Best Value-Priced Sources for Electronic Components? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: mdbarg
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 02:43:05 am
content: There are many electronics component suppliers who are honest and reliable but too expensive for the electronics hobbyist on a tight budget; e.g., Allied, Digi-Key, Mouser, Newark. Reading consumer reviews online indicates there are many more suppliers who are inexpensive but unreliable; some to the point of outright fraud. What electronic component supplier companies do you recommend who are reliable and affordable for those on a tight budget; i.e., most of us? It would be useful to have this feedback based on firsthand experience and share it with the community. Thank you!

author: trophosphere
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 02:56:44 am
content: When I was in high school and on a shoe-string budget, I used to order fromFuturlecto stock up on parts and never got anything fake as far as I could tell.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 03:13:14 am
content: You might want to giveTayda Electronicsa look (they're based in Thailand; so cheap but slow).

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 03:34:00 am
content: Quote from: mdbarg on November 20, 2016, 02:43:05 amI've been a electronics hobbyist for 60 years or so as well as working in electronics. I buy almost all my stuff from Asia via Ebay. Hundreds of purchases over the last decade, almost always satisfied with thepurchases. Now it would be real stupid for anyone to get into any significant commercial volume manufacturing purchasing that route, and should rely on the known main stream electonics distributors.

author: r00t
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 05:19:51 am
content: Quote from: retrolefty on November 20, 2016, 03:34:00 amYeah I concur. If I'm not in a rush I get the a lot off what I need from eBay shipped overseas or Aliexpress just the same.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 08:51:08 am
content: just search for your component onhttps://octopart.com/it will find the cheaper for you

author: joseph nicholas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 11:07:23 am
content: If you don't mind getting your hands dirty and don't like to wait, find the local metal recycling yard. There you will find heat sinks in various sizes, transformers, computer motherboards, atx power supplies, appliance microcontrollers motors (ac or dc) of various sizes. They will even remove these things and sell them at a fraction of the cost of ebay.Most towns have a electronics dump (recinto ferial). Visit it every day there you will find broken computers, microwave ovens, televisons, and stereo equiptment by the truck load. My local yard even has completely usable bicycle frames ready to repair. All this stuff is sometimes under lock and key but other times not.

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2016, 04:30:46 pm
content: Quote from: mdbarg on November 20, 2016, 02:43:05 amAnd in what way is this related to Test Equipment and why isn't this posted in "Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff" where it wouldn't have been off-topic?@Mods: Please move

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 21, 2016, 06:24:19 pm
content: Quote from: Wuerstchenhund on November 21, 2016, 04:30:46 pmActually I have decided that it is going into beginners! so there!

author: Back2Volts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 21, 2016, 08:22:54 pm
content: I do get some stuff from the red tag specials at Newark/e14.

author: raspberrypi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2016, 08:43:32 pm
content: I was looking into this myself. Ebay is great but:-I'm in the usa and hate buying things from china, you used to have an option: buy crap from china for cheap or pay more for quality stuff. now you dont have that option.-I have waited a month for things from china you never know-The english is usually horrible, and I hate being called "friend" and makes gathering technical details almost impossibleAmazon just hoses you with hidden shippingDigikey is not good if you just need a few parts although I trust itI actually miss radio shack, where if you needed a basic part it was five minutes awayWe should say what country we are in. The scrap yard is awesome but if you can't drive its not an option and sometimes you want new guaranteed to work parts. .

