Where to buy cheap parts in the UK
Hey, I have just stumbled upon this site about 2 hours ago (been wandering around looking at stuff to make) and have discovered a minro problem, the instructables all seem to link to US sites and they don't deliver to the UK and any sites I know of that are based in the UK are very expensive. $4 for a single small watch battery seems a little steep.
So, if anyone knows of any cheap places to buy parts like components, tools and similar supplies I would really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance for your help with this.
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Mar 13, 2010. 11:18 AMZeebad
says:
Kiteman - there's Supply Shop over at http://www.supplyshop.co.uk ... they're also on e-bay, with fast shipping and good prices too !
Mar 30, 2009. 11:15 AMUltraMagnus
says:
Try Farnell ( http://www.farnell.com/ ), they sell a very wide range of electronic components cheaply.
Aug 11, 2007. 9:52 AMphenoptix
says:
My website is pretty competitive for LEDs, resistors and kynar wire. I won't link it in here as I don't want to look like a spammer!! If you google phenoptix, it's the first site you get.
The LEDs cost me a pound:
http://www.instructables.com/id/EKKBWXSF1B3RFK8/
It was Poundland, or PoundWorld or something like...
http://www.instructables.com/id/EKKBWXSF1B3RFK8/
It was Poundland, or PoundWorld or something like...
But Poundland are out of these now. I did find some hideous flashing glass-crucifixes, and bought one (pound). I haven't used the LED yes, as it's a bit more tricky than I though to get it into my PC case. L
Jun 1, 2007. 3:45 PMjosh92176
says:
Try Futurlec they are who I use everything is dirt cheap especially with the pound dollar exchange rate these days and they have a good range. make sure to check out their "value packs" (100 LEDs for $4.95 etc.). Only down side is very slow delivery (2-3 weeks I think) if you chose the cheapest option which is $4.
May 6, 2007. 5:52 AMtoothlessnazarene
says:
BestHongKong.com, IN China... LEDs in bulk, NO shipping $, fast shipping some FREEBIES, + other electronics...... PEACE be with ALL.......
Mar 12, 2007. 5:17 PMJezza Bear
says:
I agree with lemonie, try the pound shops and Maplins if you have one around your parts. Careful of the batteries 30 for £5.00 as they don't last. I am a magpie and my wife is driven senseless by my collecting, harvesting and gathering. I am very much into to recycling old broken or useless kit and i am known to stop the car and look into skips. Charity shops always have "stuff". If i see something anywhere, the motto is "This could be useful, if I ignore this I may never get the opportunity again" Don't be afraid of salvaging, one mans muck is another ones brass :-)
Charity-shops I should have thought of! I know a skip-rat who carried a large CRT monitor home, uphill, and for a couple of miles. More than I could be bothered anyway.
Maplins is OK, but my local store (Norwich) usually has very low stocks (asking for more than two transistors at a time confuses them). I'd try ebay.co.uk - depending what you want, some of the stuff on there is dirt cheap (over-stock etc). Just make sure they've got decent feedback.
Mar 14, 2007. 11:29 AMNimmo (author)
says:
I had been looking at maplin's online store as there aren't any in St Andrews and that was where I got those prices. I will certainly be having a swatch at the next pound shop I go to then. Thanks for the help everyone. I had kind of considered ebay, but part of me is a little sceptical of it even though I have never had any problems.
You can get cheap batteries in 'pound shops', they may only be alkalines, but you can buy packs of 50 assorted button-cells for a quid. They also sell some cheap tools. For components, how about skip-ratting some electricals and stripping components out of these? What else are you after? L
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