (=2 keys) - Shift, Enter, Backspace and Space. Since you can't be arsed, screw lubing them. Just screw them in, takes 3 minutes.
Then, place all the switches on Plate and PCB and since they're hotswap you just press them in.
Then place like 8 gaskets or screws, drop on your PCB-Plate-Switch-Sandwitch, screw together top and bottom with 4 more screws.
When you're done, mount the caps, also just pop them in place.
That's it. I reckon it's about as much work as a 10$ Lego set.
But going prebuilt is far easier of course: Unpack, plug in, done. If you get a hotswap you can change switches later on if you fancy.
Tbh, if not in IC projective GB or GB, waiting and browsing around is the best option. If you don't look for something really specific there will be interesting projects popping up and the wait should increase budget.
geekhack.org IC or GB subforums or the designers discord channel if they have one. Some also post to /r/mechmarket
tbh, i think we reached a point where there are so many switches available, that cherrys are almost the worst price/performance product imho.
I'm pretty sure geon will have the better quality product. At a higher price though.
Zooms are nice, i like my 65 a lot, but I'd only pick a zoom over a geon if i'd really want a special colour.
Depends on what you're looking for. Zooms are great if you like foam. Building without, go for geon.
this is only true before eight.
i gotta say: Puddings are somewhat nice, but always too gamer.
I reckon, "Pudding refined" with milky white bottom and Cherry style legends would look nice on most keebs.
Humble40 with MW Art Nouveau
Out of curiousity: 3U space with 3U or 2U wires?
I kinda hate 3u bars for three reasons:
3U bars are a half nightmare and need to be standardized. I much prefer 2.25/2.75 for those reasons, although it looks like shyte compared to nice and symmetrical 3U.