what is your preferred distributor of components in Europe? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 06:51:50 am
content: I would like to know more about other distributors of components in Europe that can deliver faster than p.e. Mouser or any other distributor located in the US.Lately I am disappointed of Mouser as their processing time of orders is unpredictable and therefore influences negatively my commitment to my customers wrt repair time.Looking forward to hear from you who you use as a distributor that can or will delivery next business day, and thus presumably having stock/warehouse in Europe.Tnx.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 07:50:26 am
content: TME, Farnell,RS

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 07:56:42 am
content: Tnx.I use TME a lot, but they often don’t have some older components.Years ago I stopped using Farnell as they were ( are?) very expensive.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 08:00:17 am
content: I use Mouser and TME.I have account with RS and Farnell but they are only for specialty items.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 10:25:38 am
content: When quality and genuine-ness is important, I use RS or Farnell.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 12:39:20 pm
content: Farnell, RS, TME, Distrelec

author: NE666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 03:59:57 pm
content: Sorry, slightly off-topic but I'm hoping to gain enlightenment from those who've more experience with Mouser, and with the general distribution chain.I've just had a Mouser order shipping notification and all was good, with one exception. They've cancelled this item, from Analog Devices, on the grounds of "restrictions imposed by the manufacturer".https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/584-ADUM110N0BRZSeems quite an innocuous little device to me, and not exactly something lending itself towards quantum cryptography etc.Any ideas why this can't be shipped from the US to the UK? More importantly, will I be wasting my time seeking a substitution? Is there something 'special' about digital isolator ICs in general which means the US keeps them all for itself??

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 04:40:58 pm
content: I use Mouser all the time, and rarely have any issues at all. Occasionally they take an extra day or so before despatching an order, but that's not a big deal to me.I gave up on Farnell because of issues with their web site, specifically the filtering & sorting options, which broke shortly after their acquisition by Avnet.I also gave up on RS because it's impossible to filter on whether an item is in stock, which makes placing an order for a kit of parts extremely time consuming and far more difficult than it needs to be.My 2nd choice after Mouser is Digi-key, who are also generally reliable in my experience.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 05:02:07 pm
content: I am done with Mouser.Just had a long chat wioth them because an order of yesterday morning is still not processed.Reason: they need to check if they can send those f*cking capacitors to Belgium or not...WTF.Hence why I am looking for an alternative.

author: jc101
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 05:06:16 pm
content: Quote from: NE666 on August 26, 2025, 03:59:57 pmWeird, it's down as an EAR99 part, so zero restrictions. It is in stock at Farnell, depending on how many you need...I've had this before with Mouser, when I called them they asked for my VAT number and released the part. Which is weird, as my VAT number is on my account.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 07:31:27 pm
content: I useDigikeyprobably 3-4x as much asMouser, first because Digikey's parametric search is better on nearly all categories. (Nobody does a parametric search better than Digikey.) Secondly, because Digikey has fewer mystery delays. Both Digikey and Mouser have enormous selections, often having the oddball parts that nobody else has.I useConrada lot because they carry a bit different things, in particular, wires and cables by the meter, something that everyone else seems to be getting rid of. They have lots of mystery delays, though, because there's no transparency about which items are at their Swiss warehouse and which items come from one of their other warehouses. While their expected delivery dates are usually correct, it's just annoying.I have found bothFarnellandRSto be very quick and reliable to deliver. Their selections are... medium. But their searches are justterrible. (I second AndyC_772's statement about the inability to search by in-stock only. I cannot imagine what brain-dead decision process led to this. It's not even a technical limitation, since Octopart and Distrelec (recently-ish acquired by RS) both access RS stock level data! I would order from Farnell and RS more often if their searches were better and they carried a wider selection.And then there'sDistrelec. At work, we have a special education deal with Distrelec for a substantial discount on most items and free shipping with no minimum order, so they end up getting a lot of our small orders. Without those special terms, we'd probably use them a lot less. Their selection has historically been about medium, but it's shrinking. Their search went downhill when they sold to a German private equity group in 2020 and had to untangle itself from Dätwyler, their prior owner. Before this sale, Distrelec was kinda expensive, but super fast (you can get same-day delivery in Switzerland) and was great when you needed stuff right now. Under the new owners they cut the selection of items a lot, especially in the Swiss warehouse, and they started to have just random troubles (like orders simply being forgotten about and never delivered!). The website, search in particular, got really bad, then started to improve little by little. Then in 2023 they were bought by RS, which has little by little been integrating Distrelec. For example, Distrelec's natively-German product descriptions got mostly overwritten with machine-translated texts from RS, it's obvious that they've been merging metadata from different databases without much care, and they've been seriously thinning out the selection. Presumably, it'll just end up being another storefront for RS. Just recently they did a major redesign of the parametric search, and it's awful (needs even more clicks than before, and has some bugs). Yet it does allow searching both for what's in stock "for delivery" (essentially meaning anything at any of the Distrelec or RS warehouses that can arrive in a few days), or what's in stock for 1 day delivery (meaning just items at the Swiss warehouse), and at least that mostly works (it has bugs, too). Despite these limitations, I do use Distrelec for oddball things nobody else has (though nowadays, that's mostly pre-acquisition stock they're clearing out) or if I need something smalltomorrow.I useReicheltwhen I need to stock up on items they have very inexpensively, but which I don't need in a hurry. Their selection is very uneven, in that they have great selections of some items, and then almost shockingly small selections of others (like simple hook-up wire, which they have nearly none of!). But their price-performance ratio is great (their single-piece prices on many items are the same as the 1000 quantity price from other distributors!), and I've found them to be reliable, just not the fastest.I don't useTME(even though I would like to, since they have superb selections of many brands that nobody else carries much of) because they don't ship with DDP incoterms (duty/tax prepaid, collected at the time of order), meaning that deliveries incur extra customs costs and delays at the border. Every other one I mention in this post ships DDP, so whatever the final price at checkout is, that is THE final price, no surprise bills from the Post/UPS/FedEx/DHL for customs clearance.

