Nooo! RS components what have you done. Ruined my dev. with new delivery charge. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: castingflame
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 07:39:20 am
content: I only found out a few months ago that RS components were doing free delivery so I have been using them for all my components for Next day and it has really helped keep my project ticking on but now they have introduced a minimum order of £30 ex VAT which is £36 in reality before you get free delivery.otherwise it is £4.95. While that does not sound a lot, it is when you want to trial a few components that cost £3 and even worse when you are ordering every other day.More annoying is the fact how they deliver their components. Most come in far too big Jiffy bags or even boxes with paper bags for each component then inside that another anti-static bag. The waste is astounding and they could save a fortune by reviewing the packaging waste. I have no complaint otherwise with RS as a company, they have been top notch but I wonder if this Free delivery was just a temporary thing introduced during lock-down.Not sure what I am going to do now. I really don't want to go back to buying from ebay at 5 > 10 x the cost and waiting fr days of delivery. I could get free delivery if I were a company but the thought of having to manage that with TAX returns makes me want to puke with stressAny ideas guys? I am in the UK.Cheers

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 07:59:32 am
content: Well, do you really think that the system where you order £3 with free delivery every other day is sustainable?It was a promotional deal, they were taking a hit for advertisement.I doubt there is a better deal. You've got to pay for the services you use.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:14:59 am
content: Some people, believe that others are there just to serve then.Ridiculous claim

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:47:48 am
content: I ordered something small that I needed from RS when they had free delivery, but I felt guilty about it. I even looked around to see if I could see anything else useful to add to my order. Why would you expect a company to make a loss fulfilling your small orders with free postage? If you're making a £3 order every other day for next day delivery and it costs them more than that in postage and handling, then maybe you should consider whether they stopped this useful service because of people like you abusing it.If there's something I need but not urgently, then I'll add it to a basket/list so it's sitting there next time I need to make a larger order. Maybe you could try that?

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:54:09 am
content: There's almost always somewhere cheaper than RS to get whatever it is anyway.CPC, Amazon, Bitsbox, ebay, even Farnell.Last thing I bought from RS was a large bag of cable ties which turned out to be TOTAL SHIT. Got some generic ones off ebay that were better for 1/4 of the cost including delivery and they turned up next day as well.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:54:45 am
content: Quote from: ataradov on June 17, 2020, 07:59:32 amAgreed, it probably was unsustainable - but it was a verylooongpromotional deal, as in as far back as I can remember, off hand.

author: agehall
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:55:50 am
content: Just build up an order over time. I always have an order in progress at Digikey and then when I hit the amount needed for free shipping I pull the trigger. Tbh, their threshold for free shipping is really low so I don't see why anyone would even worry about it. If the cutoff was £100 or more, yeah, it might sting a little, but with the current cutoff I don't see a problem.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 09:02:25 am
content: Just did some comparisons. All ex VAT.RS:Before = £0 .... Now = £30Farnell:Before = £20 ... Now = £20CPC:Before = £8 ... Now = £17.50

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 09:35:32 am
content: Note that the delivery charge is only for non-business accounts, if you have an account with them next day delivery is still free.Given up on Farnell ages ago... apart from having a site driven by snail power half the devices don't seem to have datasheets or marked discontinued/no longer manufactured (incorrectly), or only available from the US at £15 delivery charge. No thanks.CPC can be pretty good & cheap for stuff like tools, consumables that sort of thing and don't seem too bad despite being part of Farnell now.

author: nfmax
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 09:47:00 am
content: RS are quite good for more expensive things, like test equipment or tools. Same prices as everywhere else, and fast, free delivery, plus easy to deal with if/when something goes wrong.

author: PerranOak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 10:08:14 am
content: What is the url of "CPC"?I Googled it and one of the search results was: cpc.farnell.com.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 10:38:06 am
content: Quote from: PerranOak on June 17, 2020, 10:08:14 amThat's the correct URL. As mentioned above CPC is now a brand of Farnell.

author: dave j
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 02:35:40 pm
content: I can't help thinking that people abusing the system, like the OP was, is responsible for this. If they'd mainly batched orders to significant amounts (say >= £20) and only occasionally spent small amounts we might still have free delivery on everything.

