Do Digikey and Mouser ever do discounts? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: komet
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 18, 2013, 10:26:31 pm
content: Question for purchasers: So both digi-key and Mouser have a "quote tool", but all the enquiries I've made resulted in the same pricing as on the web. Do they ever do any reductions at all? Or do I have to spend more than a few 1000$?

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 18, 2013, 11:33:21 pm
content: Quote from: komet on June 18, 2013, 10:26:31 pmIt all depends on the part and the quantity. I once had them quote me 50,000 pcs of a pretty expensive part (~$2/ea) and their price was the same as the website. I've had a near 100% success rate on getting discounts directly by contacting the manufacturers though - well, at least with Cypress and ST Micro. In both cases I gave them my EAU and they worked out a negotiated price which then let me buy through my distributor of choice at that lower price.As far as dealing with the distributors, I've had great luck with Future Electronics - great company to deal with, very helpful IMO.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 05:49:33 am
content: The "ND" at the end of Digikey part numbers actually stands for "No Discount"!

author: bombledmonk
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 04:58:06 pm
content: They definitely give better quoted prices for production quantities or dollar levels (I have no idea what those levels are, but they are often different for every manufacturer you are looking at).The notable discounts for any distributor come with the manufacturer's "Registration Programs", sometimes called Demand Creation. This is how distributors pay for their engineering staff and how manufacturers avoidprice-fixing lawsin the USA. This topic is partially covered in this book:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0123860016Talking with a distributor FAE can often facilitate the process in getting better prices. But talking to a real person in the quoting process can definitely help with Digi-Key.There is one simple rule in negotiating with any business, whether it be for consumer or business purchases. Ask "Can you do any better than that?" That simple statement isn't confrontational, and works quite well in a lot of places from electronics distributors to Sears or Best Buy.Quote from: Corporate666 on June 18, 2013, 11:33:21 pmThat does run some risk if you are happy doing business with any particular distributor and want to retain flexibility. In my experience most of the manufacturers I've dealt with have a favorite distributor to which they'll pass your information along. This distributor will then try to lock you into buying from them through the complicated mess that is the aforementioned Demand Creation program by using the information you give to the Manufacturer.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 10:18:43 pm
content: I've asked for quotes on volume a few times & wouldn't bother again. Either they're no cheaper (e.g. Mouser, only showing a 1x price on a £8 part, no discount on 500), or take forever to get back to you (Farnell - about a week).If I'm after more than about £500 worth of a single part, maybe less if it's a full reel qty I'll talk to more specialist distributors, however my usual problem is needing stuff quickly (like 22K LEDs last week...) , which limits the choice to people with stock

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 10:38:03 pm
content: The company I work at orders enough from Farnell to get lower prices even at single unit qty. It's around 3~5% lower than the normal list price.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 11:25:36 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 19, 2013, 10:18:43 pmTheir main office is less than an hour's drive from where I live, I've often wondered if they allowed local pick up to save on shipping.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 11:26:41 pm
content: When you ask for a quote, try mentioning the best price you find on findchips.com, and ask if they can do better.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 07:19:33 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 19, 2013, 10:18:43 pmHaving said that, I've often had quotes back from specialist distributors that are the same or more than Farnell/Digikey catalogue prices, often with additional shipping cost, and don't seem bothered when I point this out - I don't understand how people like that stay in business.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 07:44:33 am
content: Surely you must have worked for a company that has policies and agreements in place that say "we buy X type of product from supplier Y"...?