Parts sources

While it may seem strange to blog about getting your parts, there are some very obvious things that many hobbyists might forget about in their enthusiasm in getting their parts.

How many do you need? Now and in the future? For some common parts, getting more at one time to cover current and future needs buying in bulk can change who your supplier is as well as the price. Different sources can have widely different prices for the same or comparable prices. Since I'm limiting myself to through-hole components and trying to stick to a small number of values for things like resistors and capacitors, I can be willing to buy some extras for future use, lower the cost per item, and be less concerned with wasting a few. Some resistor values for example are so common that I got 1000 at a time from Digikey so they cost less then a penny each. For some IC chips, tube qty's from Avnet can make sense. But, in some cases, I did go straight to eBay . Don't assume your favorite supplier is the best deal, look at quantity discounts, and try to think ahead!

Don't forget about Shipping, Handling, and Minimum Orders! Of course, shipping varies greatly. Some places include shipping in their pricing, which is good only for one off items. Others won't ship via certain methods or will take a long time to be delivered. Take into account when do you really need the items, try to order as much as you can from one source at a time, and watch the weight & shipping costs of your orders. Digikey for example will ship light weight items via USPS if you want, saving you shipping costs on smaller or light weight orders. Others have minimum shipping costs, so if you must get from them adding a few more items to your order adds little to no extra, saving you more money. In general unless shipping is prepaid (as some eBay items are), the more you get from a source in one order, the cheaper the shipping per item becomes. Being a hobbyist, I tend to have my things shipped the cheapest method, so I've worked to bundle my orders from one source together and looked at what else they have to offer that also makes sense. Don't be afraid to deal with the big boys like Avnet, Most of my UPS Ground orders from them only cost me $8 or so for shipping a fairly good sized bunch of parts. So far in the US, they have shipped to me from AZ so it's fairly quick even via ground.

Beware of eBay, and don't be afraid to use eBay! Sounds like I can't make up my mind eh? This isn't a buyer beware comment, but be smart as to how you use it. Some items on eBay may be used, cheap, or substandard, but in most cases this does is NOT a factor for hobbyists. Where you want to pay attention is the shipping costs and can you get it cheaper from a larger distributor in quantity? Plus, many of the parts end up being shipped from Asian inexpensively, taking a lot longer to get here. But, something simple and common can often be found cheaper from local suppliers and be delivered quicker! I've been able to get parts from Avnet and Digikey delivered in a week or less cheaply where my final costs were below eBay pricing before shipping. I'm actually close enough to Digikey that sometimes the USPS packages arrive the next day! But, in some cases eBay was actually cheaper if I was willing to wait the extra time! Shop around and compare! Sometimes I've found one item where in my qty & style I needed eBay was cheaper, then I looked at what else that vendor had and was able to expand my order with other things that wouldn't have made sense from eBay, except I was already ordering and I saved a bit on the shipping. Also, if you bought too many parts but they were cheap, try selling some on eBay to recoup the cost. While you may make little or no money on the part it helps reduce your losses and keeps the costs of your projects down.

Look at specialty sites! While many items may be more expensive from them, sometimes they have gems you don't expect. Other times they make suggestions on what should be used for specific projects or useful links. Spending research time can really prevent headaches while keeping the costs down.

Substitute! Hobbyists do this all the time and need to. Keep you mind open on parts and designs. In my current schematic I even realize that both low current and high current requirements exist and I'm making sure that either can be used and that substitution of parts will be easier (low power MOSFET's and transistors often have different pinouts or spacing from most high current parts, so in this case I actually have both in my schematic to help). Besides, hobbyists often need to use the parts they have on hand, which also affects everything else. In my designs I'm even placing multiple holes on the PCB layouts for some items such as capacitors to allow for easier substition or variance in the parts.

Over-spec the requirements & parts! Hobbyists have very flexible requirements and might use a design in unexpected ways. A few extra cents in savings isn't worth the effort while it might limit what you can do. Also, how well do you really know the full engineering load/design? I encourage everyone to be willing to allow for too much or extended optional uses when it doesn't significantly affect your costs. My current switch design is being tested with  20A MOSFET's when 2-3Amps is typical because the parts didn't cost much more and then they won't be getting as hot either and then I also don't need as much in the way of protection diodes since the MOSFET's integral diode is more then enough. Sometimes saving a few pennies can actually cost you more in effort or other parts. At least in my case I'm also testing with 5A transistors with the required diodes since hobbyists sometimes have to use the parts they have on hand.

Keep a Wish List! When you have an idea or see something interesting while you're searching around, make a note of it including source(s) and cost. That way later on when you are actually going to have to get parts you can make intelligent decisions, check your budget, and you might be able to get some of the optional stuff at the same time to save on shipping.

Budget! Know how much you can and are willing to spend and stick to it! Sometimes you just have to get the more expensive version of the part in a smaller quantity in order to not blow your budget. Don't get too carried away on saving money. If you really want the larger quantity at lower per part cost, take the time to put the money aside and wait until you can get it within your budget.This is supposed to be fun, don't cause yourself unwanted financial headaches.

Share with others! Know someone else that has some of the same interests and requirements? Maybe you can get together on your orders to get better pricing and shipping. My father-in-law for example sometimes needs some parts for his train set that he can't find in the local store, and ordering them online adds shipping. I was able to include some parts he needed that were heavier in an order I was already placing that was also heavier, but that saved him money on the parts and the shipping. In another case with a different supplier, he needed that some other parts and I was able to include some of my items saving me on shipping.

Make sure you don't fall into any ruts on what you are doing. Yes, you can default to how/where you do something, but at least take the time to verify that it's still the best way to get what you need. Bring  a hobbyist sometimes means being creative on how you get what you need.