Author Topic: Futurlec  (Read 15260 times)

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Offline MikeKTopic starter

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Futurlec
« on: February 16, 2013, 12:16:06 am »
Can you guys tell me if this is common business practice?...

Ordered something from Futurlec recently.  A couple days later they told me that a couple items were no longer in stock.  They were also going to charge me $40 to ship several back issues of Silicon Chip.  So I decided to cancel the order.  The amount they refunded me was less than the original order.  Not a large amount, but enough for me to be irked by it.  They cited exchange rate differences between the time of order and refund.

Huh?  I was just cancelling the order.

Is this common?
 

Offline johnboxall

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2013, 12:34:07 am »
Were you billed in Baht or US$?
How much are you out?
And which issues of SC were you after?

Offline ttp

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2013, 05:25:23 am »
Never been in your situation so won't comment on this. They can't be really bad, once they have sent me wrong parts and when I've emailed them the right ones arrived in three days - no questions asked. I then enquired what to do with wrong parts, can I pay for them as spending money for shipping was a bit of waste even I didn't need the parts at the time. Their answer was don't worry, just keep them.
 

Offline Harvs

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2013, 05:56:46 am »
I don't like the practice of bagging companies more than anyone else, but I've had some pretty poor experiences with them.  Last order (which will be the last) I got 50odd fake mosfets and a pile of caps that didn't even look right from the outside.  Completely worthless order that took a very long time to arrive.


Nope, this is what drove me to thoroughly believe in ordering from decent dealers (e.g. element14/digikey.)


That does sound really dodgy though, what company actually accepts the money before they've checked the order?  Sounds like they've taken the money before even settling on a final price (for the shipping.)  For credit card or paypal, western companies normally take an authorization first, then get all the parts together, then at that point charge your card or accept the paypal cash as they're about to put the order in the mail.


If ordered from Futurlec.com.au, that is through the website that is registered with an ABN, you can always deal with them through the department of fair trading if you can be bothered (depends on what it's worth really.)
 

Offline Kevin.D

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2013, 10:37:34 am »
This is a coincidence ,I was just going to ask others about what Futerlec was like, because I ordered from them a couple of weeks ago ,and when ordering I made a mistake in my email address on the order form  . They never answer any emails when I query my order and when you look up  your order status it just says "order entered" .This company seems to get mixed reviews from what I read on a search of google turned up,some seem to have  good service from them whilst others have problems with them .It's a shame because they got some good prices ,Particularly on smd to through hole adapter boards and some passives components .
 

Offline saturation

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2013, 12:45:32 pm »
What good is a cheap price for nothing?  If you don't receive your order a 90% discount is a 100% loss if you don't receive it.

About 1/3 to 1/2 of google searches of  order from them lose money, while the other half saves.  Its almost like a Ponzi scheme or roulette for orders. 

There are so many legitimate distributors, and then there is eBay, why risk Futurlec?
Best Wishes,

 Saturation
 

Offline MikeKTopic starter

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2013, 02:19:14 pm »
Okay, thanks for the input.  It was only about $1...so yeah, I have nothing to really bitch about, I just hate getting taken advantage of.  The only reason I was buying from them was because they carry backissues of Silicon Chip and I don't know of any distributor of it in the States.
 

Offline cwalex

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2013, 12:40:33 am »
Okay, thanks for the input.  It was only about $1...so yeah, I have nothing to really bitch about, I just hate getting taken advantage of.  The only reason I was buying from them was because they carry backissues of Silicon Chip and I don't know of any distributor of it in the States.

What issues are you after? I have quite a few packed away from the past couple of years or so, I'll have a look if the issues you are after aren't from too many years ago.
 

Offline MikeKTopic starter

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2013, 02:38:13 am »
Well, I had ordered a bunch of issues to check it out.  Going through the index, though, the only project I was really interested in was the frequency counter from Dec'12 and Jan'13, which Futurlec still has in stock.
 

Offline RCD

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2013, 03:07:37 am »
I have used Futurlec on and off over the last ten years or so... Mostly for PCB orders, but also small parts. Success rate is has been imperfect, but they have always made it right in the end. Shipping has ALWAYS been slow.  I have found better choices, and stopped using them.
 

Offline cwalex

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2013, 03:28:55 am »
Well, I had ordered a bunch of issues to check it out.  Going through the index, though, the only project I was really interested in was the frequency counter from Dec'12 and Jan'13, which Futurlec still has in stock.

I don't think I have any that recent. I'm away from home atm, I'll have a look what I have on monday and reply in this thread. If there are any that you are interested in you can have them.
 

Offline alexig

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2013, 03:46:02 am »
I've ordered from them a few times and it's all been good. The only problem for me has been when items are out of stock and they are trying to source them, they don't email you telling you this - you have to chase them up.
 

Offline cwalex

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2013, 04:09:05 am »
If you are considering ordering from futurlec it might be worth checking price/availability with http://www.taydaelectronics.com

Tayda have been really good with the few orders I have made and the price is pretty good but I don't think they carry some of the stuff futurlec carries.
 

Offline MikeKTopic starter

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #13 on: February 17, 2013, 04:58:49 am »
Thanks.

