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10 Best Electronics Suppliers

First off, I would like to give notice to Electronics Projects for Dummies for most of this info.

I wanted to make a site with many of the best sites to buy Electrical Parts, because it can sometimes be a strenuous activity. I have 10 here, because if you can't find something on one online store, you might be able to find it on the next.

Reynolds Electronics
Reynolds Electronics is a good supplier of remote control components, micro controllers, and robot kits and parts. One feature that stands out on Reynolds Web site is the clear and helpful project/circuit tutorials. You can also find links for educational books on topics such as robotics and microcontrollers.

Hobby Engineering
Hobby Engineering is a sit slanted towards the hobbyist. This site carries some useful items that can be harder to find from other providers who are catered towards the corporate customer. it also has a good supply of micro-controllers, robot kits, parts, ad miscellaneous components and tools.

All Electronics
All Electronics has an incredible selection of many of the useful items you would use to build your project. They are very inexpensive and it is easy to find your way around the site. This site also has a "consumer comments" section where the consumers get to talk about the quality of the product and more. (Thank you westfw)

BG Micro
BG Micro is a cool site for rare and pretty neat gadgets as well as a nice selection of alot of the items one will need for a weekend project. There is also a very nice search engine at the top which lets you search for an item you can't find on the left. (Thank you Las Vegas)

Jameco Electronics
Jameco has a very nice site catalog. It's not very big that you sspect a forest was sacrificed in its making. I has great color photos with relatively easy to find components. This is one supplier wih a low price fuarantee which means that if you can show a part offered for less, the lesser price is honored. jameco also provides lower priced generic products as well as name brands.

DigiKey
Digi-Key is a large distrbutor of components from various manufacturers, offering a very large catalog with lots and lots of choices. However, the site uses small print that might be hard to ead. The catalog includes line drawings but o part photos, but it does do an excellant job of labeling the parts. Overall, Digi-Key has a huge selection of products, but they might need a little looking to find them.
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Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics
Another large distributor of components from various manufacturers is Mouser. I like how Mouser's site allows you to compile separate orders for different projects. You can come backa s many times as you like to complete your order and make your purchase. We also like how Mouser label parts because the labels are easy to read and provide alot of information about the specific part.

Like Digi-Key, Mouser provides a very large catalog.

Radioshack
Radioshack
Everyone knows Radioshack!. This electronics convenience store is pretty much like any food convenience store: CONVENIENT BUT EXPENSIVE. If you are stuck at 4:30 on a Sunday afteroon needing a small part to keep working on your project, this store is right for you. Be aware that not all radioshack are equal.

Fry's Electronics
Fry's Electronics
Fry's has stores in nine states, and if you are lucky enough to live near one you can browse the isles in person. Fry's stocks all kinds of electronics and parts including an EXCELLANT selection of IC chips.

Goldmine Electronics
Goldmine Electronics
If you are in the market for bargains, try Electronic Goldmine.. This online store often offers sepcials that can save you money. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Electronics Goldmine offers great help with international orders and also offers wholesale items on auction on eBay.

Quick Tip: Try clicking Electronic Goldmine Treasure Ball for the best deals!

Futurlec
Futurelec offers a very nicely done site with color photos of the parts that makes for easy browsin. Futurelec also offers semicnductor news links and also links to recently added parts to help you keep on the top of the latest and greatest as well as PCB design and manufacturing services.

[htpp://maplin.co.uk Maplin]
Maplin
The British suppplier Maplin has stores scattered around the U.K. and also offers an online store.
Unlike electronic gadgets and appliances that operate on different voltages in European contries, electornic components are pretty standard. Although Maplin will ship overseas, you might want to check out U.S. Suppliers first.

Sparkfun
Sparkfun was originally a PCB Manufacturer, and turned in to a company well beyond their expectations! They have a large variety of PCBs, LEDs, and MANY more everyday electronics components. The site is well organized with so much to choose from!


