I recently ordered a small quantity of some SOIC-14 ICs from RS Components. They came packaged
loose in static-shielded bags, 5 to a bag. And when I say loose, I mean the bare IC - not in cut tape, or any other container. Outer packaging apart from the anti-static bags was only the usual RS paper bag plus the final padded envelope.
My initial reaction is that this is terrible, and that they could have been damaged during shipping (bent pins, etc). Before I complain to RS, does anyone else agree?
At least they added a yellow warning label on the anti-static bags saying they are MSL-2 and should be baked before reflow. But no actual precaution against moisture...
(I previously ordered some of these parts from Farnell, and they sealed them in the bag together with a desiccant pouch and a moisture indicator card.)
Oh, and speaking of Farnell... Look what I saw earlier today:
FINALLY!! An option to persist the 'In Stock' and 'Exclude US Stock' options.