Cost of components on Alibaba more than local retail - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: noobiedoobie
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2021, 06:42:02 am
content: I was looking for TTP223 touch sensing ICs on Alibaba but when I contacted a few sellers I was shocked to find that the rates they are quoting for 1000 pieces of the IC is more than what I am getting in retail stores locally for asingle piece.The quote I got from Alibaba is excluding shipping and customs duty.Has anybody faced this issue?I would appreciate any advice or recommendation if anyone is aware of any legit seller.Also what are some hacks when it comes to sourcing?

author: Mecanix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2021, 02:21:13 pm
content: For bulk suppliers you can use Taobao & Tmall for an estimate/average cost of components "domestically" (CN-2-CN). I have yet used Alibaba however suspect the sellers using the platform advertised prices meant for foreign markets (slightly inflated, so to speak).e.g1.https://s.taobao.com/search?q=TTP223&s_from=newHeader&ssid=s5-e&search_type=item&sourceId=tb.iteme.g2.https://list.tmall.com/search_product.htm?q=TTP223&type=p&vmarket=&spm=875.7931836%2FB.a2227oh.d100&from=mallfp..pc_1_searchbutton

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2021, 02:45:46 pm
content: Often, the suppliers on Alibaba will try to scalp for whatever fees they can get. On the other hand, if you are working with the TRUE manufacturer of the product, you will stand the best chance for the bottom price. We have used Alibaba to source many pieces of equipment at very fair and discounted pricing.For parts like yours, they are scalping and feel you are "stuck".Touch sensors are a dime a dozen. This IC is nothing special if you wish to design your own version of this product.You can also review:https://www.utsource.net/www/pro/TTP223.htmlBe sure you check for NEW stock only.We have used this utsource for sourcing other components with success.

author: noobiedoobie
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2021, 12:29:57 pm
content: Quote from: Mecanix on March 10, 2021, 02:21:13 pmI found it hard to access Taobao. Its all in Chinese and even if use translation, I could infer that its all retail. More like 10 pieces, 5 pieces etc. same with TmallDo the both of sites ship internationally or are you advising them to be used to get a reference for the price?

author: noobiedoobie
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2021, 12:41:03 pm
content: Quote from: mon2 on March 10, 2021, 02:45:46 pmVery true. Alibaba suppliers have been reasonable in pricing except for this time.Could you please explain how you got discounted price on alibaba? what was your approach? I am assuming you mean you got discounted prices for low volumes.Regarding the touch sensors: I know! its not complicated. But even Taiwanese copied it from Microchip mtch101. Now I learn that there are chinese copies of the Taiwanese chip which sell for close to half the price.When you say design my own version are you saying design my own version of the chip itself??

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2021, 01:55:33 pm
content: The logic for vendor sourcing is this,if and when possible, deal directly with the manufacturer. Sometimes this is not possible due to language barriers or contractual obligations with resellers. We have found this to be rare and often the manufacturer will deal direct - perhaps not the lowest price but still worthwhile for warranty and to be assured you are purchasing 100% new product.We did this recently for a few ultrasonic cleaners for our repair side of business. Also used Alibaba to find quality suppliers of pogo pins for a test jig we are designing to handle very small FPGA PCB programming.The touch button can be easily built using parts from:Azoteqhttps://www.azoteq.com/They have many single chip touch sensor ICs and at very fair costs to replicate the same functions.See here:https://www.azoteq.com/products/proxsense/Be sure to check on the production status - NRND = Not recommended for new designs. Avoid these.Review the above landing page and post back if you have any questions. Will try to help where possible. They have strong support group for design reviews as well. It should be rather straight forward for you to migrate your design to use these parts with support and still low costs.Hope this helps.

author: Mecanix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2021, 06:05:07 pm
content: Quote from: noobiedoobie on March 11, 2021, 12:29:57 pmCorrect, retail front-end only. Similar to mouser and/or digikey's business model however half-a-billion times bigger and busier. The advice was for you to gain intel on the domestic retail price for the component you are trying to source. On the shipping question; I doubt those sites themselves facilitate international shipping, the sellers does if asked (EMS, China Post, DHL/FedEx/UPS, Paypal, CC, Western Union, Crypto, T/T, WeChat Pay, etc etc etc, you know... the standard & modern globalization stuff...).

author: noobiedoobie
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2021, 07:28:24 pm
content: Quote from: mon2 on March 11, 2021, 01:55:33 pmWow. That was very informative and very helpful.Your experience/examples helped understanding the process better. Thanks a lot for sharing.Also thanks a lot for pointing to Azoteq. Their website is way better than those of chinese companies and yes they have created their sales and support ecosystem well. I will ping them lets see where this goes...