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merry2day says: Sep 12, 2012. 2:30 AM
A lot of tools and LED bulbs, and home improvements gadgets for DIYs on Tmart.com... They have warehouse in New Jersy and HK, therefore, it's quite fast to ship from US warehouse to US addresses.
akinich says: Jul 31, 2012. 5:15 AM
I am selling electronic components on ebay for really cheap prices
i make custom part bags
and i can get requested parts for cheap (any quantity and specs)
shipping depends on the final quantity and mainly to usa
if your interested pm me and i will direct you to my ebay page
Akinich
nprajapati2 says: Jul 28, 2012. 1:49 AM
Dear Friends

I need IXYS IGBT part nuber is VKI 50-12P1----------------2NOs.

pls suggest me possible source
Brennn10 (author) says: Feb 25, 2007. 2:39 PM
If anyone has any questions, just PM me.
Plasmana says: Feb 5, 2009. 2:57 PM
Is it okay to ask questions by comments? :-) I am right now making an instructable with a list of manufactures and suppliers that has free samples, and I also want to add 'the best suppliers' step to my instructable. And my question is: Is it okay if I can copy your write up on the best suppliers on this forum and credit you?
Brennn10 (author) says: Feb 5, 2009. 3:23 PM
Go for it!
Plasmana says: Feb 5, 2009. 4:56 PM
Thank you! :-)
junits15 says: Jul 3, 2009. 12:30 PM
Does anybody know how to find LEDs in digikey? I have looked for hours and cant find what im looking for! All I want is a standard 5mm blue LED
seandogue says: Aug 10, 2009. 7:05 AM
type in "LED" (without the quotes) in the search engine on their first page.

Scroll down to "optoelectronics" and choose

LEDs <75mA or LEDs >75mA

It will refer to a new page with a selection chart. Choose blue for the color, Round 5mm for the lens style, thru-hole (presumably you want thru hole?) for mounting type, and then press the Apply Filters button etc.
pretty straight forward once you get the hang of it
junits15 says: Aug 15, 2009. 4:20 PM
Thanks soooo much!
oddWires says: Jul 9, 2012. 2:20 PM
You may not have heard of oddWires (oddwires.com) but we're an up and coming company specializing in Arduino, audio and low-cost component packs for hobbyists & professionals alike. Some unique offerings include the PT2322 audio processing ship with a library to enable you to control your 5.1 amp from your Arduino. Example sketch & library available. Authorized Arduino Distributor.

Fuzzy-Wobble says: Jun 25, 2011. 9:26 PM
wow!
nice collection...
here are my favourites

allelectronics.com (wow its cheap!)
sparkfun.com (amazing community)
pololu.com (not mentioned!)
solarbotics.com (CANADIAN and home of the very awesome Ardweeny)
futurlec.com (super super super cheap)
electronics goldmine (weird place)
alibaba.com (not mentioned, asia based)
mouser (expensive shipping to canada and some items you cant find anywhere else)
digikey (fastest shipping on the planet)
scott_shot says: Jun 28, 2012. 4:20 PM
Great post, anyone mention http://dx.com/
Maybe not tech specific but there are good components to be found.
alika12 says: Mar 31, 2012. 1:24 PM
Great list.  I'd like to add http://www.newegg.com and http://www.outletpc.com to it.
dresch says: Mar 20, 2012. 4:23 AM
http://www.pololu.com/
Great selection of mechanical, electro-mechanical and electronic products. Nothing but excellent in terms of customer response also.

http://www.solarbotics.com/
is also excellent.

Also check out :
http://shop.moderndevice.com/
Great service, great prices. Cool products.
http://www.pjrc.com/
The awesome Teensy and other stuff.

I would not be an EE if it weren't for DigiKey. Honestly.
blkhawk says: Feb 7, 2012. 2:39 AM
I could add MPJA. They have all sorts of electronic components.
crob09 says: Jan 17, 2012. 2:52 PM
This is a great resource!! I am book marking this for sure!

Thanks!