No worries about the magazine, though...I'm sure EPE will reprint the frequency counter article before too long. :)  It was funny looking through the index and seeing how many SC articles do get reprinted in EPE or Nuts & Volts.
 

Offline T4P

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2013, 09:25:01 am »
Bought adaptor boards and nibblers from them in the past, shipping IS slow but everything arrived fine.
 

Offline pb57

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2013, 09:28:11 am »
I've ordered from them a few times and it's all been good. The only problem for me has been when items are out of stock and they are trying to source them, they don't email you telling you this - you have to chase them up.

I ordered some components from them 15.01.2013, checked status on the order yesteday. Not shipped. Sent an email about this.
And got this answer today:
Our apologizes for the delay, the DB102G 1A 100V Bridge Rectifier
are currently on back-order. We do have some DB103G and DB104G's in stock. These are the same with a high voltage rating. Would these be okay and we can ship your order during today.

So I would recommend and check order status earlier than I did now.Since they do not let you know about this.
 

Offline uprightsquire

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2013, 09:43:39 am »
They are (or were when I used them) super slow. I've been using tayda as mentioned above to get basic components. shipping is super cheap, but arrives in a week.
 

Offline casinada

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #17 on: May 08, 2013, 06:17:24 am »
They Carry Brand name Capacitors and they are cheaper than Mouser or DigiKey but I needed to make an order 2 weeks ago and the capacitors I needed were only available in big quantities.
I had a problem were one item worth $1 was back ordered. I told them to ship the rest and when they delivered the back ordered item they charged me $10 for shipping so I had to refuse the package. I called customer service for that reason and it ended in a screaming match with the lady telling me to refuse the package.
I ordered again after that and had no problems but you have to really check and make sure that what you order is in stock and it ships all together.
 

Offline saturation

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #18 on: May 08, 2013, 02:22:46 pm »
For many years, folks complain that many shipped parts are also counterfeit.  I wouldn't buy from them to save money, they are often not authorized distributors, so there is no supply chain tracking for quality assurance.

http://www.electro-tech-online.com/general-electronics-chat/40154-futurlec-com-pcb-manufacturer-screwed-me-over.html


http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Futurlec
« Last Edit: May 08, 2013, 02:29:59 pm by saturation »
Best Wishes,

 Saturation
 

Offline elgonzo

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #19 on: May 08, 2013, 02:53:17 pm »
Bad reputation of Futurelec aside, how did you guys manage to navigate their online store without giving up?
A year ago or so, i decided purchasing some stuff in varying quantities from FutureLec. The way their filters work made me scream, with their constant demand of excessive mouse-clickerydoo...
 

Offline kitiri

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #20 on: November 06, 2013, 09:12:52 pm »
Found this topic while looking for infos on futurlec...
I realize I should have done this search before ordering on their site!

I ordered parts that were stated as "in stock" more than a month ago and nothing happened, when asked when they always
send you the same message:

Code: [Select]
Dear <insert your name>
A new shipment of <insert your reference> will arrive at our warehouse in 5-7 days when we will be able to dispatch your order.
Should you have any further enquiry, please feel free to contact us.
Best Regards
Amp
Futurlec
[url=http://www.futurlec.com]www.futurlec.com[/url]

but nothing arrives, quick to take your money but that's all...


titiri
 

Offline markce

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #21 on: November 06, 2013, 11:23:42 pm »
Order processing is slow, but they are cheap... Quality of parts is Ok for the price.
 Same experience as TTP, one wrong part, and got a replacement quickly.
 

Offline cellularmitosis

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #22 on: January 22, 2014, 09:36:08 pm »
I must unfortunately add my own tail of futurlec woe to this thread.

I really like the idea of futurlec: a limited selection of parts which makes it easier for the hobbyist to make reasonable choices from a background which is less informed than a professional.

Unfortunately, their lack of order fulfillment is just ridiculous.  I placed an order of over $90 in parts 17 days ago and the status page shows it still hasn't shipped yet... No word from them on why.  These guys are almost as bad as dx.com...
LTZs: KX FX MX CX PX Frank A9 QX
 

Offline rexxar

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #23 on: January 23, 2014, 05:36:48 am »
I must unfortunately add my own tail of futurlec woe to this thread.

I really like the idea of futurlec: a limited selection of parts which makes it easier for the hobbyist to make reasonable choices from a background which is less informed than a professional.

Unfortunately, their lack of order fulfillment is just ridiculous.  I placed an order of over $90 in parts 17 days ago and the status page shows it still hasn't shipped yet... No word from them on why.  These guys are almost as bad as dx.com...

They did this to me, too. I had to send an email to every single contact listed before I got a response. They said some items were out of stock, so they were going to wait until they were in stock, and ship everything then. When were they gonna tell me about this, then? I told them to ship what they had, and send the rest when it comes in. That was back in November, so I'm thinking I won't ever see them, but at least I got the bulk of my order.

I think it was sales@futurlec.com that eventually responded. Not sure if anyone even checks the others.  |O
 

Offline johnboxall

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Re: Futurlec
« Reply #24 on: January 23, 2014, 07:00:42 am »
Try ann@futurlec.com


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