If you are in areas serviced by the larger distributors, use them, places like RS components, Farnell, Digikey etc... and they have branches in more countries than you think. These guys buy directly and in bulk, there is normaly a small premium on the price, but it is nothing compared to time wasted with fake components.
You can get perfectly good parts from China, and sometimes it is the only option. However, there is a lot of junk as well, and it's very hard to tell the difference. This comment of yours worries me:
The bad components may look almost identical to the real thing. If you can't test them immediately on receipt you shouldn't buy from grey market sources in China (or anywhere for that matter). Stick to Newark, Digikey and those sort of places.
This sort of problem will always persist where you can get $20 and 20c parts in identical packages with mere markings identifying them. This type of fraud is obvious and far too tempting and will continue happening.
The bad components may look almost identical to the real thing. If you can't test them immediately on receipt you shouldn't buy from grey market sources in China (or anywhere for that matter). Stick to Newark, Digikey and those sort of places.
This sort of problem will always persist where you can get $20 and 20c parts in identical packages with mere markings identifying them. This type of fraud is obvious and far too tempting and will continue happening.
hi,
hi,
I have bought a lot of electronics from ebay,mostly from china,if your in the states check our suppliers first,I have found premium op amps cheeper here and they get here quicker too,
Go to circuit exchange,Google it shows how to make simple op amp,diode,ect testers,most dvm's have a cap and a transistor checker in them,
Just as a suggestion,I check every part I can before I put it in a circuit,It has saved my rear end a couple of times,and hours of checking to see why it don't work or where did that smoke come from,
as far as quality or forgeries,I haven't had any problems at all,and all the parts work,are they out there? sure,but check the rating ebay gives them,junkie parts are not going to keep them in business,and paypal will refund your money for bad parts.
I think some of the parts might be rejects not from a performance stand point but the label might be a little off or a stamp to light ,but I've checked caps with a sencor and they test better than the specs on the can so I'm ok with a label a little off center,
hi,
I have bought a lot of electronics from ebay,mostly from china,if your in the states check our suppliers first,I have found premium op amps cheeper here and they get here quicker too,
Go to circuit exchange,Google it shows how to make simple op amp,diode,ect testers,most dvm's have a cap and a transistor checker in them,
Just as a suggestion,I check every part I can before I put it in a circuit,It has saved my rear end a couple of times,and hours of checking to see why it don't work or where did that smoke come from,
as far as quality or forgeries,I haven't had any problems at all,and all the parts work,are they out there? sure,but check the rating ebay gives them,junkie parts are not going to keep them in business,and paypal will refund your money for bad parts.
I think some of the parts might be rejects not from a performance stand point but the label might be a little off or a stamp to light ,but I've checked caps with a sencor and they test better than the specs on the can so I'm ok with a label a little off center,
I dunno. I just bought 4 different Fairchild parts. None of them were made in the US. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. I bought a bridge rectifier, some 1N4001s, a -6V regulator, and a +6V regulator.
Countries of origin according to Mouser's packaging:
-Hong Kong
-Philippines
-Republic of Korea
-India
Now they were cheaper than the other "American" options, but if I knew this, I would have just bulk ordered some BS from one of those China ebay sellers.
Depends who you buy it from. Some of the Audio sellers package genuine parts, while others do not. If you see like a 200count box of Wima MKP4s for like $20, I wouldn't buy it...obviously. But I've seen that that a lot of the sellers are making boards with honest parts now. They parts are not extraordinary, but atleast we have a good feeling about what they actually are, not what they are hiding.
I bought a board that came with Sam Young capacitors. Sam Young is the "low end" subsidiary of Nippon Chemi-con. But no one would try to fake Sam Youngs. But someone might fake a more expensive brand.
I bought a board that came with Sam Young capacitors. Sam Young is the "low end" subsidiary of Nippon Chemi-con. But no one would try to fake Sam Youngs. But someone might fake a more expensive brand.
Almost no commodity semiconductors are packaged here in the USA, and low complexity, low cost device die generally aren't made here either. Any major semiconductor company you go to operates much the same way in order to remain competitive. Purchasing from Fairchild or other American companies does help keep US workers employed in R&D, Applications Engineering, Sales, Marketing, etc. Not a bad thing, and they pay local and federal taxes as well.
You can also be relatively confident that you know what you are getting. eBay vendors are a mixed bag, some very good, some not. I don't buy any electrolytics or semi-conductors from foreign vendors on eBay, and from just a very few select eBay vendors here in the US. (I mostly buy from Mouser, Digikey, and Allied.)
