Farnell delivery

[McMurdo]

Just had an email from Farnell to say the £2 charge for orders under £40 has now gone up to £10 + VAT

[elanman99]

I've not had any emails from Farnell yet, but would expect Next Day Before Noon for that charge!

Ian

[Craig Sawyers]

I remember when it was free even if you ordered a single resistor. Happy days.

When it went to £2 I wrote to them that this discriminated against sole traders (ie me). Now the charge of £9.99 (why not call it £10?) is onerous.

Mouser don't, they charge shipping for small orders; if over £33 shipping is zero.

RS charge £3.95 for orders under £30. But often you have to buy 10 or 100 of an item with RS.

I have an account with all three. But because Mouser's line card is much better than Farnell, they get the lion's share of my business. And they have absolutely no problem if on an order you include quantities of one.

I suspect quite a few customers will decamp from Farnell over this punitive charge.

Craig

[factory]

I've been using Mouser for several years now, they have a far greater selection of parts than any of the big UK suppliers, only problem is some parts such as those lithium back-up batteries in Tek scopes they won't sell overseas.

David

[McMurdo]

Any fan of mouser should also consider Digikey, they have improved their product pages recently, and also have free delivery over £33. Using UPS, Digikey shaves a day off Mouser's Fedex service.

Worth checking pricing between the US and UK suppliers from time to time. I've mentioned it before I think, but I had some large power resistors from Mouser that were half the price of the identical unit from Farnell. Country of origin? 'made in the uk'. (arcol or welwyn, I forget).

[elanman99]

My goto supplier was TME (Transfer Multisort Electronik) but after brexit stopped dealing with UK individuals in unless they were a VAT registered business. Their range of electronic, electrical and mechanical products is much wider and deeper than RS and Farnell.

Up to 2020 delivery next day was less than £7 for orders placed before 2pm. I have just looked back over my last eight orders and only one did not arrive on time. I found that impressive for a company based in Warsaw.

My experience is not up to date but their website (a little quirky) looks the same.

I don't have any connection with TME, I'm just annoyed that I am too small a sole trader to use them.

Ian

[jamesperrett]

I had problems with additional customs charges with my first and only order to Digikey. Mouser had no such problems so, for work, I would go to them for anything that Farnell couldn't supply (Farnell were a preferred supplier to higher education at the time). I've not used Mouser for my own orders yet - I mostly go to CPC or Rapid and occasionally Farnell.

[Jez1234]

Me thinks Farnell unlikely to be getting any further business from me then!

Parts distribution is all going to the dogs! It was only maybe 5 years ago I could (as Craig said) order a single resistor I'd forgotten on a main order and it would be a separate transaction and yep sometimes I'd be delivered that single resistor... in a Jiffy bag then inner plastic bag with a printed sales invoice etc... They must have lost money in a big way on that but the customer service was there so you could do it, and having that resistor next day got the job finished and got you paid by the customer. They then probably got an order of £45 the next week and £30 the week after etc over the year... small fry but it sure adds up over a year!

[McMurdo]

Digikey have a uk office for VAT invoicing (Aberdeen), Mouser's is in High Wycombe, and TME issue UK invoices from their office in Birmingham, all with uk VAT. TME's invoice is all-inclusive of VAT for consumers (non vat registered) as it would be with any retail invoice, business customers get a VAT invoice with individual items shown without VAT and a seperate VAT at the bottom, like any trade supplier.

So essentially, ordering from these suppliers should be the same as a traditional UK supplier. For suppliers like this, the country where the goods are warehoused is largely irrelevant, (both RS and Farnell routinely despatch uk-bound goods from France and Belgium repectively) and the sale itself is technically conducted from a uk office. In fact many such third-party uk-based offices have sprung up to administer sales from foreign countries on uk soil for paperwork/tax and duty reasons.

As an example, here's TME's entry at companies house. Note the date of incorporation

https://find-and-update.company-info...mpany/10482843

[Craig Sawyers]

It all started to go south when Farnell was bought by Avnet (a US company in Phoenix Az). Therefore Farnell's policies are determined, not locally, but by the US parent.

And yes Jez, they must have lost money on the odd resistor or capacitor that we forgot to add to a hundred quid order - but it fostered customer loyalty in those of us who run either SME's or are (like us) sole traders.

I wrote them a mail explaining what I thought of their new policy, and received a message back (possibly from an AI bot) asking for the order number I had a problem with!

Lost the plot or what?

Craig

[Craig Sawyers]

And these are the companies that Avnet have bought (Farnell is one of many dozens)

https://ir.avnet.com/avnets-acquisition-history

Craig

[Uncle Bulgaria]

Originally Posted by Craig Sawyers

I wrote them a mail explaining what I thought of their new policy, and received a message back (possibly from an AI bot) asking for the order number I had a problem with!

That's awful. This is when I break out the typewriter or fountain pen. I think they're taken more seriously than an e-mail. We haven't quite got to the stage when the bot can receive the letter, compose a reply, put it in an envelope and post it, so you're assured of some human intervention somewhere along the chain!

