Where to purchase cheap/inexpensive components?

Thread Starter

RogerTango

Joined Apr 22, 2011
15
Hello folks, Im back... been off the bench a few years, things are settled down a bit and getting back into uc projects, just ordered a few new Picaxe chips...

Anywho, the seller I had saved in my ebay account from which Ive bought pounds of parts from, is no longer selling. I got switches, wire, resistors, etc.. from the seller. Shipping was very reasonable too..

So, since my primary outlet is gone, who do you suggest? Looking for outlets other than Mouser, etc.. etc...

Many thanks,
Andrew
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,157
Hello folks, Im back... been off the bench a few years, things are settled down a bit and getting back into uc projects, just ordered a few new Picaxe chips...

Anywho, the seller I had saved in my ebay account from which Ive bought pounds of parts from, is no longer selling. I got switches, wire, resistors, etc.. from the seller. Shipping was very reasonable too..

So, since my primary outlet is gone, who do you suggest? Looking for outlets other than Mouser, etc.. etc...

Many thanks,
Andrew
How much are you budgeting to find a new reliable EBAY supplier? I personally wouldn't depend on an EBAY supplier for anything!
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
So, since my primary outlet is gone, who do you suggest? Looking for outlets other than Mouser, etc.. etc...
Save yourself some grief and buy from authorized distributors/resellers. eBay, Amazon, Ali Express, Banggood are full of disreputable sellers.

EDIT: corrected typo on Banggood.

Save up for the parts you want/need and buy in sufficient quantity to get a price break. Don't be lulled into buying inexpensive (likely counterfeit or rejected parts) and thinking you're saving money. If you value your time, you're not saving any money. If money is an issue, you'd be better off salvaging parts from discarded electronics. A lot of people started out that way.

I used to buy parts on eBay before counterfeiting became such a big problem. Now I avoid them like the plague. They only time I'll consider parts is if it looks like someone picked up an odd lot at a company liquidation. If they have a "store" or sell the same parts, I'd steer clear of them. Feedback means nothing. They've figured how to game the systems.

I'd go with Newark, Mouser, Jameco, Tayda. Jameco will price match, but their selection isn't what it used to be and I just go with someone else. I use Digikey to get an idea of the highest price I should pay; but I haven't ordered from them in decades.
 
Last edited:

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
I get hammered for it around here and sometimes justifiably so but... I don't use eBay or Amazon much as I cut the middle man out and buy directly from china on AliExpress. Caveat Emptor! Some things, in particular IC chips, are rather suspect and I have paid the price for it. Hardware, signal relays, transistors, resistors, capacitors (NOT electrolytic), most diodes, and the like not so bad. I would never suggest using them for commercial/industrial use parts! And be prepared for a 4-6 week (if at all) delivery time but they are cheap. I'll also throw Jameco into the mix of the main US distributors.
 

Travm

Joined Aug 16, 2016
363
I find by the time I factor in shipping on my Tayda order, unless I'm ordering a lot of items (resistors?), its not actually (much) cheaper than digikey. $8 flat rate shipping to Canada is pretty hard to beat.
 

pvanb

Joined Apr 4, 2014
6
Save yourself some grief and buy from authorized distributors/resellers. eBay, Amazon, Ali Express, Banggood are full of disreputable sellers.

EDIT: corrected typo on Banggood.

Save up for the parts you want/need and buy in sufficient quantity to get a price break. Don't be lulled into buying inexpensive (likely counterfeit or rejected parts) and thinking you're saving money. If you value your time, you're not saving any money. If money is an issue, you'd be better off salvaging parts from discarded electronics. A lot of people started out that way.

I used to buy parts on eBay before counterfeiting became such a big problem. Now I avoid them like the plague. They only time I'll consider parts is if it looks like someone picked up an odd lot at a company liquidation. If they have a "store" or sell the same parts, I'd steer clear of them. Feedback means nothing. They've figured how to game the systems.

I'd go with Newark, Mouser, Jameco, Tayda. Jameco will price match, but their selection isn't what it used to be and I just go with someone else. I use Digikey to get an idea of the highest price I should pay; but I haven't ordered from them in decades.
I use Digikey, but for obsolete parts, not likely to have them. Same with Mouser and others, so Ebay is almost the only option, and if they have such a bad rep, how do they stay viable and in business?
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,839
so Ebay is almost the only option, and if they have such a bad rep, how do they stay viable and in business?
There's an endless supply of people who are easily separated from their money.
Sellers fake their feedback ratings and don't count on repeat business.

When I was still working, I used to budget about $1000 a year on eBay for components and equipment. When counterfeiting became so bad, I switched to authorized resellers for components. I still buy used equipment from eBay, but no electronic parts.
 

Janis59

Joined Aug 21, 2017
1,834
Octopart.com is the first sell-buy deals monitoring engine what gives a data of price and storehouse count at each of hundred megastores for about every immagineable component. Extremely useful for price comparizon.
 
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