Ebay components From China/Hong Kong? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2015, 10:57:03 pm
content: Ebay components From China/Hong Kong?What about buying things like resistors, capacitors, etc? Are they factory rejects? junk?My need would be purely hobby/project related, not for production.thanks.

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2015, 11:09:38 pm
content: I've only really purchased mostly LED's from Ebay China, and a shed load of dev kits, all have stood the test of time, some of the IC's can be fake (ala FTDI).For resistors and capacitors I have mainly bought packs from local distributors (Farnell, Rapid, RS, Maplin etc)

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2015, 11:13:50 pm
content: Quote from: Wilksey on February 16, 2015, 11:09:38 pmthanks, I pretty much just interested in through hole stuff (at least for now).

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2015, 11:51:17 pm
content: Pick sellers with good reputation and you should be fine. Prices are hard to beat. Just don't take their claims too seriously (e.g. brand names).

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2015, 11:57:45 pm
content: The through hole stuff hasn't been bad for me, as far as resistors. Caps on the other hand.Resistors, SMD or Through Hole, and LED's are probably the only electronic component I will buy from Ebay now. Even then, sometimes buying SMD components in bulk (like 5or 10k worth at a time) is still cheaper from the big name distributors than eBay.I have bought IC's, SMD and through hole, in the past from eBay, and I will NOT do it again. A fail rate of about 50%, and the ones that didn't fail weren't up to specs. Sometimes you'll get lucky and the chips are genuine that just get rejected from an SMD assembling machine and there's nothing wrong with them. It takes more time to sort through the reject bin of these machines, place them back into reels, and reuse again, than it does to just throw them out.But, you have no way of knowing if you are getting these parts or fakes, until you get them. If you ask them, they will say, 'oh, yes, our part come from original manufacture, you can have confidence in us'. Don;t trust them, they are 90% of the time fakes and are just crap.Some stuff, like National Semiconductor parts are/could be completely legit and are just new old stock. Since Texas Instruments have bought out National Semiconductor some time ago, all those chips have been rebranded with the Texas Instrument name. In fact, for example, the LM2596 voltage regulator chip of both the Texas Instrument and the National Semiconductor, the Data sheets are identical, except for the manufacture name. In fact, both data sheets still look like scanned copies from the 70's. So these parts could just be old stock that assembly manufactures and TI themselves have just sold off cheap to make room for the new branded TI chips, and then in return get sold on eBay.As it has been said before on this Forum, for the most part, if the person you are buying from has an eBay store that only sells electronic components, you have a better chance of getting original manufacture parts. But if you buy from a person that also sells women's designer (although probably fake as well) Bras and Panty's, then you have a 99% chance of receiving FAKE electronic components.Just to clear up any confusion, I don't shop for Bra's and Panty's on eBay. I goto Victoria's Secret. Better girls too look at there.

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 12:03:49 am
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on February 16, 2015, 11:57:45 pmI think a lot of stuff is fake, even here in the states. I was in China two years ago looking at DVDs ($1 each). I couldn't tell the fake Game of thrones from the real deal, Band of Brothers (metal box and all). I know a lot stuff is made after hours on the same assembly lines as the real deal. the security guards are bribed and the crew comes in and runs the stuff and makes off with it before the legit crew comes in at 8am. Some are the same people.anyway, thanks for the response.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 12:26:10 am
content: In that case, I don't think I would consider that FAKE. Technically, the DVD's were run from the same machines and software, same screen printing, same box, etc. Just because it was made in the same factory, but off hours and bribing guards, doesn't make it 'FAKE'. It still came from the factory.But, by that same means, whose to say it was or was NOT under the same quality inspection the manufacture had DURING hours. In that case, it would, i guess, be considered fake, since it most likely did not undergo the same (if at all) quality inspection of the product.But, in all reality, you couldn't really tell it was fake, so how would you know?

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 12:29:12 am
content: Quote from: wblackledg on February 16, 2015, 10:57:03 pmTake a look at Tayda electronics. They have offices in China and Thailand but all their parts I've received come from Kentucky.Once a month they post discount codes on their facebook page.

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 12:33:38 am
content: Quote from: Stonent on February 17, 2015, 12:29:12 am

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 11:26:19 am
content: At Digikey, you can buy 100 through hole (1/4W 5%) resistors for $2.19, or 1,000 for $8. You can also get a kit of 395 resistors in 73 different values for $15.If you look through this site, you will see tons of posts from people who wound up with junk on eBay. Everything from mislabeled caps, batteries with smaller batteries + filler powder inside, fake IC's, out-of-spec parts, used part and worse.How much are you really saving by getting parts on eBay? And consider the time to check every component you're using, as well as potentially the time required to debug a circuit that should work but isn't due to a part being out of spec. If it's a part that only fails sporadically (like when it heats up), then it can be even harder to track down.I can sort of see why people buy high power LED's on eBay and stuff, because the real stuff is quite a bit more expensive. But passives? Totally not worth it.