I have no problem with paying for postage - when I sell things online I know what time and effort it takes to pack and post, as well as the postage itself. I distrust 'free' P&P from small sellers as it's then unclear what the markup on the object itself is, since that P&P ain't free. It made sense with the big players as their order volume and account with Parcelforce presumably balanced out, and it did indeed foster quite a lot of goodwill to feel valued as a customer.

As a hobbyist without customers to pick up parts bills it was a godsend that RS et al didn't have swingeing costs for small orders once Maplin closed. Now I have to either build up a sizeable order with one of them over months, if there's a specialist part unavailable elsewhere, or if not one has to do the rounds of eBay, Cricklewood, ESR etc.

I'm tempted to do a giant order with Just Radios or Ask Jan First so I have 'stocks'... or does that way madness lie, or danger of drowning under the 'just in case' pile?

[emeritus]

Perhaps we have a good Royal Mail service locally, but I only request standard 2nd class post delivery when buying stuff from CPC/Farnell. It usually arrives within 2 days, sometimes the next day, and I have even had the occasional delivery by courier. I am usually tempted to buy enough stuff to meet the minimum free delivery limit.

[pmmunro]

I've been buying from RS and Farnell, amongst others, in my own right since the 1970s and through account holders as a retail customer before that.

My greatest problem with RS is minimum quantities of particular items but with Farnell it's with the US bias they have taken on. They assume that everyone in the world uses AWG and other imperial measures which makes interpretation of specifications difficult and time comsuming. My greatest complaint against Farnell however is their "US Stocks" charge,which last time I looked was £15 per item. In many repects, I no longer think of Farnell as a British supplier, which is sad since they were once so good.

The minimum order charge, where it applies to my orders, can to some extent be covered by adding common items like cells and batteries to make up the required cost.

The problem seems to be that so many companies no longer seem to think service matters.

I recently went with a neighbour to buy some plumbing materials from a local well known trade supply chain on a Saturday afternoon to find that they had only one of the two pipe couplers we needed. The teenage parts assistant almost immediately told us, without prompting, that the rival chain had two in stock. His ability to look it up on the rival web site so quickly was amazing. Result; loss of sale of one compenent costing perhaps less than £2 but massive gain in prestige for the first supplier and the certainty that we he has two loyal customers. I'd like to tell the employer how much he did for their image, but he'd probably be disciplined.

PMM

[Cobaltblue]

Originally Posted by pmmunro

The problem seems to be that so many companies no longer seem to think service matters.

PMM

I don't think any supplier intentionally gives bad service or wants to charge large amounts for delivery of small orders.

The problem is Service costs money and the savvy purchasers want everything cheap so there is little in the way of loyalty.

We all had our company RS accounts taken off us a few years ago to try and encourage us to order through central stores, no idea how that was supposed to work and it didn't. Most of us just ordered items on our own as individuals and put it in as expenses so rather than a mail going out saying ordering from RS, Farnell anyone want anything we ended up with lots of smaller orders.

But with the larger Customers trying to reduce their spend with RS, Farnell etc there is less meat for them to offer good deals to smaller customers and it can only get worse.

If you think how much it costs to pick and invoice a £10 order of say 20 small items. It will become apparent why they want to charge for small orders.

Not Justifying these charges, I don't like them either but I do understand them.

Cheers

Mike T

[knobtwiddler]

There have been enormous changes with all of the UK parts distros in the last couple of years, for the worse in most cases. We use all of the ones mentioned here. It would seem that Mouser and Digikey are really gunning for RS and Farnell. In general, they seem to take complaints more seriously and react faster. In some cases, when a component hasn't been up to snuff (Meanwell SMPS modules...), Mouser simply refunded us and told us to keep the parts (anyone for a free Meanwell module?).

Be careful with TME. They are usually the most competitive on price, but if something goes wrong, you will find out that customer service is stripped to the bone and it takes weeks to get anwywhere (if at all). We still use them because the price is so good, but every time we place an order, we feel that we're playing a game of roulette. If something doesn't arrive, or you get the wrong quantity, they will kick you around from pillar to post, and patronise you if you call. Mouser has vastly better service, but you pay for it.

CPC customer service...forget it. We filled a return for faulty tools this week and are still waiting for acknowledgement that we've asked to return them. Returns with CPC have always taken months and we invariably give up. They are best used for resistors / cables etc. - i.e. the sort of thing that can't malfunction.

Anglia changed their structure a year or two back, becoming a PLC. We now get pressured into taking out yearly Kanbans on most parts we try to order. The reps are polite and it's easy to return or register an issue. The difference now is that you can literally feel the pressure from management on their shoulders when you speak to a rep. They have to keep putting you on hold and 'asking a colleague'.

NB - post-Conrad takeover, Rapid has become a very different firm IMO. Gone are the days of us thinking of them as a competitive supplier. They still are in some lines, but in others they are pricier than even Farnell (at one firm I was at, you got reprimanded for ordering from Farnell!!)

