Which stores do you guys usually purchase from? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: goethert
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 04:33:55 am
content: I believe this question has been asked many times. Since I am pretty new here, so maybe this board is the correct place to ask.I am adding power supply, oscilloscope, breadboard, electronics kits, etc. Digikey.com is difficult to browse and search. I bought some equipments from amazon, newegg and Zoro, but I don't think they are best places for electronics. Which store do you guys use? Ebay is not an option for me. Thanks.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 04:44:34 am
content: DigiKey is hard to search? It has one of the best search engines in the industry.

author: goethert
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 05:16:55 am
content: Quote from: ataradov on August 19, 2017, 04:44:34 amAfter searching "oscilloscope", I cannot even see the price of each unit.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 05:56:03 am
content: Quote from: goethert on August 19, 2017, 05:16:55 amOk, DigiKey is like the worst place to buy equipment, that's for sure. TEquipment is good for that.

author: bson
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 05:58:45 am
content: Mouser, Digikey, Arrow, AdaFruit, SparkFun, eBay/Amazon in that order. Sometimes AVNet.

author: Insatman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 10:06:51 am
content: Here in the Philippines my choices are limited. Digikey will FedEx here at a reduced rate so I use them mostly. Ebay and Banggood both ship here. Occasionally I buy on Amazon and a friend ships here but it takes 2-3 months for cheap by sea shipping. The local Amazon like site is called Lazada and I buy what I can there to avoid expensive shipping and customs duty...which can be substantial when you buy test equipment.

author: jpb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 10:38:30 am
content: In the UK, for parts, DigiKey has more (generally) than Mouser which has more than Farnell but Farnell has a lower minimum price for zero post costs I think. For one-off things I compare all three but you can't really do that if you're buying lots of small parts. I have used RS as well and it is very similar but I find it harder to search (or I'm just less used to them).I wouldn't buy big things like equipment from them though.Cheaper, but with much less choice, are CPC (which is part of Farnell I think anyway) and RapidOnLine.Almost all of my equipment I've got on special offer (new old stock) so they have come from random places. My ERSA nano soldering iron I got directly from the importer who were much cheaper than Farnell.If you're a busy engineer you probably want to stick to the big names to save time. If you're spending your own money it pays to shop around and wait patiently for things on ebay.

author: BBBbbb
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 11:03:33 am
content: If we're talking components Digi-Key is the easiest to search for. I don't use it when buying (shipping costs to Serbia are crazy), but I would often search for a part that fits my needs there and then use the product number on mouser or farnell.As for equipment not sure if any of them are amongst the cheaper choices. Go for Amazon (fba) and stores that specialize in test equipment.

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 10:11:08 pm
content: Parts: Mouser, DigiKey, Arrow, eBay, and local stores. Mouser tends to be better bang for the buck versus DigiKey when comparing total cost (parts and shipping), but not always. Arrow's search still has a long way to go to be useful, let alone compete with Mouser or DigiKey, but Arrow's prices can sometimes be really good (and free shipping on orders over $20).Equipment: Tequipment and Saelig (both have EEVblog member discounts), Amazon, and eBay.

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 10:41:32 pm
content: Oh, another caveat with Arrow especially if you incur per-package fees (e.g., on import to other countries). They seem to often split an order into many separate shipments. I've had even a small order of half a dozen items get split into three separate shipments, all from the same apparent source location, and all arriving on the same day. Maybe their logistics aren't optimized for such small orders.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2017, 11:47:04 pm
content: I order a lot of stuff from Tayda Electronics:1. Really really cheap. Crazy cheap. Sometimes 1/20th the cost of local suppliers.2. Relatively quick (10 days to UK)3. No duty (all packages are pre-marked commercial sample and $10 and contain no invoice)4. Reasonable quality (I haven't had a single out of spec or duff part or anything suspicious - all branded and not hooky looking)5. Nicely packaged.6. Easy to order bulk things like resistors7. Ridiculously large scope for parts (Every E24 value 1% resistor at $0.12 for 10 Royal Ohm brand for example actually in stock)8. They sell odd things local suppliers don't like obscure MOSFETs, JFETs, Ge diodes etc.9. Stuff is actually in stock - you don't get told it's been back ordered for 6 months10. Stuff always gets to me (unlike RS/ParcelForce who lose or destroy 1 in 5 packages)Don't expect any critical tolerance components like C0G/NP0 characteristic capacitors though. Cheap legged MLCC it is. Albeit 100% in spec in a sample size of 100.

