Where to buy components from? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: jimjam
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 07:54:52 am
content: I'm looking for places to get components from, that will hopefully not take too long to ship to Australia. The average time to receiving stuff from China seems to be about 2 weeks for me. I am still amazed at how they can include shipping (free shipping) for stuff that costs $2 so I guess I can't complain about how long it takes to get here.I've only started doing this so I've ordered from a few random "shops" from ebay.Do you have / use the same Ebay seller for electronic components, or do you just search whenever you needed one and just pick one?I'd prefer to buy all/most of the stuff I need from one shop/seller, it would save me from having to buy from multiple places. It would keep it down to one transaction and one package to ship. It makes keeping track of things a lot easier. My bank keeps blocking my card because they detected multiple small transactions in a short space of time.Note if you are an ebay seller, I wouldn't mind hearing from you too.

author: iloveelectronics
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 08:34:56 am
content: I don't really sell components but if you're looking to buy test leads and connectors, multimeters, etc. you can have a look at my store:http://www.franky.comI also recently created a new thread where I will be posting new items for sale and answer customer questions, etc.:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/franky%27s-sales-thread/

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 11:50:17 am
content: Digikey (in us , send everywhere)Farnell / Newark / Element14 (same company) (have us, europe, singapore warehouses)Mouser ( us afaik)rs-components (have EU warehouse and maybe in other places)tme.eu (polish)etc

author: nowlan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 12:04:36 pm
content: http://www.taydaelectronics.com/?

author: jimjam
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 12:11:38 pm
content: Quote from: nowlan on June 11, 2014, 12:04:36 pmHey thanks! Tayda looks quite decent and the price seems cheap.Quote from: iloveelectronics on June 11, 2014, 08:34:56 amThanks, will keep you in mindQuote from: mariush on June 11, 2014, 11:50:17 amI have browsed Element14 / RS from time to time and found that their prices are crazy high for just about everything that I was looking for. Maybe if I'm looking for quality components(?), I might try them out, but for now I'm just looking to muck around with stuff. I'll pay closer attention to the other ones.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 12:16:20 pm
content: I have to recommend RS components after what happened today, I ordered 2x 15A Analogue meters which had to come from OS, when they arrived someone OS had incorrectly labelled one of the meters (a 15V meter) with RS components part number for the ammeter, when I rang RS they were extremely helpful, offered to arrange a courier to pick up the parts and are forwarding another ammeter. You couldn't ask for better service.For general parts, I use Jaycar.

author: RobertHolcombe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 12:16:49 pm
content: I live and work in Brisbane, often buy from digikey, mouser, RS and element14 for both work and hobby parts. RS and element14 tend to deliver same/next day provided they have stock which is really handy, and from my experience the prices for basic components are fairly competitive but it is certainly worth shopping around for better deals.

author: jimjam
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 12:25:42 pm
content: Quote from: RobertHolcombe on June 11, 2014, 12:16:49 pmHow quick do you normally get your stuff from RS / Element14? Are they shipped from Australia (seeing that they have au.element14....)

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 11, 2014, 01:01:12 pm
content: Quote from: jimjam on June 11, 2014, 12:25:42 pmI'm also in Brisbane, and both have always been overnight for stuff in stock. I'll often order stuff just before the 6pm Sydney cut-off, and usually receive it before 9am next morning. If I'm in a particular hurry I'll ring RS across town & see if they have what I want in stock, but I think they've only managed that a handful of times in 20 years...Neither are particularly cheap compared to Ebay/DX/Ali*/random chinese source, but they're cheaper than the fart-toy shop, have a much better range, and the stuff is much better quality.It pays to shop around between the two, since they sometimes vary weirdly in price. For example I was chasing some particular Molex 2.5mm pitch connectors the other day - RS had the odd size (13 pin) while E14 had the usual sizes (4, 5, 8, & 12 pin). It ended up being cheaper, though, to grab the whole lot from RS because a single 5-pin connector from E14 was more expensive than a bag of 5 from RS. And RS have free courier shipping with no minimum buy, so I paid ~$13 to have 15 connectors in my hand the next morning...

author: RobertHolcombe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2014, 07:30:51 am
content: Quote from: jimjam on June 11, 2014, 12:25:42 pm"RS and element14 tend to deliver same/next day provided they have stock"So, same/next day.au.rs-online & au.element14

author: PointyOintment
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2014, 06:04:20 am
content: Quote from: jimjam on June 11, 2014, 12:11:38 pmEven better, they post coupon codes for 15% off monthly on their Facebook page, each lasting a few days. There's one active right now, in case you're ready to order.Here's what somebody was able to get from them for $50, totaling 2938 components!

author: nowlan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2014, 08:25:16 am
content: Can anyone tell me the relationship between mouser and x-on / active ?http://au.mouser.com/contact-australia/http://www.x-on.com.au/http://www.activecomponents.com/

author: electrophiliate
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2014, 01:36:43 pm
content: +1 for Element14 (and Tac Eht Xilef's related caveats in an earlier post), I have purchased several recent orders from there. Free shipping for orders over $45, otherwise it's $12. I have not yet tried Mouser, Digikey, or RS so I cannot speak from experience with those, but from what I recall, the shipping fees are worse, except RS which is free. I have also used Jaycar for some parts and tools, I used to go there in person but the internet means I should never have to visit a physical store again.I have been getting a little into power electronics so I have been reluctant to rely too much on supercheap Chinese discrete semiconductors from Ebay, but I am warming to the idea for cheap projects. I tend to reserve Ebay for cheap modules, non-critical components, and small hardware pieces. I have also purchased an order fromhttps://core-electronics.com.auwhich I first found on Ebay. It's probably much of the same Chinese components you can get on Ebay from China, but faster shipping as its pre-stocked and posted from within Australia?

author: jimjam
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2014, 06:32:42 pm
content: Thanks for all the info and links. I also found this thread here which would come in handy:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/electronic-retaildistributor-list/

author: What_NZ
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 22, 2014, 01:30:05 am
content: Quote from: Tac Eht Xilef on June 11, 2014, 01:01:12 pmI went through the same process with some crimp connector SIL housings. RS ended up cheaper because of free shipping for Account holders and the weird pricing of some E14 parts. When checking pricing, shipping can make the difference. Later I ended up buying some bulk housings from this companyhttp://www.pololu.com/category/70/crimp-connector-housingseven with the shipping charges it ended up a lot cheaper.