LCD Sourcing Troubles - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 07:49:24 am
content: I was looking for a 7" TFT LCD w/Touch to use in my first ever electronics project. Because I'm planning on the project being something I eventually sell I wanted to find an LCD supplier that would do large quantity at cheap prices. I found one on Alibaba called "Microtech Technology Company Limited" that was offering what I was looking for at a price of $25 for low-quantity orders of 1 to 99 pieces, with lower prices if I ordered more than that. Here's where the problem begins... I contacted that company for more information and they said the price on Alibaba was "advertising" and that the REAL price to buy it is $80 per piece, or if I get a cheaper version of the LCD with lower nits and cheaper materials they'd sell those to me for $50 per piece. I have a very low opinion of Chinese companies due to past interactions, but this company's behavior seems extra lame. Now I have to decide if I am going to find a different supplier, or drop the LCD entirely from the project for some bland alternative, or I could simply accept that the Chinese lie as a matter of their nature and go forward with purchasing the LCD at the higher price. I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach this, and if you know of honest and inexpensive suppliers of LCD's for mass production then I'd be interested in getting that information. I have not yet replied to the Microtech saleswoman, I want to get some feedback here before I craft my reply.

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:02:04 am
content: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CN3MSNKY?tag=bgms-21&ascsubtag=bing_6603d2452dddeits also a 7 inch tft w/ 800x480 res

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:02:28 am
content: If you have a doubt about the company, which you certainly should, don't go ahead with them.

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:05:08 am
content: Part of me wonders if this is just some cultural difference that I am not understanding. I can't fathom an ethical company lying about their product prices, but if it's a common occurrence in their culture then I wouldn't necessarily want to hold that against them, although it does just generally piss me off that I can't get straight information about prices. It's the second Alibaba company in the last month to blatantly lie to me about their product prices.

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:06:56 am
content: hmmm thats a good point, maybe can you try the raspberry pi 7 inch tft?

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:09:22 am
content: I don't see pricing on that module you linked, and I'd like to find a supplier that offers discounted prices for large volume manufacturing. The LCD I was looking at from Microtech had a res of 1920 x 1200, so I was really let down when I found out they lied because it would have been an awesome unit at the advertised price.

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:15:48 am
content: ok, can you use display from this monitor?https://www.amazon.in/dp/B073X4F52N?tag=bgms-21&ascsubtag=bing_6603d56cd712b(i don't trust the resolution in the page)

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:17:15 am
content: or this one?https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07N13238M?tag=bgms-21&ascsubtag=bing_6603d5d6deaaf(it has touch too)

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:19:33 am
content: I'm really looking for an LCD manufacturer, rather than buying individual LCD's from popular storefronts. And I definitely do not want to buy some product that has an LCD in it that I then have to cannibalize to get the LCD out of it.

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:21:12 am
content: its 480x800 but its from adafruithttps://www.interdiscount.ch/de/computer-software/pcs-monitore/monitore--C515000/adafruit-hdmi-7-lcd-display--P0001321924(also has touch)

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:22:01 am
content: https://www.thanksbuyer.com/capacitive-touch-screen-7-inch-ips-display-1024x600-7inch-hdmi-lcd-c-black-white-shell-63308

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:23:27 am
content: Hey Rishles69, you're using affiliate links when you post to this thread, that's not cool trying to make money off posting your links here.

author: Rishles69@
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:25:25 am
content: no, i just helped you, i don't have any business or smth. i don't even know them. i just suggested you for help(sry my bad engish)

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:41:21 am
content: I understand you are trying to help, but could you please remove the posts that have the Amazon affiliate links? People aren't supposed to post affiliate links in the forums.

author: selcuk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:46:21 am
content: You can use aliexpress instead of alibaba since you can see the exact price before buying. I use smaller LCD screens and buy them in small quantities from the seller below. But I haven't tried it for mass quantities.https://www.aliexpress.com/store/224898

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 08:48:39 am
content: Checkhttps://www.buydisplay.com/.... no one has said this yet, but if this is really your "first electronics project" then you might have overextended tackling LCD interfacing. If you are just looking for something you can plug into an HDMI port, then ya, have at it. But if you need to do DSI/MIPI or even RGB interfacing on a high resolution display it might be a shock that that is actually a non-trivial design problem both from the hardware and the software configuration standpoints. The fact that technical information, even Critical technical information, is often missing from these Chinese display data sheets doesn't help either.Just saying...