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 12:40:50 am
content: Thanks, bd. I'll check 'em out.

author: buck converter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 01:37:59 am
content: Same! Arrow does not optimize small shipments. I ordered 1 DIP IC, came in a full tube. Came in 3 yuge boxes.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 06:44:01 am
content: QuoteI never even considered shopping equipment at Digikey. If you found the price, you would have moved right along. The only people buying equipment from Mouser/Digikey are companies which will find it convenient to tack on a scope onto their existing company account to save on paperwork.But +1 on their search engine. They are my backup option when I can't find a part on Mouser. Digikey has more and useful search parameters, in particular for connectors. And their component selection is almost always larger than Mouser. But Mouser has them beat for account and project/component management.

author: JacquesBBB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 01:36:06 pm
content: I use the search engine of Digikey to obtain all parameters of a component that I will then store in my excel file.But I do not usually buy from digikey.When I buy from a large company, it is from Mouser or RS components. I always manage to get free shipping on those.I buy also many things from ebay and aliexpress, although there is stuff that I never (or nearly) buy from these sources,as electrolytic capacitors. I found that the prices from Mouser or RS are not much larger, and I do not trustthe electrolytic caps from ebay.I have also bought a lot from electrodragon (www.electrodragon.com)

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2017, 10:05:03 pm
content: Quote from: KL27x on August 20, 2017, 06:44:01 amYep, I use their project manager too.

author: zeqing
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 04:42:24 am
content: depends on what do you want to buy1. for components IC: digikey/mouser;2. for components common used such as LED: aliexpress/ebay/amazon3. for instruments: alibaba;4. for hardware modules: sparkfun/seeedpersonally in the past half a year i orders some simple modules such as OLED/power supply from a storewww.makerfabs. com, really good experence, their products has much higher quality than other China sellers that on aliexpress/ebay, and feedback me quickly when any problems encountered.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 06:46:23 am
content: Taking into account that I'm located in Poland:First choice:TME - good, fast, acceptable range of parts to choose fromFarnell - big range of parts, very fast delivery, normal S&H costs. Tax vise there is't any difference as long as you have an EU VAT registration (assuming that you order parts for commercial purpose and need to write them off and so on.Maritex - they have a large portfolio of chip chinese counterparts to otherwise kinda expensive brand name stuff like connectors, switches, potentiometers etcSecond choice:Mouser - high S&H, but they have an agent in Poland, who makes things really easy while keeping S&H acceptable. They provide a Polish VAT invoice too, which makes it easier for my accountant.Elfa Distrelec - expensive parts, acceptable S&H. I prefer other suppliers, but they sometimes have some exotic stuff. I like their own branded (chinese in origin obviously) plastic enclosuresAbsolute last resort:DigiKey - exorbitant S&H (IIRC $60). Free shipping doesn;t cut it, since Polish customs when they see free shipping will take something from their tables and add as the estimated value of the shipping service and then charge tax for it. They offer only FedEx and UPS as shipping options, which means that dealing with customs is horrible (eg. 4 days shipping, 2 weeks to clear the mess with customs) and expensive (u get charged per item on the invoice, which is A LOT when u make a large enough order). As far as I'm concerned, only DHL has acceptable level of customs-related services in Poland, because they have their own licensed customs office, rather than a front end who fill the paperwork for the national customs office (as is the case with UPS and FedExRS Components - unless you buy a full reel, they will send you chips as mutiples of MOQ in separate bags. Yes, that means that if you buy 100opamps with MOQ of 1, you get 100 bags each containing a single part. Completly useless for automatic assembly and a monumental pain in the ass for manual assembly. If there is some option to get a normal cut tape, i haven;t found it and I've looked really hard.And they require you to have a registered business in order to order from them (at least in Poland they do), so a big no for hobbyists

author: Rbastler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 07:01:14 am
content: Online I use Pollin and Reichelt for general electronic parts. For tube stuff I mostly use Wüstens and Tube Town. Plus various local stores.Edit: And of course the usual chinese sites like Aliexpress and Banggood for larger amount parts, like PCB screw Terminals, pin headers etc.

author: TheUnnamedNewbie
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 07:07:30 am
content: I tend to go for Farnell, RS only rarely. Digikey as a last resort due to the import cost for me.I order from Farnell and RS through my university and it means I often get significant discounts on the prices.Very low-quantity Analog devices parts I tend to get through samples, but I really save that for when I need a really fancy opamp or such.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 08:08:08 am
content: Quote from: poorchava on August 21, 2017, 06:46:23 amTME shipping from Poland are actually usually faster to me than Farnell/RS are as they use DHL which always arrives early morning where the latter usually arrive after lunch the next day.