Yes. I really only actually got a completed board once or twice on eBay, and they came with decent quality components. Usually I'll buy a blank PCB from eBay and then populate it with quality components from Mouser/Digikey.
I'm happy that a good number Vishay (Dale) components are still made in the US. I got a bag of Dale PTF made in the USA. I was quite happy. 😉
...This is all sort of sad though. Happy that a component was made in your home country, when that is what used to be the norm. But...it's how it is!
About two years ago, I bought a handfull of smallsignal transistors worth 15 USD from Fairchild Direct, Wanting to be shure that I got the real American quality. The transistors arrived in a huge box with a shipping cost of 100USD and all of them were made in China and Korea.
So in the future it is probably much cheaper to take some chances on Fleabay, Even if I will encounter some fakes now and then.😉
So in the future it is probably much cheaper to take some chances on Fleabay, Even if I will encounter some fakes now and then.😉
About two years ago, I bought a handfull of smallsignal transistors worth 15 USD from Fairchild Direct, Wanting to be shure that I got the real American quality. The transistors arrived in a huge box with a shipping cost of 100USD and all of them were made in China and Korea.
So in the future it is probably much cheaper to take some chances on Fleabay, Even if I will encounter some fakes now and then.😉
So in the future it is probably much cheaper to take some chances on Fleabay, Even if I will encounter some fakes now and then.😉
I sinned again and bought transistors from Ebay, specifically from this seller:
http://myworld.ebay.com/ele-parts/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
He has a 100% positive feed-back so we'll see how that goes.
Anyone else had a good experience when buying from sellers with highly positive feed-back ?
http://myworld.ebay.com/ele-parts/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
He has a 100% positive feed-back so we'll see how that goes.
Anyone else had a good experience when buying from sellers with highly positive feed-back ?
I always buy from top pro sellers in the UK or the USA.
There is no way I would risk buying off ebay or from China etc
There is no way I would risk buying off ebay or from China etc
Yes, but in Switzerland they rip you off like thieves, even Farnell which is very good for UK residents.
I sell a bit on ebay and the problem is shipping from the US to many countries is extremely expensive. Apparently shipping from China or even Eastern Europe to the US costs less based on the attached postage when I get stuff.
You can place small orders with any supplier until you build up confidence in what they sell. I have bought some parts on ebay when I could not get them elsewhere and so far the quality is what I expected.
The downside is I just had a Russian bid on something that sells for between $5 and $15. The lowest cost shipping is $48! On that item I specify that I do not ship it internationally, but folks still bid.
You can place small orders with any supplier until you build up confidence in what they sell. I have bought some parts on ebay when I could not get them elsewhere and so far the quality is what I expected.
The downside is I just had a Russian bid on something that sells for between $5 and $15. The lowest cost shipping is $48! On that item I specify that I do not ship it internationally, but folks still bid.
Well I hope they weren't the 2SC1815 this seller is offering. I randomly looked at THESE and I noticed right away something peculiar. I've NEVER seen the original Toshiba that had the printing across the face as pictured. The printing is up and down on original Toshibas and the date coding is also rubbish on those pictured.
Good eye !
The parts I got are these:
20 PCS 2SC5706 TO-252 C5706 TRANSISTORS NPN | eBay
Do you see anything suspicious about them ?
My old sins came back to me in full force !
I was weak again and gave in to the temptation ! 😀
So I bought these transistors:
100, MMBT2222A SOT-23 MMBT2222 2N2222 SMD Transistor m | eBay
for very cheap: 100 transistors MMBT2222A (which is the same as 2N2222 in a SMD case) for only $2.45 !
What's amazing is that at DigiKey, the cheapest price you can get 100 of them at is $9:
Digi-Key - MMBT2222A-FDICT-ND (Manufacturer - MMBT2222A-7-F)
So Ebay wins big this time !
Now, should I expect these transistors to be substandard or not meet specs ?
Is there a simple way to test them once they arrive ?
I was weak again and gave in to the temptation ! 😀
So I bought these transistors:
100, MMBT2222A SOT-23 MMBT2222 2N2222 SMD Transistor m | eBay
for very cheap: 100 transistors MMBT2222A (which is the same as 2N2222 in a SMD case) for only $2.45 !
What's amazing is that at DigiKey, the cheapest price you can get 100 of them at is $9:
Digi-Key - MMBT2222A-FDICT-ND (Manufacturer - MMBT2222A-7-F)
So Ebay wins big this time !
Now, should I expect these transistors to be substandard or not meet specs ?
Is there a simple way to test them once they arrive ?
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