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 09:14:32 am
content: Quote from: Smokey on March 27, 2024, 08:48:39 amHa! I have a part of my brain that literally screams what an idiot I am for trying to tackle a project like this as my first. But the other part of my brain tells me the fun is in the challenge. It helps that even though I'm new to electronics I have 35+ years of programming experience, I'm hoping that counts for something. But yeah, this project could end up a total disaster and waste of money. Still, I love to dream big and giving myself a taste of that makes it worth the time and expense.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 09:26:52 am
content: ... if it were me, before I spent any money I would document exactly what hardware and software interface I plan on using (DSI/MIPI, RGB, etc) and sort out at least a handwavy plan on how to make all that work first. If you are using DSI, does your controller support enough lanes for the display you want to use? Does the datasheet have all the configuration commands and sequences you need? If you need to make hardware, sort out what the clock speed/layout guidelines/connectorization need to be on the boards. If you need to power the display, sort out what power supply requirements are (multiple voltage rails, current requirements, power up sequences, etc).

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 01:38:52 pm
content: Most of the LCD I've seen are using MIPI. I'm starting with the LCD as the very first component of the project, then I'll work backward from there. Right now I'm thinking STM32H7, but it'll require more study before I decide on that. Anyway, if I screw it up I can always pick different components and try again.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 02:40:31 pm
content: Quote from: Smokey on March 27, 2024, 08:48:39 amI'll second this, I've bought singles to thousands of displays from them with no issues. They do a decent job of providing sample initialization code for most/all of their displays which is very helpful, since the controller datasheets usually aren't great and init values are specific to the panel.

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2024, 10:57:19 pm
content: Quote from: ajb on March 27, 2024, 02:40:31 pmThey're buying from some manufacturer, and that manufacturer is who I'm trying to find. Are there labels or data in the LCD that mention who truly manufactured the LCD? Because if so then I just need the name of the manufacturer from that and then I can track them down. The Alibaba sellers seem corrupt, I'm beginning to question whether they're actually manufacturers, I'm reading other people's experiences and apparently the "manufacturers" are often resellers lying about who they are and then trying to make markup money. Also apparently it's common for them to have an opening question of "what are you building?" and then they take that idea and build it themselves, like they aren't even resellers they just want to get a feel for good ideas that might be profitable. Both the LCD manufacturers I contacted asked me what I was building and I was intentionally vague but it doesn't build any trust to hear them ask that. I'm pretty sure now that the whole of Alibaba is just a bunch of Chinese scammers. Well, now I think China is full of scammers. I almost thought about manufacturing my own LCD's after experiencing the crap of China. But, of course in order to build a company to manufacture those in the USA you have to have oodles of money and time, of which I have neither.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2024, 11:09:56 pm
content: Quote from: Lowkus on March 29, 2024, 10:57:19 pm... well I'm not sure about you guys, but there is one more user that made their way from "plausibly ignorant" into my "official troll" folder...

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2024, 11:24:38 pm
content: Quote from: Smokey on March 29, 2024, 11:09:56 pmYou think people are a troll if they wish for components to be built in a country that doesn't specialize in swindling?

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2024, 11:28:11 pm
content: If you really want the lowest prices you'll need to talk to the manufacturers direclty, but they are unlikely to even answer you if you're not buying a huge quantity (1k+).

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2024, 11:46:19 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on March 29, 2024, 11:28:11 pmWhile that might be true I'd still like to talk to them about MOQ and what prices might be like for larger orders. Depending on their answer it might affect whether I want to purchase their LCD in smaller quantities, even if I have to buy the smaller quantity through regular websites. I'd like to keep in mind what the issues might be when it comes time to order larger volumes of a part.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2024, 12:47:24 am
content: Quote from: Lowkus on March 29, 2024, 11:46:19 pmYou won't even get to talk to manufacturers until you've already been ordering 1k+ qty through distributors, or are some billion dollar enterprise. LCDs are a competitive market with people booking out capacity well in advance.What's the problem with dealing through a distributor? That's pretty much your only choice.

author: Lowkus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2024, 03:50:59 am
content: I don't like giving money to middle-men if I plan to mass produce something in the future. For example if I were to need 5000pcs of an LCD and the manufacturer can save me $10 over a distributor then I'd save $50,000 on costs. However I was researching LCD manufacturing processes tonight and while doing so I began to ponder the fluctuating nature of businesses and decided that it's probably a better approach if I grab any random LCD to start with and design my project to have flexibility to use different LCD's, that way when it comes time to find a manufacturer for larger volumes I can reassess the landscape closer to when I'm actually going to mass produce it. A great manufacturer today could be a sucky one three years from now. So I'll probably buy a couple of LCD from that BuyDisplay website unless I find a better option.