Where to buy electronic components
If you are new to hobby electronics, one of the first things you need to know is where to buy electronic components. I’ve been buying electronic components for years so I have effectively tested loads of them. In this post, I’ll tell you who you can trust and who to avoid. Also, I mentioned a story later of one supplier whose exceptional service really helped me out when I made a mistake.
Where to buy electronic components – history
Years ago the question of where to buy electronic components was easy. There was only one option. You had to get them through mail order. Several companies used to advertise in electronic magazines like Practical Electronics and Everyday Electronics. You wrote to them and requested a catalogue. This came with an order form which you filled in with your best handwriting, descriptions, order codes, quantity and cost. You then had to add it all up and get a postal order to cover the amount and send it to the address. That would be in a pre-paid envelope if you were lucky.
Electronic components shops
I can remember when one of those companies Maplin, started to open high street shops and when one opened five miles from me it was like all my Christmases had come at once. To go to the shop and come away with electronic components seemed bliss.
Unfortunately, Maplin is no more in my area and the other brick-and-mortar shop, Tandy has long since gone. For me, it’s the post office that delivers my electronic components again. This time there are no handwritten order forms or postal orders.
Electronic components for online shopping
Luckily the World Wide Web provides the answer. There are a good many online electronic component suppliers these days and it’s entirely up to you who you prefer however if you are new to online component purchase I have a few companies and recommendations.
Shipping costs
I don’t know about you but I hate paying postage costs. Especially when some companies provide free shipping. Even with a small charge, like £3.95, I think there’s £3.95 worth of components that I could have bought instead.
Rapid electronics
One of the online component suppliers I use is Rapid Electronics. If your order is over thirty pounds it is sent free postage. So I make sure my orders are over thirty pounds.
This I do by making a list every time I need a component. Like little things I tend to forget about that are not essential, they all help to make sure I’m over the thirty pounds threshold. Let’s face it there’s always something you need.
I have found Rapid Electronics to be very reliable or the years. I don’t use them exclusively though as some of their items are a little more expensive than some other suppliers. Also, they don’t have quite as large a range of products as some of the other suppliers.
Bitsbox
Another supplier I use is Bitsbox. If I can’t wait until my order is large enough for Rapid I use them because they charge £1.75 postage which is about as cheap as I can find.
Mouser
Mouser is based in Texas USA. It doesn’t make much of a difference to me as their location though as delivery to the UK is very quick.
Usually, I get my delivery in 3 to 5 days. It’s also tracked and delivered by the carrier. Again they are a company to trust, I’ve never had a problem and upon checking my order history I’ve used them around 20 times in the last 2 years. They have a much larger range of products than Rapid. I can find anything I want. This includes things like PCB mounting variable resistors and PCB mounting sockets. Both with specific footprints.I also use Mouser for difficult-to-find specific connectors.
The only thing that I find with Mouser is because they have such a huge range online, it can be difficult trying to track down exactly what you want from the website.
Digikey
I think Digikey are based in the USA, but I’m not sure as again the delivery is very quick. Again if you spend over £33 you don’t pay for shipping.
Checking my order history, I’ve used them over ten times in the last couple of years. I’ve found that they are cheaper for some components if you buy them in large quantities. I’ve done this for some parts that I get through quickly. Another trustworthy supplier.
Spiratronics
Spiratronics is one of the smaller component suppliers that I use. Again they are a reputable supplier and I would particularly recommend them for smaller orders as they will give you free shipping on orders over £10. This is a lot less than most of the others where you will need to spend over £30.
Where to buy electronic components – the tests
Having tested lots of online component suppliers over several years, I can confirm what I’ve found to be true with component suppliers online and that is most are pretty good compared with other goods and services I’ve used online. I feel it only fair though to mention one component supplier for their excellent service.
Exceptional service
I placed an order in on the 15th of December with Rapid Electronics and in haste didn’t check everything properly, it was about 3.15 PM and I looked at my emails about half an hour later to confirm they had the order. Upon looking closer I realised I’d not updated my home address as I’d moved a few months before. The order was going to my old address!
I rang Rapid up and the call was answered straight away. I told the person what I’d done and they said that as it was a while ago it had probably been picked already. The order had already been picked. I was surprised at the speed. I told him that if it was too late, I knew the people who lived where I had moved from and they would keep it for me, but he said it wasn’t a problem and he would get it swapped to my new delivery address.
To my amazement, the order was delivered to my new address the following morning. Less than 24 hours after I had placed the order and free delivery as my order was over £35. In this day and age, poor service seems to be normal, so I have got to thank and congratulate Rapid Electronics for their excellent help on the phone and the service that I received.
Absolutely first class especially when so many other companies make excuses around Christmas for delays.
eBay
I have used eBay to buy electronic components. There are endless different suppliers springing up and disappearing.
You just have to take your chance. there are several based in the UK that I’ve successfully used. There are also several overseas suppliers that I’ve used. Some of these have very long delivery times. As a plus though some of them have very cheap prices.
If you can wait on parts you can get some bargains. I ordered some parts for stock that I always use. They were 100nF capacitors for decoupling. I had to wait five weeks but they worked out at about 2p each.
On a cautionary note, some of the components from China aren’t always in the specification. I bought some very cheap TL084 op-amps. Although they worked in most applications, I couldn’t correctly calibrate a filter in which I’d used them. After a lot of head-scratching, I swapped a working China-supplied TL084 for a Rapid electronics-supplied TL084 and could calibrate it correctly. As with most things from eBay, the quality can be very variable. you take your chance, sometimes you get a bargain sometimes you don’t.
Amazon Prime
Another source of components that I have been using lately is Amazon. It seems like there isn’t anything you can’t buy from them and electronic components are no exception.
If items are being sent from Hong Kong and China they can have a five-week delivery time. Not exactly what you want if you’re waiting to finish a project but there are some very good prices.
If you are thinking of buying components from Amazon I would advise you to join the Amazon Prime service. You can join it as a free trial by clicking on the banner below.
As an Amazon Prime member, I get free next-day delivery on items marked “prime” I always buy prime items for the next day. It’s just so convenient when you want something quick. As I bonus you also get to watch their TV service. For me, it’s worth the price just for free next-day delivery
Where to buy electronic components summary
Hopefully, this article has answered the “where to buy electronic components” question. It’s difficult to beat online stores for the price but as usual, nothing beats the speed and convenience of a bricks and mortar shop. It’s worth mentioning that if we all stop using these shops in our towns and cities they will cease to exist.
If you need to test electronic components, have a look at my guide for some tips on the easiest way to test electronic components.
If you are looking to get PCBs made once you have your components, I have a post, especially about choosing a PCB manufacturer.
Check out my post Best PCB manufacturer for hobbyists.