I had ordered some LCD displays from Futurlec for my MSP430 24-hr clock project on my blog back in July 2013. With no intervening correspondence I received an email from them today indicating the parts have been shipped. How about that for service!

I'm still waiting on parts from one company since May of 2013.....

 

Apparently my ast post was 'lost' - anyway, here goes: I live in Australia and the short 60 seconds (reading time) story is as follows:

Decades ago, we only had 'radio shops' and there may not have been one for more than 50 miles in any direction (typical 1960s). Back then, kids like myself scrounged parts from the electrical store, or from naighbours who were tossing out old valve and transistor TVs and radios. A favourite past time was a monthly visit to the dump with dad's tools and a friend's pushbike. I always came back with a bag full of goodies that I could never afford at the 'radio shop'. Diodes, transistors, coils, tuner caps, wire etc.

In the 1970's things began to advance more rapidly. With ICs coming on to the market after Vietnam, there were many people stepping forward into what passed for the "digital age" back then, although we really didn't get there until the 80's. Army disposal stores were often a good source for headphones and surplus equipment, but they were too expensive for a kid and his pocket money allowance. It was with the advent of the likes of Dick Smith Electronics and later on, Jaycar, along with Altronics that Australia moved forward into a more consistent supply stream for the home builder, alongside the tradesman and professional suppliers.

Back in the 70s, you had more ancient technology (TTL but no CMOS chips until the 80s) but you could still buy most valves/tubes, crystal radio parts and a whole host of passive components. "Computer boards" full of old germanium diodes and transistors were very popular and affordable for the hobbyists back then.

DSE went gone out of components some 5 years ago, leaving Jaycar, Altronics and a number of larger but more specialised companies (Prime, Element 14 and now Digikey is here in Oz too, alongside RS Components and Radio Spares, just to name a few,) to cater for trade and engineering needs. The hobbyist is really not a consideration for most of them, but one or two of the smaller pro companies have been making overtures to online enquiriers about filling small orders.

Jaycar staff admit that their biggest competitors are online suppliers, both here and overseas, and I suspect that one day they will only do components through mail order. Shopfronts are expensive to own and run and the environment is far too competitive for staff to stand around filling out your $20 order, when they could be selling very expensive "boxes" (anything over $200 with digital insides,) and the profit margins just aren't there for components at street level. One day Jaycar will become a 'box seller' too.

I usually buy from them or Prime here in Oz if I can, and Benny International if I can't. I trade online with other local and Asian sellers or via private sale on Ebay. I told Jaycar staff recently that "if you don't stock it, or don't WANT to stock it, then I have no choice but to go online and buy elsewhere"- now they understand.

Gone are the days when you could count on any of them having everything that you want, and you have to spread your shopping list around several suppliers (local and overseas) to get it all. I love ratting parts off of old circuit boards too, but with the widespread advent of surface mount, that too is failing as an option.

So there it is, from 'radio shops' back in the 1960s, to Internet sales in 2014, and Jaycar et al fading fast as far as components go. That's my story.

 

As most others have stated, Digikey is my main source. There is, however, one key person I go to on Ebay for smaller orders. China prices but based in the US so the shipping is great! Never had a problem with them, replaced things lost in the mail, etc. But alas, no one can match the prices of places like Digikey... However, I never, NEVER go to radioshack . They don't know what they are talking about and things cost anywhere from 10-100x what they would somewhere else. I literally had one employee not know what I meant when I said "5mm RGB LED"... Sorry, I've just had a lot of bad experiences with them.

 

Here in our place carbon film resistors, electrolytic, ceramic, Mylar capacitors, diodes (small signal diodes, by the way germanium diodes are hard to find; 1n400x series, zener diodes), a few bipolar transistors are the "common" ones available. FETS are hard to find, MOSFETs not available. The thing that makes it hard to learn electronics here is that they don't keep a database or a sort of what inventory they have. Digikey's shipping rate here is about $40. I only resort to simulations for learning and would only order the materials if I need to get the hardware done.

 

There is no way Radio Shack can afford to hire Electrical Engineers, They can be convenient and you pay dearly for that convenience.