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 03:19:08 pm
content: I don't ever buy just enough parts for a project, I always try to predict how many of a part I'll use in the near future and aim for 1 year of supply for each part I use. That is because I deal with many hundreds of different part numbers, and if I buy stuff "for a project", that means submitting 20 orders at 20 different vendors every few weeks. Each panel of PCBs I do typically contains 3-5 projects, and will use at least 100 different parts. I keep a big inventory of parts and can do a lot of development without ordering anything.It takes human labor to deal with each order and this is expensive. Back in the days I was used to waiting 1-2 months for aliexpress orders, and always planned accordingly. That means planning projects and having each project fully designed without drawing a single line of schematic or writing a single line of code. Then parts that I don't already have will be ordered (for a big batch of projects, so a lot of order combining is possible) and schematic/layout design can start. Once the layout is done the parts will be close to arriving.

author: Phil-GS
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 03:30:56 pm
content: I wondered how long it would last.Coronavirus has been the excuse for a lot of job cuts and general cost cutting. Also, a lot of minimum order values for free delivery have been going up.I go back far enough to remember when RS (Components) were very sniffy about who they sold to - described themselves as business to business and unless you had a trade account with them, it was no deal.Plus in the early days, they never sold branded goods.Then they realised that they were missing out on the surge in interest in electronics etc. following things like Arduino.They fell over themselves to attract new business offering free delivery on any value order and the large order companies were probably subsidising all the piddling orders.£30 plus VAT for free delivery is a bit of a hike, so today they lost my order which went to Farnell at £20 plus VAT instead.I've always rated Farnell for better depth of ranges than RS and they use a better carrier (UPS) than RS (Parcel Force).This might be a mistake by RS because a lot of small buyers quite often turn into bigger businesses.The only reason I can see for using Farnell or RS now is less chance of knock-off components, but that's about all.

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 03:45:40 pm
content: Quote from: mikerj on June 17, 2020, 10:38:06 amYep. Sometimes Farnell is a lot cheaper than CPC, sometimes CPC is cheaper.I'm not surprised RS stopped the free next day delivery, it was handy, but a lot of people probably used it to get a last min item they had forgotten, hence musty have cost them more in postage than profit made (I know I've done this a few times, but usually spend over £20 if I can)

author: castingflame
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 03:46:42 pm
content: To the judgemental ...Look guy's let me just get this straight. I am a hobbyist trying to complete a project to sell. In the last 2 months alone with RS I have spent over £900 with them. Yes I do order extra stuff every time when I know I will need it later on for the future of the project. I probably order 3 times a week (which is every other day given they only deliver on a Tuesday onwards) and on average one of them is a big order. I do not have any issue paying for delivery. My issue is if I want a £2 item it cost me £8 for a one off now or I have to spend £38 to get delivery free. My point is there is £36 is far too much minimum order jump considering it was free.Additionally, I probably didn't make it very clear that was not ordering tiny items every other day but some are larger. I am not taking the piss out of R.S. I feel I have been a very good customer for them and all of my parts for when my full scale release will happen will come from R.S. That will run into the £1000s.And for what it's worth, today I spent another £190 with R.S.To the helpfulAs I mentioned I am not a business and I don't want to become one so getting free delivery for business customers is out of the question for me.CPC look like an option I will look at although I have not used them for many years. I get a lot of stuff like connectors and etc from Aliexpress which works out fine when I have signed off a part of the design but I wish to keep all electronic components from suppliers I know will provide genuine parts.ebay unfortunately will have to be an option now again too but I'll check out Bitsbox as that is new to me.Thank you for all of you that helped any way and not just joined in the pack of wolvesAppreciated.