author: NE666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 09:49:08 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on August 26, 2025, 07:31:27 pmThat's the one reason that I still use them (delivery times) and also the one reason I generally don't use them wherever possible (searching is truly pathetic in the case of RS).Digikey and Farnell tend to be on average about 10% more expensive than Mouser, in my experience.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 09:55:11 pm
content: I just did a price comparison between Farnell and Mouser/Digikey.Farnell is at least twice as expensive...Is that the case for you too ? (you guys have better conditions?)?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 10:31:17 pm
content: Yes, on average, Farnell is much more expensive than Digikey or Mouser. I only use them rarely now and only when I need something really quick.Something to know with Farnell (and yes, it's also true for the others, depending on how big a client you are) is that you can get customized quotes even for moderate quantities, and often get better prices. I don't think that'll work as an individual, but even as a small company, you can contact their sales dept and ask for a better proposal for some parts/equipment.TME is a good option otherwise in Europe.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 11:37:33 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on August 26, 2025, 07:31:27 pmWhenever I've checked, I've found the RS stock levels reported to Findchips to be be litlle more than lies.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 11:41:33 pm
content: I find pricing between distributors is very random, depending on the product in question - any of RS, Farnell, Digikey & Mouser can be the cheapest, or the more expensive.If I'm ordering a BOM , for the stuff I don't get from LCSC, I default to Digikey primarily because their website works so much better, but will cross-check the others only for high-value lines

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 07:45:32 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on August 26, 2025, 11:37:33 pmSame in my experience with Findchips. There are numbers shown, but they don't seem strongly connected to reality.

author: Messtechniker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 08:42:47 am
content: Being a hobbyist in Germany, for electronic components I go to1.) Reichelt (97 %)2.) Pollin3.) Ebay/Amazon for low value stuff only which is not normally fakedand as a last resort4.) Digikey (one order every 3 to 5 years or so).

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 08:48:24 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on August 26, 2025, 09:55:11 pmDoes it matter? The quick delivery distributors exist to get you parts quickly so you can move on. Being able to move on quickly is where the money savings are at.

author: Oldtestgear
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 09:39:44 am
content: I placed an order with RS last Thursday (21st) for next day delivery. As of yesterday it had disappeared with the carrier. Gave up, asked for a refund & ordered from Digikey. If I has ordered from Digikey instead of RS I would have received the parts by now. Plus RS MOC foe free delivery (for account customers) is now higher that Digikey or Mouser. Shame as RS used to be the "go to" supplier for small quantities & great stock levels.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 09:46:02 am
content: I was on the phone with Mouser some minutes ago.It seems my order had to be checked (classification) to see if I am a Russian spy or some criminal.That is specifically if one orders Analog Devices components: they (AD) oblige the distributor the check before processing the order.I was told this has a huge impact on the business of Mouser and they are desperate.So I cancelled my order at Mouser and reordered at Digikey after they confirmed me that they don't have such obligation and my order will ship at once.Bye Bye Mouser.

