Ebay enquiry - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: nagz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 11:42:47 pm
content: Hi folks,Long time lurker, first time poster.This has probably been covered before in this expansive forum, but i thought i'd still ask and see if there are some current options to look at.I'm chasing an ebay seller where i can build up a decent shopping cart of components and bundle everything together to save on shipping and purchasing from too many sellers and have a million little parcels rocking up all the time.Any help would be greatly appreciated.CheersXavier

author: anvoice
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 11:50:32 pm
content: If I understood what you need correctly, this will be troublesome. Depending on types of electronics components, most sellers will specialize in one or two things (e.g. resistors, inductors) and not have specifically what you need for others. The only ones likely to have a wider selection are on Aliexpress. That has the advantage of (depending on how you build your cart) of saving on shipping and potentially bundling the packages (at least when I purchased some time ago). The disadvantage is long shipping time and the need to test everything: sometimes their QC isn't great, and sometimes you could get parts that just don't perform to specification (assuming there is a specification at all).TL;DR: ebay is unlikely to have what you need exactly.I sincerely ask the rest of the community to abstain from starting another war in the comments about how Aliexpress is good/bad.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 11:51:48 pm
content: Why not use RS, Farnell, Digikey, Mouser, Newark etc? Even so, you are probably not going to find everything in one of those, so may have to use two or three.Plus, it would help to indicate what type of component. Some I would be very reluctant to buy on fleabay.

author: nagz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 11:58:02 pm
content: hey thanks for the repliesnot chasing anything spectacular. i'm very much a hobbyist at this stage, but am looking to develop over the years.i'm brushing up on electronics via learning the art of electronics and the art of electronics currently, potentially looking at studying engineering, RF eng specifically, if life permits.i did a bunch of electronics technician training 25 odd years ago when i first joined defence and have forgotten too much over the years

author: lakis70
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 12:03:43 am
content: Quote from: tggzzz on June 25, 2025, 11:51:48 pmbecause they are very expensive. Buy from them only what you cant find from ebay. Seller survy2014 is very good.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 12:22:43 am
content: Poor quality and/or underperformance of parts may very much kill your interest in this hobby. When you learn you better make sure that components perform as they should, and if you are not getting expected results it is not the components to blame. Otherwise you will never be sure if your circuit not working because you made a mistake or because of poor parts quality.

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 12:43:27 am
content: Quote from: nagz on June 25, 2025, 11:42:47 pmYou get what you pay for, and wasting a Saturday afternoon wondering why something doesn't work 'coz you have an out of spec knockoff TL494 is incredibly frustrating when you could have a got a real one from Altronics or another retailer and found success.A few guys at my radio club fall for the ebay/aliexpress parts every few months as they're the cheapest and then crack the shits when things don't work.You can get everything you need from Altronics, element14, RS, Mouser, Digikey, or Jaycar. Watch out for "marketplace" products at Digikey and Jaycar.A lot of people don't like me saying this, however spending $100 on parts instead of $35 is worth it is as the extra $65 ensures you're getting what you ordered.

author: nagz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 12:51:18 am
content: I can't fault this logic mate.Which radio club are you at ?I'm a St George in NSW. Just had my advanced qual approved via RPL at ACMA.Getting into microwave stuff atm

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 01:00:51 am
content: Quote from: nagz on June 26, 2025, 12:51:18 amWell done on the A call. We're in Ipswich, Qld. VK4WIP.https://ipswichradioclub.org.au/

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 01:01:33 am
content: You haven't specified what you are trying to buy.www.lcsc.com

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 01:14:05 am
content: You say you're a hobbyist; that's what I am too.My favorite place to order electronic stuff is Jameco. Good selection (though certainly not as extensive as DigiKey or Mouser), good prices, fast shipping. My suggestion is to check them out.