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 03:48:35 pm
content: Quote from: castingflame on June 17, 2020, 03:46:42 pmI fall into the same category as you, usually spend a lot, but it's handy if you've forgotten something etc. But I was surprised they were still doing free delivery seeing as everyone else wasn't.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 05:14:49 pm
content: Bring back the days when most towns had a component shop tucked away somewhere,unfortunately, first the spread of maplins then the love of online shopping has made them a rare breed.O to be able to wander down the road and pick up the bits you needed.Then again at the time the only other option was a visit to the post office for a a postal order,mailing your order off and waiting 2 or 3 weeks.

author: tkamiya
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 05:40:06 pm
content: Such is a dilemma for being a hobbyist. I run into that situation all the time. I make big orders..... forget a few or blow a few, then I need to buy very small amount. Shipping is same as the cost of the merchandise.I don't suggest buying parts from Amazon. You'll have no idea where that parts came from. Few I received are obvious fake/copy. Many I get are made to the price point. Almost all BNC connectors I bought are loose. I pays to pay extra and get them from reliable source. Amazon used to be a good reliable source for parts. Now, it's about the same as eBay.I'm in US, so I buy from Digikey. They never had free shipping, but the fees are reasonable. I'm just glad they don't mind dealing with small time buyer like me. In the long run (at least for me), shipping thing is a non-issue, when everything is considered.

author: OwO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 06:18:01 pm
content: Quote from: tkamiya on June 17, 2020, 05:40:06 pmThat's why I'll usually buy far more than needed for a project, the rationale being that either I'm going to use this part long-term (since I've already invested design and learning into it), or the part should have never been selected.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 07:05:31 pm
content: Quote from: nali on June 17, 2020, 09:35:32 amAnyone used to ordering from RS will *NOT* be happy with the quality of service ordering from CPC. Over the decade or so I worked for a TV shop, I doubt there was ever a month that we didn't have a mis-picked or mislabelled return waiting to go back or be written off and replaced, + it was a regular chore chasing up parts that were out of stock. In the first five years or so while they still had account reps that visited customers, their rep would visit three or four times a year, and we kept a 'go-back' box the size of a shoe box for small items that was usually fairly full by the rep's visit. Later on stuff sat in the go-back box till they decided they'd rather write it off than arrange to collect it, at which point , if the incorrect item was of any use to us, we moved it to general stock. I absolutely do not understand how they ever made a profit off us as I suspect that we had to dispute approx 10% of our total business with them, and they were incapable of consolidating shipping of delayed items with our next order (which were frequent and fairly regular) so it wasn't unusual for one £30 order to result in three or more separate shipments! The *ONLY* reason we kept using them was brand-specific specialist repair parts that were difficult to source elsewhere and their generally competitive pricing.They may have improved over the last decade or so as I've been out of the service trade and have rarely been forced to deal with them, but I doubt it.TLDR: RS components' pricing and delivery fees are well worth the time you'll save by *NOT* having to follow up orders with CPC!Unethical life pro tip: For many suppliers, add a spray can of *whatever*, or a flammable liquid to your order to get standard delivery upgraded to courier delivery for free! (assuming you'll use the extra item)

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 07:30:19 pm
content: Quote from: castingflame on June 17, 2020, 03:46:42 pmSo what exactly was the point of this thread then?

author: Vovk_Z
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 07:54:27 pm
content: 30 Eur is still a big money (at least here in Ukraine). I can make a half or 100% of my average project with such a money (without ordering a good fabric China PCB).In my country delivery of the smallest parcel (with several parts) costs as much as delivery service takes - it is about $1.5-$2 (depends on distance a bit).And suppliers take online orders starting from about $3.5. It seems resonable.Thanks to I live in large city (capital) I have a possibility to buy most of I need in a shop (and don't wait a delivery). I only make online orders if some part isn't on the shop shelf (and I can't use anything else).

author: Vovk_Z
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:08:47 pm
content: Quote from: dave j on June 17, 2020, 02:35:40 pmI totally agree with you, but: there is a small nuance: usually I can't find everything I need in one place. Usually I have to take parts from at least two or three shops (thanks to radio-Gods they still are situated in almost one place in my city -radio market). Sometimes I need something "unusual" and a bit rare part so I have to order that one part type in the very other shop.