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 22, 2016, 12:01:38 am
content: Quote from: raspberrypi on November 21, 2016, 08:43:32 pmI've actually been pleasantly surprised by the quickness of receiving items from China (principally, through ebay). In fact, I just received 2 SSRs from china quicker than I received a thermocouple from a US source (which I still haven't received).

author: keethrax
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 22, 2016, 05:45:08 pm
content: Quote from: steverino on November 22, 2016, 12:01:38 amI can almost always find enough to make an order worth it. Very small orders usually aren't great from most other sources either. Its just the nature of mail order.I may be a bit biased though, living in northern MN means that even at the cheapest shipping I often get stuff the next day if I get my order in before 2 or 3pm.

author: boz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 22, 2016, 06:08:21 pm
content: I should probably start selling some of the shit I have here!I could probably be classed as the biggesthoardersupplier in the South Island of NZ if I thought about it

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 22, 2016, 06:46:45 pm
content: Quote from: nanofrog on November 20, 2016, 03:13:14 amtayda has always shipped me crap. every order had passiver AND POTENTIOMETERS wrongly marked and what i suspect counterfeit/rebadged semiconductors

author: vk3yedotcom
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 22, 2016, 07:30:49 pm
content: A lot of the dearer parts are plugs, sockets, cases, switches, variable capacitors etc.These often go for a song at junk sales and hamfests often run by local radio clubs.Even buying just some of your parts from these sources can result in significant savings.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 22, 2016, 07:42:31 pm
content: Quote from: JPortici on November 22, 2016, 06:46:45 pmFirst time I've heard complaints in this regard that I can recall, but it's not unexpected. I'd imagine they get suckered into buying crap/counterfeits from time to time and pass it on. But the OP asked for inexpensive/value, and both they and Futurlec have the lowest pricing I'm aware of for a single source (would have thought they'd be OK for common stuff, particularly passives).Personally, it's not worth the hassle to me, so I buy primarily from Mouser (and it's faster to my door, as I'm trying to minimize my stock).Cheap stuff I get from eBay.

author: KerryW
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 01:13:10 am
content: DipMicro has good prices, but a limited selection compared to Mouser or Digikey.Dan's small partshttp://www.danssmallpartsandkits.net/is a pain to deal with, but has a lot of obscure / hard to find stuff.

author: Back2Volts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 03:23:26 am
content: Quote from: vk3yedotcom on November 22, 2016, 07:30:49 pmWhen I hear this one, I wonder how many people leave close to one of this events or clubs. Just for fun I just run a search for radio clubs near my zip code. The one that showed up is in a city (village) in one of the counties next to mine. I had never heard of the city, which seems to have 241 inhabitants. My city has 14,000 people and the most I see is an arts and crafts fair in the summer and farmer markets on a mini park during the warmer months. I leave in central Minnesota.If anyone in Minnesota can point me to one of this bountiful events, please do !Answering to the OP, I do buy from eBay, Newark, Mouser, Digikey and some other minor places in order of frequency. I do use eBay for things like headers, jacks, screws, breadboards, DC-DC boosters and the like, some resistors and LEDs. No semiconductors products, no electrolytic, no "brands". I do give preference to eBay (Chinese) sellers located in the US, but I will order some stuff from China when I do not care about 2 weeks shipping.For jelly beans I tend to go to Newark for parts on red tag sale. Parts like diodes of all kinds, transistors, resistors, capacitors, basic ICs..In general for Mouser/Newark/Digikey, I will build a cart for weeks until I am pressed for something and then pull the trigger.

author: raspberrypi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 08:59:23 am
content: I'm going to buy my parts on black friday even though the myth that it is cheaper is just that. Line up at midnight, stomp people to death for a 39$ dvd player and get into fights over the spirit of giving, while cheaping out on your gift. I'm so glad I stopped doing christmas a few years back. No malls no decorations, christmas music, advertisements etc etc. The true spirit of christmas is capitalism charley brown!

author: vk3yedotcom
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 10:08:17 am
content: Quote from: Back2Volts on November 23, 2016, 03:23:26 amThis hamfest guide might be helpfulhttp://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendarLooks like there's several in your state but none until next year.

author: Back2Volts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2016, 03:09:10 am
content: Thanks. There is one in the spring about 100 miles away. I may give it a try.

author: ieast
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 24, 2016, 04:26:22 pm
content: For the basics I just buy the cheap Chinese stuff from eBay. I don't know how they can make a profit from selling 10x 555's for $.99 including shipping, but I'm not complaining. If the shipping is ePacket it usually takes 1 to 2 weeks.