Rob from whatisacnc.com
Robohotic says: Dec 29, 2011. 8:33 PM
Very nice List, But you missed the best website : http://www.taydaelectronics.com , best prices, best service. Because I live in New Zealand and very few websites will deliver to NZ I use Tayda all the time and of course Ebay.
mmcmac says: Mar 10, 2010. 5:01 PM
I haven't have much luck with Electronic Goldmine.  Not only do
they sit on orders forever despite their advertising to the contrary.
But when (not if) they ship you defective merchandise the response
from them is "hey, it's all surplus stuff.  You get what you get."   Nice.

I had the misfortune of having the owner pick up the phone
once when I called to inquire on quantity availability of an item.
He essentially barked at me for expecting them to have quantity
stock of the item (even though it was advertised on their website
in quantity) and went on about how they "buy the remains of
companies going down", and quickly ended the call.  Nice.

Their shipping "policy" is equally suspect.  You pay a surcharge
over the UPS rate and they don't even pack the purchased
items competently.  That winds up as shipping damage and you
get to pick up the phone for another cycle of abuse.

Wish I had a more positive experience here but I thought it
was worth sharing with other prospective customers.

static says: Oct 17, 2011. 5:02 PM
Of course YMMV is always in force, but I have never had any complaints for Electronic Gold Mine, orders where delivered as fast as I could expect, and packaged well enough so I have never received damaged merchandise. Well they do sell surplus items, and caveat peremptory is generally accepted to in play, unless the seller expressly says they are tested items. When we go looking to buy items for a bargain, we should be surprised if we receive bargain merchandise.
mmcmac says: Oct 17, 2011. 5:51 PM
I even forgot I left this review as EG hasn't even entered my thoughts until
I saw this follow up comment.

I suspect they won't be around too much longer. If I wait that long for
incidentals to be shipped I can effectively wait for evilbay sold products
from Chinese vendors -- who incidentally are more willing to work with
the customer in my experience compared to the hostile "customer
service" automatons at EG. But by all means if you are enamoured
with their service, send your money there.
kill-a-watt says: Mar 13, 2010. 3:38 AM
unfortunately, I'd have to agree. My last order shipped with one item that was out of stock (but was in stock when I placed the order according to the on-site inventory). They also sat on my order for 10 days for no apparent reason.

Maybe this is some guy's part time hobby business, but that's totally unacceptable in the internet age. If I order online, I expect the order in the mail within 48 hours with a tracking number emailed to me before the package is handed over to shipping.
LasVegas says: Feb 25, 2007. 8:09 PM
Come to think of it... One very important one is missing...

BG Micro
Some of the coolest and rarest gadgets at the best prices.
Fuzzy-Wobble says: Jun 25, 2011. 9:30 PM
looks good - boookmarketed
Brennn10 (author) says: Feb 26, 2007. 7:29 AM
I will also add BG Micro, its a cool site, thanks!
Ian01 says: Apr 15, 2011. 11:40 PM
I suggest Sphere*. They seem to focus on used test equipment (meters, scopes, etc.) but they also have lots of different kinds of parts, e.g. heat sinks, obscure ICs, vacuum tubes, Nixie tubes, a huge variety of fans, RF stuff, HV stuff. Some items are used and some are new. The only disadvantage is that they're often sold out of some items because they have such limited quantities.

*Be aware that the website is filled with tables and bright colours.
jasonarnot says: Mar 2, 2011. 8:46 AM
Good list. In Vegas we have two PC Hardware choices: OutletPC or Frys.  OutletPC has really good deals on hard to find stuff and cables.  Frys is hit or miss.
oweng4000 says: Dec 16, 2010. 7:05 AM
frys is good but their customer service sucks. They also do not stock the NTE replacement for CD40106, and only have a smt replacement for CD4093.
Phoebe302 says: Aug 4, 2010. 6:55 PM
I have searched a lot information about China mobile phones and find davismicro.com mainly sells electronics and the mobile phones are much cheaper than other ones'. So i ordered on it and got my order without any trouble. I am quite satisfied.
mestricto says: Jan 3, 2010. 7:31 PM
This is a really handy post, thanks.  But to constructively criticize a bit - please find an editor friend, or at the very least run it through an english spelling/grammar checker to fix all the typos and transpositions.  It'll only help!

