Semi-rant - wtf Mouser? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2018, 04:50:12 pm
content: Not really sure if it is Mouser or a faceless bureaucrat behind the curtain somewhere, but.While ordering parts for a customer proto i noticed that ST has launched and Mouser sells an eval board for quad drones. The description expressly states that it is for the purpose of evaluating toy drones. So just on the spur of the moment i decided to check one out and added it to the list and placed the order. Mild surprise a few hours later when there was a request to fill in an end user form enquiring the purpose of the item etc etc. You know the drill.<rant> So i answered everything truthfully and was promptly denied the purchase. What the hell Mouser? Finland is not known as a trouble spot and my record couldn't be more spotless, so if i don't qualify, then who does, actually? Why advertise the item if the most eligible buyers can't get it </rant>No big deal as this was not related to anything businesswise. It just irritates me to be so arbitrarily denied without any apparent or likely reason.Thanks and sorry, i feel better already...

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2018, 05:00:57 pm
content: IIRC, ST is a French. Thus selling through Mouser in the US. But according to US law it's impossible to export some items. Even if they originate from the EU.Buy it from Element14 then, or RS components.edit:Wait, I just checked. ST's corporate headquarters is stated to be "Schiphol, Amsterdam, Netherlands". That area is known for the many mailbox offices, purely for financial and liability reasons.However, ST's website says Geneva.

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2018, 05:04:58 pm
content: Yup, already have a notification at Farnell pending when they get some in stock.As noted, it is not so much the item itself as the apparently completely arbitrary denial.

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2018, 05:08:35 pm
content: One of my customers has a guy who worked long for ST designing several popular components in use currently. He made regular trips to France and definitley they manufacture a lot in France. My understanding is that it is a French company but who knows these things. Ownership can be a complicated thing.

author: donotdespisethesnake
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2018, 11:58:52 am
content: Don't blame Mouser, they are only implementing export controls set by the US government.The fact you have been denied without reason is not unexpected. If they have to tell you why they think you don't comply, it's easier for actual bad guys to game the system. Most people are not terrorists, but we all get tarred with the same brush.And yes, it is totally dumb that items imported to the US from the EU may not be exported back to the EU! But unless you have been living under a rock, you will have noticed that the US is increasingly following the "stupid" model of governance.

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2018, 04:34:01 pm
content: Yes i know all that and i don't really blame Mouser. The irritating thing is that someone apparently throws dice and lets those decide. Because there just cannot be any factual cause for the decision. But never mind. I'll live and move on. A European distributor will be happy to deliver if i decide to go for it once more.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2018, 08:20:30 pm
content: Is it the STEVAL-FCU001V1? Did any of your order paperwork show an ECCN for the kit? That's the number that's used to classify the item for the purposes of export controls, so you'd be able to tell what particular restrictions apply and maybe figure out why they denied your purchase. It doesn't look like the MCU has crypto, which is a common hangup, so I guess it's something to do with the radio or the sensors.