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:09:30 pm
content: Quote from: Ian.M on June 17, 2020, 07:05:31 pmI can't say I had much of a problem, but I suppose it depends really on what you order & when you ordered it. I never used CPC for components aside from maybe some connectors but mostly things for field engineers e.g. cables, crimps, speakers, mostly AV stuff. OK, this was in my previous job so more than a year ago. In all I was responsible for purchasing for a few £10k per annum and I wouldn't say CPC were noticeably worse nor better than RS, Farnell etc.One beef I did have though was they used stupid flimsy boxes to ship stuff. Often we'd get something like a 300m reel of cable with some shreds of cardboard hanging off itNow I only buy for R&D and use Digikey. So far they've been excellent... as an example I bought a small pot of solder paste, which arrived in a thermal bubble wrap and with a couple of freezer ice packs to keep it cool. Took me a moment to work out what it was...QuoteWorth remembering

author: Phil-GS
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 08:39:08 pm
content: I would agree with Ian M.RS and Farnell are both professional electronics and everything else components distributors, along with Digikey and others.You get a professional service aimed at business customers.Wind the clock back a few years and they didn't want to know individual private buyers, but money is money.A lot of my buying will now go to Farnell, Digikey, Rapid etc. until I can justify RS's disproportionate delivery price hike.As for CPC, they are as different as chalk and cheese when compared to Farnell and I wonder why Farnell took them in.Cheap and cheerful.RS used to run a retail business called Electrocomponents, but that died.Probably what has killed off the free delivery is providing the same level of service to small order value buyers as larger business buyers.Selling stuff where profit margins are paper thin was always going to be risky for RS.I think it will be a mistake.I wonder if this would have happened without the coronavirus? I suspect it would have been business as usual.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2020, 09:00:50 pm
content: Quote from: Phil-GS on June 17, 2020, 03:30:56 pmI'm not sure what you mean by "early days", but since the 70s RadioSpares have sold branded goods alongside their own goods.The standard "joke" was that RadioSpares 741 opamps Vosdidn'tfollow a normal distribution. Instead it was bimodal, with peaks just inside the Vos_maxspec. Nowadays Farnell has it s own "multicomp" brand, i.e. whatever generic stuff is cheapest this week.Until recently I preferred Farnell to RS - partly but not wholly because of the web front end search/filter GUI. I've changed that opinion since Avnet acquired Farnell

author: Phil-GS
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 08:56:51 am
content: My first contact with RS, then Radiospares, was in the early 70's.The notable thing is what a small range they carried, small enough to be published in an A5 thin catalogue that ballooned into a 6-inch A4 pack of catalogues in the 90's.What I mean by unbranded was the fact that you could buy say, a Bourns potentiometer, but it wouldn't be printed with Bourns, but had "RS" on it. Nothing in those early catalogues carried brand names.As an aside, I bought some cheap boost convertors that had a blue pot on the board. The pot had some name on it that closely imitated Bourns, even to the point of the capital B of Bourns had the trademarked tail on the B.At least by using any of the big distributors, you should get genuine items.Apart from the free delivery that pulled in a lot of business from private buyers, RS had expanded into things like DesignSpark and their own PCB design software to attract enthusiasts.I haven't used it, but it wouldn't surprise me if it produced a BOM with RS part numbers.I think this delivery price hike, £4.95 + VAT on orders less than £30 has been slipped in under the cover of coronavirus and losing a lot of budding developers and electronic hobbyists might hurt them in the long term. Farnell now looks good value at £3.95 plus VAT, free for orders over £20. An order I was going to place with RS yesterday was rapidly cancelled and went to Farnell instead, so Farnell win, RS lose.As you say, Farnell has their Multicomp and ProPower cheap ranges and RS's RS Pro range the same.I also rate Digikey for their huge range and occasionally, I use Rapid/Conrad, but "Rapid" doesn't apply when it comes to next day deliveries - non existent

author: nfmax
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 01:44:49 pm
content: Quote from: Phil-GS on June 18, 2020, 08:56:51 amIt persisted into the 80's - I have (and still use every day) an HP 11C calculator with applied RS branding. I have replaced the sleeve and given it new stick-on feet, otherwise it's original. On, I think, its third set of batteries...

author: bodger
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 02:09:01 pm
content: Too many people abused the system, I recall people recommending to others they could buy a small number of resistors that cost pennies for free nextday delivery via RS. No way could that continue.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 08:32:55 pm
content: CPC was the one that got me. I'd occasionally order 12x 6 foot bamboo sticks which was just under the min £8 delivery. So I'd chuck 5 diodes in just to knock it over and see what weird packaging it turned up in

