Buying IC's through brokers - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: requim
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 07:10:49 pm
content: As it turns out I am looking for what appears to be a custom chip --- Fairchild Semicondutor - DNP011 - NYE. I have contacted the sales rep for my region and they have informed me that the chip is custom and therefore not available for sale. Neither is the datasheet. I have however found several broker websites that indicate the part is available, I just don't know in what quantity, and at what price the chips will run.The sales rep warned me about buying chips through brokers: that they're not supported, that fake chips are common, and all other sorts of chaos may ensue if I buy them. Does anyone here have experience buying through brokers, and if so, do you have a broker you recommend? Or any tips on dealing with them and going through the process?

author: ciccio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 07:55:57 pm
content: I too heard terrifying stories about brokers, and I've seen a customer of mine receiving empty packages from a Chinese broker.I don't know if they can be described as a broker, but I've always received prompt, fast and reliable service from a British company named Cyclops electronics (www.cycelect.com).I've searched their site, and the part you search is not in their inventory, but they can search for it:http://www.cycelect.com/part_search.php?partNumber=DNP011+-+NYEBest regards

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 08:33:59 pm
content: Don't believe any part listed as available on broker websites. They just put every part number they know of there to get enquiries for parts that they may or may not be able to find if someone asks.The only broker type place I've used, appears to carry genuine stock (albeit sometimes at their customers warehouses) and can recommend is America II.

author: Short Circuit
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 08:52:54 pm
content: Buying from brokers is like playing russian roulette, especially from Asia. Fair chance all works out nicely, but also huge chance for drama.This can be anything like no delivery at all, fake parts, defective parts or rebadged parts. And quite often, the broker which supplied the parts is playing nice and honest.Problem is that they all buy from each other, so one fraud can contaminate a lot of others.I have had deliveries of bad OTP parts (already programmed), and promptly received a second batch after complaint.Obviously from the same seller down the supply chain, so that didn't help, but it indicates that my broker was really trying to get me what I wanted.Maybe US and european brokers have better suppliers, never tried them as they all have one thing in common; excessive prices.Doesn't take excessive quantities to justify a redesign to more available parts.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 09:46:12 pm
content: I once made the mistake of asking about an IC on a broker website (i think it was a brokers directory).For the next week i was getting 10's of emails every day from a huge range of different brokers offering to sell me the part.I think my email went out to all the brokers on the site

author: requim
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 10:25:28 pm
content: All sorts of goodness eh? I went ahead and sent an RFQ for the two brokers recommended. With any luck they'll come back with something, or I can figure out an equivalent part and substitute it instead. Difficult to do without a datasheet available.

author: A-sic Enginerd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 10:34:42 pm
content: Take the word of the mfg. in this case.As mentioned, even if you do find some actual parts from someone, since the mfg states this is a custom part the ones your getting are likely rejects or lifted from dead product, etc.They did this part as a custom job under contract for a big customer. It's not meant for general consumption.I've actually been on the other end of this. At one time while employed at a very big named company, we found our chips being offered on the open market by some Chinese no-name website. The chips in question were totally proprietary and were used exclusively on our own end product. Investigation revealed that someone at the fab was handing off parts that failed test, rather than tossing them in the bucket for destruction.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 11:34:00 pm
content: Another thing to watch for if you're after a quantity of parts from several places, is that 'stock' listed at different companies is actually the same lot of parts.

author: requim
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2012, 12:39:09 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 02, 2012, 11:34:00 pmYeah I figured that. Most of the brokers where I saw the parts available had them in similar quantities. Thanks for the heads up though.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 03, 2012, 02:09:00 am
content: Minimum order quantity tends to also be prohibitive for buying a few parts. > $100 minimum is not uncommon.