author: NE666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 10:30:31 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on August 27, 2025, 09:46:02 amThanks for sharing, good to know. Since I was attempting to purchase AD components as a private individual, I guess that this constitutes an instant fail when it comes to running such checks.Avoid AD parts, or purchase them from Digikey it seems.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 11:03:59 am
content: After 3 days, my order was not even processed.They told me that those persons that do the check, are completely understaffed.It might take weeks.I thought I was angry when hanging on the phone, but rest assured that the person of mouser I was talking to, was even more angry and frustrated.( don’t t tell anyone, but they even checked if this component was available elsewhere and told me to get it through Digikey, which I did)Imagine….

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 11:05:59 am
content: Quote from: Sorama on August 27, 2025, 09:46:02 amIME Mouser has always been worse at dealing with export controls - at one point when sanctions on Russia chaged, they wouldn't ship me anything, but would only tell me 4 days after I'd placed the order. Never had an iossue with Digikey

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 12:15:42 pm
content: Digikey and Mouser in various proportions by default.TME is quick and affordable, but has seriously limited inventory in components.Farnell's inventory is slightly better than TME, but not on the same level of Digikey/Mouser. Besides, too many problems of various kinds with Farnell. Cannot be trusted so avoided by default. Used only in a pinch, i.e. when needing something a day quicker than Digikey/Mouser, AND part is not available at TME.Actually biggest problems (crashing website / order system, broken stock status with 5-10% of any order going into backorder at the time of purchase) with Farnell were most evident when trying to order more than 100 items at once. PTSD stays, but nowadays when used only occasionally for small orders of 1-2 lines, it works much better.I will start using primarily European distributors after they get their shit together and start offering similar inventory and similar experience to Digikey/Mouser.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2025, 07:55:06 pm
content: my last few orders to RS have had problems :1) still waiting for some ULN2003A ics2) missing fifty 1 micro-farad electrolytic caps - they over compensated and sent 150 (interestingly one bag marked 50 had a 100 inside)3) today's order, missing 1-bag-of-10 3-way vertical header kk254I don't find any of distributors online systems easy, but RS probably is the more familiar.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2025, 08:43:35 pm
content: Quote from: Sorama on August 26, 2025, 09:55:11 pmI think it’s very hard to generalize, because there are items where Farnell is significantly cheaper than the others. Digikey and Mouser are almost always very similar in price, with Mouser often (but not always) being slightly cheaper — as of right now. I seem to recall it being the other way around about 5 years ago.But Mouser’s much higher probability of export control issues, and the delivery unpredictability it causes, makes Digikey the one I choose first.

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2025, 09:16:00 am
content: Is this Farnell the same company that made PSU's and more decades ago ??

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2025, 09:50:53 am
content: Quote from: MathWizard on August 29, 2025, 09:16:00 amYes, but they split up a while ago.The power supply company still exists under a different name, and has a detailed company history on their website:https://advanceproductservices.co.uk/about-us/our-history/

author: screwbreaker
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2025, 11:39:22 am
content: RS once do have an option on the parametric search for items that can be shipped immediately, but seems gone now.I general you have no guarantee for the shipping with none of the resellers. An order can get stuck for a lot of reasons. Better if you take this delay in account when you tell to the customers the estimated repair time.RS is generally quick, but, they can split your order in many packets shipped separately (this happen often). So no guarantee for all the items to arrive quick.RS and TME are good in EU because they have the lower shipping costs for small orders. TME can be a little more expensive than RS, but, most of the time you are not forced to get the items in quantities, so the overall price for the order can be lower, if you need only few components.

author: Chicane
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 06:17:51 am
content: TME- first choice. The fastest and the cheapest. That's when they have what you need. I'm in US and my orders turn up on the second day with DHL or UPS for just $13 shipping for up to 5 KG. Mouser and Digikey haven't even shipped my orders, when TME's order is already delivered. But now with our tariffs orders take 4-5 days. You're not in US, so probably 2-3 days max.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 08:09:33 pm
content: Quote from: Chicane on September 01, 2025, 06:17:51 amMouser and Digikey most certainly do not take 2 days to ship an order. They ship by the end of day. If I were to order something from either of them today (Monday), it would arrive here in Switzerland on Wednesday morning.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 08:43:28 pm
content: Mouser did take more than 3 days to internally proces my order.I cancelled, placed the order at Digikey who shipped the same day.No more Mouser for me.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 09:15:46 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on September 01, 2025, 08:09:33 pmI often get shipped notifications from Digikey within a couple of hours from order

author: temperance
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 09:44:12 pm
content: QuoteKeep on doing that and soon you will run out of suppliers. Just plan ahead, like in the "old days".