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 09:13:47 pm
content: If you think £3 is steep dont order from mouser,£12 on orders less than £33 ,with the added gamble of hmrc getting wind of your order and demanding there cut.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2020, 10:29:18 pm
content: What is the bar to register as a business at RS? It might be incredibly low, as in, just a business name or at worst registering a tax ID or something.For comparison, free shipping levels here in Canada:Arrow - $50 USDDigikey - $100 CADNewark - Good luckedit: another question is, can you modify your design process to avoid ordering parts to "try out" every few days. A good R&D lab will have stock of common resistors, capacitors, etc. so those do not need to be ordered when playing with values. A book of 1% resistors is cheap.

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 19, 2020, 11:44:55 pm
content: I went on Farnell a few weeks ago, different PC, didn’t log in, and every time I tried to look at anything, a pop up window appeared asking me to click to confirm I’m trade, or click to be taken to CPC if I wasn’t.

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2021, 03:17:36 am
content: Shocked to find RS components charging AUD $12.95 on deliveries when it used to be $0 but then it had to end someday because it was just to good to be true !!Tried mouser. Could have sweared that minimum order for free delivery was $50 AUD but now increased to $75 AUD !! Seems that covid-19 has taken its toll on deliveriescheers

author: perieanuo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2021, 06:51:07 am
content: the man completes projects as hobbist in order 'to sell' them, he admitted himself.cannot argue with that, he wants to do bussiness with other people money and logisticshobby is for YOURSELF my dear

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2022, 05:49:26 pm
content: Quote from: bd139 on June 17, 2020, 08:54:09 amI bought some 4700uf 35v caps from RS for £2 +VAT.Same caps 60p on ebay and they work fine.Needed some AD9201 chips, £15 + vat from RS.Ali Express £1.50 each. And they worked.Having said that some items are best bought from RS.Bought 4 power supplies from China and not one lasted a week.Got 4 Chinese power supplies from RS and all great. Clearly RS has good quality control.I usually buy £10 worth of stuff off RS a day. It will now be £30 every few days. So not losing anything but RS get savings on postage.

author: mc172
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2022, 06:27:37 pm
content: Quote from: nigelwright7557 on October 03, 2022, 05:49:26 pmYou'll still be paying for postage then. They recently increased the minimum order value to £50 excluding VAT to get free postage.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2022, 09:16:21 pm
content: For components at least , RS have been a joke for years. I'm genuinely surprised they're still in business.Terrible website - parametric search was useless for years, some gradual improvements over time ( they've stopped alpha-sorting numeric lists, yay!) , but to this day they don't show stock in search results (or provide an "in stock" filter), which with the shortages makes it unuseable for any search that returns more than a handful of results.And of course the parametric data is total mess, but that's the same with many others apart from Digikey.They usually report false stock data to findchips.comTheir packaging is awful - order 50 parts and get 50 seperate bags, or small plastic bubble packs with the parts rattling around, bending the legs.Certain lines only available in ridiculous quantities.And worst of all they just don't care. they never have. I used to get calls from new sales people fairly regularly, and spent time explaining what was wrong, and nothing ever happenned even on the occasions they understood what the problem was. Ditto talking to reps back when they bothered to exhibit at trade shows.I only ever use them if nobody else has stock, or where they're cheaper for a high-value order.

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 02:05:20 pm
content: Quote from: mc172 on October 03, 2022, 06:27:37 pmMy last order was for £30+VAT and i got free delivery.

author: mc172
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 05:17:03 pm
content: Shows as £50 for me whether I'm signed in or buying as a guest.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 05:48:43 pm
content: I get "Spend over £30.00 ex VAT for FREE delivery." when logged in, and "Spend over £50.00 ex VAT for FREE delivery" when logged out.Perhaps it's because my account is registered as a business rather than an individual?I agree with Mike, though... the lack of an 'in stock' filter makes them my distributor of absolute last resort right now.

author: mc172
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 06:37:46 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on October 20, 2022, 05:48:43 pmYep, same here.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 06:46:56 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 17, 2020, 08:54:45 amYes, they were doing this for private customers in France too - as long as you ordered on weekend you had a free delivery. Don't know whether this was with every order because I was not ordering very often but I had it many times. For a dude paying out of his own pocket for a hobby it was pretty nice. The common large shipping and handling fees unless you make 20-60€ order are a huge pain - pushing people to shop at AliExpress or eBay instead.(And yeah the RS packaging business - that's completely ridiculous. I have once received some SOT23 transistors - each individually bagged in an antistatic bag, then put in a small box with foam padding and the box mailed in a separate padded envelope. And all delivered together by one extremely bewildered TNT delivery guy who thought I am making fun of him until I have shown him what actually was in those envelopes ...)