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 12:57:27 pm
content: Yes, as Corporate666 has said, some things are more achievable from Ebay in terms of "quality" such as LEDs and the like, but for passives, when I said I buy packs from local distributors, you can get TH or SMD parts, you can buy a reel of 0805's from Farnell for not much more than you can from the bay (if at all), and at least if they are not correct or you feel they are not within spec you can send them back without any fuss!I don't buy IC's from Ebay, dev boards I will as the price is 1/10th of that of the "genuine" and I haven't had any issues with ones I've bought so far, they are more than likely fake devices, but they seem to work the same as the genuine article, enough for testing purposes in any case!

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 01:20:39 pm
content: Quote from: Corporate666 on February 17, 2015, 11:26:19 amgood point. thanks.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 05:36:04 pm
content: Quote from: Stonent on February 17, 2015, 12:29:12 amI was told, they contract through a bulk shipper, the name escapes me right now. The shipper has places in colorado and kentucky (I didn't know about the Kentucky one). THey basically ship EVERYTHING to be shipped to the usa in one big box to the bulk shipper, who then breaks it down and ships them individually via USPS Priority mail or similar. It's actually very smart and I guess how they are able to get the products to me in about one week.

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 05:57:31 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on February 17, 2015, 05:36:04 pmcool. I just didn't want to blow $100 on a "Bag-o-Caps" or something when I only needed to blow $20.thanks!

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 07:53:37 pm
content: Quote from: wblackledg on February 17, 2015, 05:57:31 pmElectrolytic capacitors are one thing that I only purchase brand name from reputable vendors. There are WAY too many fakes and when they die its typically a huge hassle.

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 07:56:03 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on February 17, 2015, 07:53:37 pmcool. being a noob, I only know about 3 cap brands.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 08:01:06 pm
content: Quote from: wblackledg on February 17, 2015, 07:56:03 pmIn no particular order (not all make electrolytic, some make only film caps):United Chemicon, Nichicon, Rubycon, Elna, Epcos, Wiha, Panasonic, Illinois Capacitor, Spraque, Sanyo plus some others

author: wblackledg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 08:11:17 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on February 17, 2015, 08:01:06 pmWow, I knew four!Nichicon, Rubycon, Elna, and Panasonic. Sanyo, but not as a cap maker.So, I was thinking, a wong hung lo brand wouldn't necessarily be faked, because if you are going to the trouble of faking something, why fake crap? on the face of it, I'm much more inclined to believe someone telling me they had a 2.1 GPA than a 4.0 GPA, that they were a cook in the Navy, and not a Navy SEAL, etc. hope that makes sense.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 08:23:14 pm
content: Quote from: wblackledg on February 17, 2015, 08:11:17 pmYes, Navy SEALs are lousy cooks.

author: elgonzo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 08:26:18 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on February 17, 2015, 08:01:06 pmAnd then there is of course also Nippon Chemicon.United Chemicon is a subsidiary Nippon Chemicon, and so is Europe Chemicon.

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 08:45:55 pm
content: I've bought some components on Ebay, but just about never anything that is also available from RS, Element14, etc. first. I find UTsource to be fairly reliable, although once I received some motor driver IC's that were had obviously been recovered from old boards (different batch numbers, solder on legs, etc.). I complained and they refunded a large proportion of the money. Sometimes I have to get a part for a repair on Ebay, since nobody else seems to sell it. It's worth a risk, but only if you've exhausted every other source first.I have been buying quite a lot of pre-made 'header' leads of Ebay, I cannot make them for the money and the quality is OK. I've also bought stuff on AliExpress. The quality there is varied too, but the refund policy is top-notch if the product is crap (I've received a full refund for the air freight + parts on one occasion).

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2015, 08:50:31 pm
content: I typically buy components only from Digikey and Mouser. I am pretty well assured that they aren't fake. At least I haven't had any yet.

author: biru7
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 24, 2018, 01:59:23 am
content: Based on my experience, all caps shipped from China and Hk are counterfeit. On Ebay those shipped from Germany or South Korea and Japan are genuine.

author: sn4k3
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2018, 10:25:37 pm
content: From aliexpress i have experience with:MCIGICMYUNYIDAvanxyYour CeeSo far no problem and getting a good experience and they are always at top of the orders. Once i ordered some power ttl mosfet to replace fake mosfet that i brought from eBay so i give a try to vanxy and they are genuine, at least works under the designed current without break...Also i like to compare prices first, when i find some IC that are not much cheap or not cheap at all than mouser, so the chance is that original.China will benefit from cheaper prices, if you compare 100 or 1000PCs passive from China to Mouser you will find a huge difference.Best if you can buy one or two units and test, if they good you know where to source. You can also source bigger package parts if you afraid of not in specs in terms of voltage or current...Always test one or two from the batch, if need burn it to the limits