author: temperance
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 09:54:31 pm
content: QuoteFrom a certain annual turnover you will receive a discount at Farnell. But here is the problem: you first have to reach this yearly turn over before you get a discount. I would easily reach the required turnover when given a proper discount. I informed them about that. But they were not interested. Because of that I order large quantities at EBV, Rutronik, TME, Mouser,...But still, Farnell and the likes are way too expensive:a full reel Vishay 0603 resistors, 10 K, 1%,... at Fannell: €20. At TME the same reel is €5,5...6,5.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2025, 10:17:03 pm
content: Quote from: Sorama on September 01, 2025, 08:43:28 pmYes, occasionally, due to export compliance, which is Mouser’s weak spot. But it’s not the rule. I haven’t had a mouser order delayed in a while now.

author: Chicane
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2025, 08:10:10 am
content: Well, I guess it's different in Europe, lucky you! Here in the US orders from Digikey take 2-3 days to ship, orders from Mouser sometimes ship next morning but other times in 2-3 days. It has happened before that I ordered from Digikey US and waited parts to be shippedfrom their overseas warehouse to their US warehouse, and only then to me. Even if I pay for overnight delivery, orders turn up in no less than 3-4 days.Anyway, the question was about distributors in the EU delivering to EU, and my experience with these distributors is irrelevant.Quote from: tooki on September 01, 2025, 08:09:33 pmQuote from: mikeselectricstuff on September 01, 2025, 09:15:46 pm

author: chilternview
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2025, 08:51:13 am
content: I used to order mainly from RS, but they don't stock many items and often I find only when I get to checkout some part is out of stock - they don't tell you that when adding items to your basket. They do deliver next day most of the time, but not always - sometimes stuff seems to come from France and that takes an extra day. Alas gone are the days when you could order a resistor from RS with no handling charge and have it arrive the next day!So nowadays I order more from Mouser and DigiKey, who have much better stock but delivery is 2-3 days, which is still pretty good. Farnell I rarely use, they seem the most expensive.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2025, 05:15:12 pm
content: Quote from: Chicane on September 03, 2025, 08:10:10 amThat is literally not possible, by virtue of Digikey having only one single warehouse for the entire planet. Digikey’s foreign locations are just sales offices, no warehouses of any kind.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2025, 05:18:02 pm
content: Quote from: chilternview on September 03, 2025, 08:51:13 amI was at a trade show today and talked to the guy at the RS booth, including the things that keep me from using RS more. The parametric search was the top of the list, especially the “no way to filter by in-stock only”, which makes it basically a non-starter.

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2025, 06:13:59 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on September 03, 2025, 05:15:12 pmWhen I contacted them last week, they told me their only warehouse is in the US.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2025, 07:20:34 pm
content: QuoteI've long since given up trying to tell RS why their site is so bad, after literally decades - they just don't care

author: paul cotter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2025, 07:25:50 pm
content: Not buying much these days as I'm largely retired. RS and Farnell would have been my suppliers with Farnell having been more competitive historically- that situation is now reversed with RS beating them on most items.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2025, 12:24:28 pm
content: Quote from: Sorama on September 03, 2025, 06:13:59 pmYeah. Why would they say anything else?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2025, 12:29:07 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on September 03, 2025, 07:20:34 pmThe question is, do you still order from them?I made it very clear to them that the RS website, and that one missing feature in particular, makes RS a supplier of last resort for me.Less relevant to you, but he also confirmed that the merger of the Distrelec and RS IT systems has been… going less well than hoped, but that they are in the process of implementing a new website sourced from an e-commerce vendor, rather than homegrown, that should work a lot better. (Right now, Distrelec and RS both have separate, differently-awful websites, but it is their plan to merge them.)

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2025, 10:17:59 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on September 06, 2025, 12:29:07 pmOnly very occasionally - when only they have (uk) stock, or the occasions where they are cheapest for a volume order