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 07:29:14 pm
content: The funniest packaging I ever saw was from RS; we ordered a big batch of RJ45 connectors.Each was in its own individual plastic vial (a bit like a 35mm film canister), with a piece of sponge to protect the pins.Each of those was in its own individual plastic bag, and each of those in turn was in its own paper RS bag. The whole lot came together in a larger bag, plus padding, in the outer cardboard box.On the plus side, I don't believe any of them were damaged, so I guess that's a win...

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 05:37:26 am
content: How big?our contractor always warns us to append the "P" to the RS code so you have production packaging instead of individual packaging, recounting the story of one of their persons in purchasing that bought a reel of parts, only for them to come in multiple packages, each containing a big number of plastic bags, each containing a single component in a piece of cut tape. Down in assembly they had to separate everything and re-reel, couldn't really put on a trayWhenever i open the RS website i am met by a big banner advertising their effort on reducing waste, and i either laugh or sob at the irony, sets the mood of the day. At least they stopped using the paper bags with plastic windows you have to separate. I hate thoseGuess that's why they charge much more than others.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 05:49:01 am
content: Tell me this, since I don't use them..Is the delivery charge just a simple way to cover rising costs instead of going through every component and adjusting it's price? Or do the component prices move around enough in accordance to supply costs?Reason I'm asking is could it be a lazy way to climb over the transitory(?!) inflation. If inflation next year is still hanging around like a bad smell, you then increase the margins on product and you can *maybe discount the delivery for your good buyers.Just wondering. I've not no idea.

author: mc172
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 06:56:56 am
content: No, their prices have increased.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 07:23:49 am
content: Quote from: Ed.Kloonk on October 21, 2022, 05:49:01 amThe delivery charge is £3.95, so they're not going to be making anything on that

author: mcinque
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 12:33:06 pm
content: Quote from: Ed.Kloonk on October 21, 2022, 05:49:01 amfor that it would be quicker to do some kind of SET 'price'*1.05 in all the database.

author: PerranOak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 01:42:25 pm
content: If only inflation was at 5%!

author: timenutgoblin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 03:11:50 am
content: You can get free delivery if your order total is zero dollars and you don't order anything.

author: py-bb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 05:45:22 am
content: Quote from: ebclr on June 17, 2020, 08:14:59 amYou're missing the point, buying stuff off of ebay is ... iffy at best. It was nice to have a reputable source and now their "free delivery" is prohibitively expensive.He's also right they overpackage like crazy.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 08:19:20 am
content: Quote from: py-bb on October 22, 2022, 05:45:22 amNo, you're missing the point. There's no such thing as free delivery. Ebay sellers include it in their price. The price of some of the items sold by RS Components is so low, they were making a loss, when they didn't charge for delivery, so they started charging.

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 11:40:12 am
content: Negotiate- dont take catalog prices as a given.Upload your BOM and ask for a quote.

author: py-bb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 12:20:21 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on October 22, 2022, 08:19:20 amYou're being that literal? You must be banned from shops for annoying managers when you see "buy one get one free" offers!Don't be that guy who goes after customers (aggressively) for having an odd number of such items, that guy is a douche!

author: bidrohini
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 12:24:04 pm
content: Did you try to post this in Rs componets' forum? What do they have to say regarding this?