(hah, and I just had to fix my own mistake.  Even so, it's only a comment - the article really would do well cleaned up a bit)
Zaphod Beeblebrox says: Oct 10, 2009. 11:21 AM
radioshak is a rip off
Tanners says: Oct 10, 2009. 11:29 AM
what are you doing? why are you are making mostly pointless comments on one post in every section?
Zaphod Beeblebrox says: Nov 23, 2009. 7:25 PM
well radio shack is a rip-off and not all of them are pointless!
Zaphod Beeblebrox says: Nov 23, 2009. 7:25 PM
most are trying to mean something!
blkhawk says: Nov 18, 2009. 4:35 PM
Zaphod Beeblebrox says: Oct 4, 2009. 6:16 AM
allkelectronics is awsome
jeff-o says: Aug 26, 2009. 4:06 AM
Be sure to check out UTSource.net. I recently bought a small quantity of very rare "bucket brigade delay" ICs that everyone else was selling for $10-$20 a pop! Here they were $5 or less.

But of course, they have modern devices too. Just enter in what you want and they contact you with a quotation for the cost. It's a few more hoops to jump through than Digikey or Mouser, but the prices are fantastic and they have parts no-one else has anymore.
gmoon says: Aug 26, 2009. 4:46 AM
Oh!!!! Did you find any SAD-1024 chips? It doesn't pop up in a quick search (I'll check again later today, when time allows..)
jeff-o says: Aug 26, 2009. 5:18 AM
Yes... http://www.utsource.net/ic-datasheet/SAD1024-1299480.html

According to the stock status they have between 10 and 100 of them. Dunno how much they'll be. You'll need to request a quote.

I ordered MN32xx-series parts, myself.
gmoon says: Aug 26, 2009. 7:59 AM
Thanks. I'm almost afraid to ask for a quote--last time I saw a quantity for sale, they were 80+ Euros per... (These were the BB chips in a lot of Electro-Harmonix, MXRs, and similar vintage stompboxes. I have one from a trashed "Electric Mistress" pedal, but I've always been afraid to test it, lest I brick the thing.)
jeff-o says: Aug 26, 2009. 8:09 AM
It won't hurt to ask. They'll be very eager to sell you something, but if the price is too high then the price is too high. I like this site because they happily deal in small quantities and will ship to individuals, which is very different from most semiconductor graveyards!
gmoon says: Aug 26, 2009. 9:23 AM
True!
jeff-o says: Aug 27, 2009. 5:13 AM
Well, I went ahead and requested a quote for these, since I was getting a quote for something else at the same time. I'm very interested to see how much these will be!!
gmoon says: Aug 27, 2009. 6:42 AM
Ah, cool. Give us an FYI; I haven't gotten around to doing that...
jeff-o says: Aug 27, 2009. 6:44 AM
Results are in! Your SAD1024 chips are $12 US each. I'm thinking of buying a few and selling them on eBay for a profit!
gmoon says: Aug 27, 2009. 7:14 AM
What's the meme? It goes something like : Buy parts .... Profit! But yeah--you could certainly resell those for a buck.
jeff-o says: Aug 27, 2009. 7:41 AM
I think I can fill that in for you: Step 2: markup Since your chip is $12, you can buy a single piece if you want to. Shipping will be another $8. That's a lot less than 80 euro!
gmoon says: Aug 27, 2009. 11:41 AM
I'll drop a PM tonight.

This site has two for sale:

