Spent ages today on their new improved website....on my android phone. The site keeps flicking between mobile and desktop version at will. The basket won't hold your items for longer than maybe an hour. When on dodgy 3G that's a problem.
And finally after deciding what solder to buy to get into the free shipping value I place the order.....woo hoo.
An hour later I get a message to say they won't sell me the solder as it has lead in it and I'm not a 'pro' or something. This puts me back into the sub £30 order and so have to pay shipping. Why don't they state the restrictions. Mouser do.
Eff that.....order cancelled. I've spent hundreds with RS over the last 2 or 3 years of me joining this fabulous community. It took me some persuading to try Mouser. And I know my small orders count for little but hey, all us small fry add up right.
I'm afraid I have probably placed my last order with them. Such a shame. Mouser 100pc from here
The girls on the phone are brilliant by the way. Straight through and sorted.
Rant over....didn't need all this but their system has slipped in my opinion. I shall send them a polite email stating all this. I would like to be a customer again sometime.
And finally after deciding what solder to buy to get into the free shipping value I place the order.....woo hoo.
An hour later I get a message to say they won't sell me the solder as it has lead in it and I'm not a 'pro' or something. This puts me back into the sub £30 order and so have to pay shipping. Why don't they state the restrictions. Mouser do.
Eff that.....order cancelled. I've spent hundreds with RS over the last 2 or 3 years of me joining this fabulous community. It took me some persuading to try Mouser. And I know my small orders count for little but hey, all us small fry add up right.
I'm afraid I have probably placed my last order with them. Such a shame. Mouser 100pc from here
The girls on the phone are brilliant by the way. Straight through and sorted.
Rant over....didn't need all this but their system has slipped in my opinion. I shall send them a polite email stating all this. I would like to be a customer again sometime.
Wot ?!?!
I certainly wouldn’t be buying my solder from rs, it‘ll be overpriced
I have an account with them and order loads of components from them , but solder ?….. I go looking for the cheapest source of genuine multicore/loctite/Henkel high activity 309 leaded
And that’s cpc for that particular solder (and it’s great stuff )
Everything else it’s mouser, digikey, rs or Farnell (if I have to)
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I quote.
Thank you for your order, we apologise but we are unable to despatch this item as it is restricted due to the following regulation:
REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
Substances restricted under REACH Annex XVII
This product contains a substance that is restricted under Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation: LEAD
It is restricted to professional users and cannot be supplied to the general public (non-trade customers).
So yeah...they're abiding by the rules fair enough.
CPC.....dont ask them to send you tweeters or small FR drivers. They rattle about loosely in a box.! But maybe i try them for solder. Thanks for the tip.
Thank you for your order, we apologise but we are unable to despatch this item as it is restricted due to the following regulation:
REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
Substances restricted under REACH Annex XVII
This product contains a substance that is restricted under Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation: LEAD
It is restricted to professional users and cannot be supplied to the general public (non-trade customers).
So yeah...they're abiding by the rules fair enough.
CPC.....dont ask them to send you tweeters or small FR drivers. They rattle about loosely in a box.! But maybe i try them for solder. Thanks for the tip.
Ah, non trade - I can see they're trying to keep people healthy 
I do take precautions re handling - I use a plastic mesh thing I get with with some tinned copper wire so I can pick up the reel and not expose myself to physical contamination (apart from breathing it in lol)
This is the stuff I use, I buy it in 5 reels at a time to get the better price break - excellent stuff.
https://cpc.farnell.com/multicore-loctite/3096075-m/solder-60-40-hi-act-0-7mm-500g/dp/SD00963
I do take precautions re handling - I use a plastic mesh thing I get with with some tinned copper wire so I can pick up the reel and not expose myself to physical contamination (apart from breathing it in lol)
This is the stuff I use, I buy it in 5 reels at a time to get the better price break - excellent stuff.
https://cpc.farnell.com/multicore-loctite/3096075-m/solder-60-40-hi-act-0-7mm-500g/dp/SD00963
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No, farnell are (usually) the outrageously priced ones
You need to just compare one against the other, they all monitor the competitions prices daily - for the most part. (They're desperate to appear on the surface the same price.)
But you can find one of them ( lot) cheaper for a particular part , and vice versa.