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 12:54:22 pm
content: Quote from: py-bb on October 22, 2022, 12:20:21 pmWhat are you talking about? Shops having buy one get one free offers doesn't bother me. You appear to be the one who has a problem with business owners choosing what model best suits them. It wouldn't bother me if the delivery charge was unreasonable, but it isn't. It's well within the market rate. If the original poster deems it to be too expensive, then they're welcome to go elsewhere.RS Components are a business who's job it is to make money. Serving the customer is all well and good, but they're no reason why they should be obligated to do so, if it doesn't make them money. They probably believed free delivery would boost orders, which would compensate for the losses made on small, unprofitable orders, but it appears as though they've realised it costed them too much in low value orders, which resulted in a loss, rather than profit.

author: py-bb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 02:03:52 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on October 22, 2022, 12:54:22 pmSorry I thought there might be some logic to it, I see it nowIT'S NOT FREE DELIVERY IT'S SIMPLY INCLUDED! GAHH!!andBUY ONE GET ONE FREE IS EXACTLY THAT, IT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE OTHER UNIT.Forgive me, your position is the pinnacle of reason.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 02:27:31 pm
content: Quote from: py-bb on October 22, 2022, 02:03:52 pmYou're not making any sense.If shops want to sell two for the price of one, they're free to do so.If RS Components want to charge extra for delivery, they're free to do so.If ebay sellers want to include delivery in the price, they're free to do so.You're the one who's saying implying RS Components should be providing free delivery, so by extension do you mean shops should always give you an extra item for free.Please correct me, if I've misunderstood. It could be a language barrier, as English isn't the native language of the flag displayed in your profile.

author: MadScientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 03:04:41 pm
content: I use mouser at €50 for free delivery that’s not hard to crank up these days anyway

author: py-bb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 03:10:37 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on October 22, 2022, 02:27:31 pmYou have misunderstood, but at such a fundamental level of something simple that I don't think explaining it again will fix it; I think we should cut our losses.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 09:46:28 pm
content: Quote from: py-bb on October 22, 2022, 03:10:37 pmAlright. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but it appears you were just trolling. I now know not to take any notice.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 10:40:22 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on October 22, 2022, 09:46:28 pmHmm.You might find these relevant...https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/building-my-own-scope/msg4477552/#msg4477552https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/building-my-own-scope/msg4477636/#msg4477636https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/building-my-own-scope/msg4477969/#msg4477969but you might also find them boring.Best not to waste too much time.

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 24, 2022, 09:53:33 pm
content: Quote from: MadScientist on October 22, 2022, 03:04:41 pmI usually buy enough from wherever to get free delivery too.But more often than not, I bump my order up with things I think I might need, which often turn into things that so far I’ve never touched.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2022, 07:41:20 pm
content: Quote from: HobGoblyn on October 24, 2022, 09:53:33 pmYep, know that feeling

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2022, 08:39:22 pm
content: Quote from: themadhippy on June 17, 2020, 05:14:49 pmI used to have a Maplins just down the road.Handy if I was short of a resistor or two to complete a job.But incredibly expensive which put many people off.£12 for a HDMI cable when they are a couple of pounds on ebay probably killed them.I remember going in numerous times to just me as a customer and 3 or 4 staff on in a big shop with loads of lights burning.No wonder they had to give up, it just wasnt viable.The new Maplin doesn't do components so I rarely use them.Last purchase was a £12 pc keyboard which I could have off ebay for £5.Thought it would last longer but a couple of months and key tops are wearing off.

author: TomS_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2022, 06:42:38 am
content: Quote from: themadhippy on June 18, 2020, 09:13:47 pmRubbish. Mouser collect the VAT on your order which makes it duty paid on arrival into the country (as long as you order from mouser.co.uk).I've placed quite a few orders from Mouser and never had to pay an extra cent.But they do ship from the US, which is naturally going to be more expensive than somewhere domestic, so £12 doent seem so bad really IMO.

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2022, 10:25:35 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 17, 2020, 08:54:45 amI once bought 100 resistors from CPC and each one in a different bag.I emailed them and told them off.They also scribble in pen CPC stock codes on packets which are sometimes unreadable.Had an interesting order from RS a couple of weeks back.My order was for a couple of IC's.Huge box arrived ! in it was £300 worth of inductors !I guess I could have sold them on but I phoned them to come and collect them and send right item.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2022, 11:35:56 pm
content: QuoteToday yes,but in the past that wasnt the case ,it changed in the last couple of years when the vat rules changed due to brexit