34 EUR (Used & Tested) and 38 EUR (Brand New - Unused). Not 80 Euro, but you could make a profit...
yourcat says: Apr 29, 2009. 10:08 AM
Solarbotics/HVWtech?
wazzup333 says: Apr 29, 2009. 7:49 AM
one of the sites listed here doesn't exist or you have wrote down the wrong url, also there is a few spelling mistakes and you could also mention that maplin is quite expensive too.
needitbadly says: Dec 28, 2008. 1:03 AM
Hi guys! I am compiling a list of online electronic store price lists to see which one have the cheapest electronic components and i need your help! Visit my webpage (www.needitbadly.com) to check the latest price list i have and contribute your share of good and cheap online stores. Its simple to update as i use google docs (do not need a google account, just email me for access). Thanks!
Plasmana says: Jul 20, 2008. 3:25 PM
Heres another electronic supplier, Farnell, they are an UK electronic supplier, they have a very wide range of electronics at cheap prices...
amin_misran says: Nov 11, 2008. 12:43 PM
farnell is good,since I live in Malaysia,and they have a branch here.So my order can be sent the next day;)
treg says: Aug 14, 2008. 1:21 PM
sure electronics have some interesting prices on bulk buy for resistors, capacitors, ...
wolf555hound says: Aug 13, 2008. 1:58 AM
lol, i live bout 5 mins from a radioshack, and a frys, sweet. ima try ebay though, but good info!
gmoon says: Jun 25, 2007. 7:33 AM
You're missing one of the best, IMO: Sparkfun electronics

Great proto boards, project stuff (and inexpensive shipping if you only order an IC or two...)
Big Bwana says: Jul 11, 2008. 9:49 PM
Ya and they have some really neat items like GPS modules and they are cheap...
Brennn10 (author) says: Jun 25, 2007. 7:38 AM
THANKS! I will definitely add that site! FOR ANYONE WHO FEELS A SITE SHOULD BE ON HERE, TELL ME TO ADD IT!
Kiteman says: Jun 24, 2007. 4:53 PM
Maplin are poor - variable, inadequate stocks, especially in branches. Not helped by staff with little/no useful kowledge. Or maybe that's just their Norwich branch.
Plasmana says: Jul 5, 2008. 1:07 AM
Yeah, I don't like maplin anymore, they were good in the past but not now, and even worse, maplin had stop stocking a lot of electronic parts and becoming more and more like a computer part store.
Yerboogieman says: Apr 23, 2008. 5:32 PM
today i bought 5ft of EL Wire from xoxide its a pretty good site, standard shipping is 3 to 10 business days, thats not too bad for $2 shipping
ry25920 says: Apr 11, 2008. 6:12 AM
Eric should really put this as a permanent top on the list
westfw says: Apr 11, 2008. 8:10 AM
I moved it to the new "resources" category; that should help. For a while, anyway.
Patrik says: Apr 11, 2008. 12:12 PM
I added a bunch of keywords as well - that'll make it easier to find. Hm... do we need a "Related" feature for forum topics, like we have for instructables? Makes sense - we do have similar topics come up over an over again.
Brennn10 (author) says: Apr 11, 2008. 4:01 PM
Thanks guys!
NachoMahma says: Jun 24, 2007. 6:25 PM
. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
technoplastique says: Jun 24, 2007. 12:10 PM
I really like Mouser, but they send that MONSTER catalog every 3 months now. I need to get on the site and see if I can unsubscribe to their paper mail - I recycle them, but it still makes me feel bad to see all of that wasted paper (one catalog every 6 months or year would do for me, because I mostly shop online and only browse the catalog when I'm bored.) Thanks for the other links, too, there were a few I'd never been to.
sksmerc says: Jun 22, 2007. 2:14 PM
Thanks for posting this. I'm new to the DIY idea, and these sites look useful for gathering equipment.
westfw says: Feb 26, 2007. 4:19 AM
Fry's here in silicon valley has been going downhill WRT electronics parts; used to be all sorts of neat stuff, now it's mostly NTE replacement parts. Sigh.

You didn't mention All Electronics, which I rate slightly upscale from Electronics Goldmine and BG Micro. One interesting feature I haven't seen elsewhere is a "customer comments" section for each item, sometimes containing pointers to more extensive information, and relatively frequently containing some useful insights...

Also Futurlec which has some very low prices on items that are normally overpriced elsewhere (like Prototyping PCBs and Stripboard
(but they're slower than many other vendors.)
Brennn10 (author) says: Feb 26, 2007. 7:29 AM
I will add All Electronics, thank you for your input.
westfw says: Feb 26, 2007. 4:20 AM
BTW, DIgikey has a very good search engine on their web site...
LasVegas says: Feb 25, 2007. 4:54 PM
Very nice compilation. Thanks for all the hard work.
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