[Craig Sawyers]

I rarely use Rapid now. They have started going down the route of 10 or 100 off MOQ very similar to RS. And the first screen that asks which sector you are from (industry, schools etc) irritates the socks off me.

Interesting the different feel between CPC and Farnell's sites, and the difference in customer care, considering they are the same company (well, owned by Avnet of course)

Craig

[emeritus]

I can't say I have had problems with CPC customer service. I recently ordered some BNC connectors that should have been the compression cable clamp type but the crimp type was supplied. A phone call got the correct type dispatched.

[vidjoman]

I’ve been buying from CPC for over 30 years and never had any problems with missing or damaged goods. A phone call gets a return number, if needed, and on many occasions a replacement is with me the following day. I had a fluorescent fitting delivered with a broken tube and although I only requested a replacement tube they sent a complete replacement and told me to keep the damaged one. It arrived by courier next morning. Some prices maybe slightly lower from other suppliers but it’s a swings and roundabouts scenario.

I haven’t paid any delivery charges as I always make up the minimum amount. Easy to do by just adding a few capacitors or other items that are regularly used.

[David G4EBT]

Originally Posted by McMurdo

Just had an email from Farnell to say the £2 charge for orders under £40 has now gone up to £10 + VAT

I've got an account with Farnell but haven't used them for years. I also have an account with CPC-Farnell which I do use from time to time, especially for high voltage electrolytics for re-stuffing/replacing smoothing capacitors. CPC and Farnell are both part of the same company:

Quote:

A Premier Farnell Company © 2023 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.
CPC - Combined Precision Components is a trading name of Premier Farnell UK Limited.

Unquote.

It seems odd therefore that they each have different shipping charges. CPC has free delivery on orders over £20 ex VAT.

https://cpc.farnell.com/help-delivery-information

That seems a reasonable order level to me for free shipping - it doesn't take too many components as a hobbyist to spend £20, but £40 from Farnell would be pushing it. If you only need £30 of goods, to avoid the shipping charge you get lured into spending £40 maybe consoling yourself that you have, in effect, 'got £10 worth of free items'.

I can understand why companies who, for the most part are geared up to serve industry and commerce, (Business to Business), don't have and don't wish to have, a business model that caters for small orders, so they often have minimum order values and minimum order quantities.

I used RS quite a bit, but with MOQs, started to end up with lots of items which will never get used, so RS would be a 'supplier of last resort'.

It can be irksome for those forum members who earn a living in electronics who need a wider range of more specialised items beyond those needed by hobbyists such as myself. I find that I'm generally well served by smaller retail firms, many of whom operate on eBay. Not too many years ago, when we often relied on Mail order or the phone, we could never have imagined how eBay and PayPal would prove to be so convenient.

As shipping charges, the small outfits I tend to use who meet most of my needs charge little more than Royal Mail. EG:

ESR Electronics:

For all orders under £35.00 in value and under 35kg ESR charge from £4.50 for delivery and send by second class post (3 - 5 Day Service). Orders over £35.00 in value to UK mainland addresses are carriage paid. (FREE).

https://www.esr.co.uk

Cricklewood Electronics:

Orders below £30 (+VAT) are charged at £3.50 + VAT. Free UK delivery for orders of £30 (+VAT) and over. Heavier items may incur an appropriate delivery charge to remote UK addresses (eg Shetland, Orkneys, BT postcodes etc).

https://www.cricklewoodelectronics.c...ry-Charges.htm

Bright Components:

Royal Mail 1st class at cost.

https://store.brightcomponents.co.uk/our-story/

Tony Nailor, Spectrum Communications, who supplies kits of coils and other items for the Mini-Mod, inductors, capacitors, semiconductors, resistors, and for example: Replacement modules to fit in the KW2000 Kokusai Filter, and 9MHz & 10.7MHz SSB IF FILTERS: 6-pole crystal ladder SSB filter with impedance matching toroids.

Postage is Royal Mail at cost.

www.spectrumcomms.co.uk

Hi-Fi Collective:

500V Silver mica caps in 1pF increments from 1 – 12 pF, then at 3 pF intervals upwards.
Excellent for replacing silver mica caps in tuned stages and IFTs of radios. (mainly caters for Hi-Fi enthusiasts):

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/cat...55.html?page=0

Shipping by Royal Mail.

Peter Thomas who trades as ‘JabDog’ has served the hobby well for decades, attending radio rallies, and was able to supply the Toko coil kits for the R.F. Haigh Wobbulator till they all ran out. He is now exclusively on eBay, and his postal charges are at cost.

For 630V polypropylene axial caps for replacing 'waxies', for quite some time I've used the eBay shop of Duncan Haskell - 'Dunkselectroshop' (established in 2004). EG: 10 x 630V 5% polypropylene caps (not Chinese!) £4.25 + £1.09 P&P.

Spiratronics eBay shop: A lot of items are free P&P or £1.45.

Quite enough from me.