What is the pricing strategy with this fuse and parts like it? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: JoeN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 03:49:28 am
content: I assume they are getting killed on price from every other manufacturer. Who buys this part? And how many would you expect to be purchased assuming the bulk price is half that the lowest listed price here? The price for one is more than two cheap multi-meters. I've seen a lot of other passives like switches, connectors, and sockets that are unbelievably expensive. The price on eBay will be 10% of the Digikey price on sockets sometimes. Obviously, they are inferior products. But when the product is "good enough" for some consumer application and a tenth of the price, doesn't it end up getting almost all of the market?

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 04:10:17 am
content: Corporations will buy whatever at whatever price. Nobody cares, and buying form DK provides nice ass-saving paperwork.

author: JoeN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 04:14:49 am
content: Quote from: ataradov on August 07, 2017, 04:10:17 amThat makes sense as a replacement part, but would any OEM ever build a device with this fuse in the BOM?

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 04:16:18 am
content: You don't buy from DK directly if you are buying 100K or 1M of them. Talk to the manufacturer directly, and the price will drop 10-20x easily.Even if DK ends up being a final distributor, you will get a custom price and a custom part number (suffix).

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 05:00:30 am
content: The FLU in the part number means it is almost certainly a part made specifically for Fluke who you can bet doesn't pay anywhere near that price for them. It may be just a custom part number, or it may have some specific manufacturing or testing rating specified by fluke. I assume those part numbers are specified on the back of fluke meters as the replacement parts. They very well may give Fluke a sweetheart deal, selling them below what they "need" for profitability knowing they can get high margins on a handful of replacement parts. Nobody else is going to be using these as OEM parts, and very few people are going to buy them in quantities of more than a handful.If I blew a fuse out in a fluke, I would probably find a cheaper fuse that met the same ratings, even "at work". But if I wasn't confident I knew what all the ratings meant, I would just pay the $30 for the part the manufacturer specifies. I know lots of people who I wouldn't trust to find an appropriate replacement fuse. Also: Its a fuse. You aren't supposed to have to replace it. Sure, it happens, but if you are going through a lot of these the problem isn't the price of the fuse. Its the idiot user.

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 06:26:42 am
content: There are also users who are restricted by regulation to a narrow list of approved replacements in order to maintain the certification of the device. Medical, aviation, military, some sciences, government, etc.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 06:50:53 am
content: Relevant:http://www.littelfuse.com/products/fuses/industrial-power-fuses/midget-10x38mm-fuses/flu.aspx"The Littelfuse FLU series is designed specifically for the protection of multimeters.The 1000 VAC/VDC rating also makes the FLU ideal for a variety of other applications."It's custom, so they ask a premium on that. I guess no one else makes a "FLU" type, so they have single source control, too.The 1kV rating is unusual, and worth a premium as well.Average midget fuses are still quite expensive, in the range of $10. They're used massively in industry. Presumably the cost remains high due to regulations. Still, a teeny, tiny price to pay for stopping 480VAC (or DC, for that matter) in its tracks!Tim

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2017, 05:26:26 pm
content: Huh. Despite the FLU in the part number it does not appear to be the fluke OEM part, which is a bussman fuse that costs about $9.https://www.digikey.com/products/en?mpart=803293&v=614The same fuse listed as an Eaton product rather than a Fluke:https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=dmm-11So yeah, I guess they are just counting on selling parts to people who type the number in and buy what comes up.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 08, 2017, 12:17:39 am
content: Quote from: Nusa on August 07, 2017, 06:26:42 amWe came up against this in the maintenance department when considering replacement of devices and parts used in industrial process controlled plants subject to OSHA Process Safety Management Program. Must it be an 'exact replacement' and/or must a MOC (management of change) be performed to document and approve if anything other then exact replacement is used, or can an equivalent device/part with the same or better ratings be used?For example a large refinery contain thousands and thousands of industrial hermetically sealed 24vdc coil plug in relays, typically 10 amp contact ratings. They are very common relays and most relay manufactures build and sell them. Seems simple right? Common sense and experience should be able to handle that kind of decision. However my experience is that frequently someone will questions the replacement decision and ask for a formal meeting to review and creative paper work starts flying around, emails, etc.OSHA regulations can be a burden and waste much money and time (same thing really) whenover applied or with a CYA mentality.

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 08, 2017, 04:33:10 am
content: Quote from: retrolefty on August 08, 2017, 12:17:39 amBy hermetically sealed relays in a refinery do you mean that they are supposed to be sealed to prevent arcing contacts from causing an explosion? If so, then I am OK with you having to buy certified parts from approved manufacturers. If it is just garden variety industrial control sealed to prevent contact corrosion in industrial environments, then I guess I agree with you, although normally I wouldn't expect that to be covered by OSHA.