Upshot is: shop around ... when I'm gathering an order together, I want the quality but I also want the price - why overspend on the same exact part ... so I'll be jumping through all four of them inputting the same search.
Mouser and Digikey often beat both RS and farnell hands down (but not always)
They're all aimed at departments who don't really look at the price, or at least the engineers ordering the stuff aren't interested in the cost... they're just getting a solution for a problem.
Unless it's components for a production run of something and they're ordering in hundreds/thousands.
They do like loyal customers though, captive audience.... unless you're a savvy buyer you just stick with "a service" that you're used to.
Not too sure about your rant,it looks quite undeserved.:
Boy ......
It´s not as if it were "fresh news".
And to add insult to injury vent your anger at a Public Forum? Wow!!!
And a free booklet about leaded solder regulations.
That sounds like YOUR problem, not their fault.
You blame them for complying with an official health and Safety REGULATION?
Boy ......
IF that´s important to you, buy something else to meet minimum order values.
In general LAW is presumed known and in this particular case everybody knows about leaded solder restrictions.
It´s not as if it were "fresh news".
You punishing them for your own faults?
And to add insult to injury vent your anger at a Public Forum? Wow!!!
You sure it´s THEIR fault?
Maybe they´ll send somebody to improve your 3G signal level.
And a free booklet about leaded solder regulations.
See the landed price, then compare suppliers.
It seems RS includes shipping, in some cases.
And do shop around, maybe American or European suppliers would give you a better deal.
30 quid is about the price of a decent meal for two where you live, those people do millions in business, you are small fry.
And no 4G yet? Here we have a company, which has beaten the stuffing out of Vodafone, started with only 4G. And the others are switching off 3G, so a new 3G phone is impossible to find, some 5G are already available.
Get a signal booster, so your order value will cross 30 pounds.
It seems hard to decide which is the backward and which is the advanced country!
It seems RS includes shipping, in some cases.
And do shop around, maybe American or European suppliers would give you a better deal.
30 quid is about the price of a decent meal for two where you live, those people do millions in business, you are small fry.
And no 4G yet? Here we have a company, which has beaten the stuffing out of Vodafone, started with only 4G. And the others are switching off 3G, so a new 3G phone is impossible to find, some 5G are already available.
Get a signal booster, so your order value will cross 30 pounds.
It seems hard to decide which is the backward and which is the advanced country!
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But why can't the items you've put in your basket stay there like Mouser, and not vanish after a short time
You blame them for complying with an official health and Safety REGULATION?
Boy ......
Well unfortunately I didn't know about this particular regulation. I can freely buy solder from many other sources.
Problem here was they removed the solder and processed the rest of the order without me having a chance to amend it
Well not quite everybody as I didn't
I'm not siding with RS or excusing the way they dealt with it (they could have stalled the whole order and let you know via email so you could retain/rebuild your order value), but it does have the (won't supply to non-professionals) info on the product page
Random example: 291286 | Multicore 0.7mm Wire Lead solder, 183-188degC Melting Point | RS Components
See in the various technical reference pdf's on that page. (3rd one down on the left)
When it was clearing your basket, were you logged in?
I find if I'm logged in and basket the items but don't check out, they're there , whenever I log back in, but I've got a trade account with them.
Random example: 291286 | Multicore 0.7mm Wire Lead solder, 183-188degC Melting Point | RS Components
See in the various technical reference pdf's on that page. (3rd one down on the left)
When it was clearing your basket, were you logged in?
I find if I'm logged in and basket the items but don't check out, they're there , whenever I log back in, but I've got a trade account with them.
I use RS and Farnell in my profession and also personal life (I could walk to their outlet from my home)
The issue is:
Farnell are over priced and poor service.
RS have been wonderful throughout.
But since the pandemic, their servers have been iffy.
I can't save a basket, leave the computer for 30mins and it is refreshed to a basket from 12 months ago.
The issue is their server update, and the nature if so many Internet service systems, your data is spread over many servers, and is not accurate.
The issue is:
Farnell are over priced and poor service.
RS have been wonderful throughout.
But since the pandemic, their servers have been iffy.
I can't save a basket, leave the computer for 30mins and it is refreshed to a basket from 12 months ago.
The issue is their server update, and the nature if so many Internet service systems, your data is spread over many servers, and is not accurate.