Does TI store ship to hobbyists? (EU)

[werediver]

Hi 👋 I usually source my parts from Distrelec (https://distrelec.com/, in my case https://distrelec.nl/) or Sinuss (https://sinuss.nl/), but it's very easy to come up with a part that's not available from either of them. Some time ago I've heard of Texas Instruments store making some improvements for their European customers. For sure they primarily target companies, but I wonder if they ship at all to hobbyists? (meaning no legal entity, no VAT ID)

If you'd like to recommend your favorite hobbyist-friendly supplier instead, I don't mind at all! Thanks

[CJay]

Yes, they do.

[Bassman59]

Hi 👋 I usually source my parts from Distrelec (https://distrelec.com/, in my case https://distrelec.nl/) or Sinuss (https://sinuss.nl/), but it's very easy to come up with a part that's not available from either of them. Some time ago I've heard of Texas Instruments store making some improvements for their European customers. For sure they primarily target companies, but I wonder if they ship at all to hobbyists? (meaning no legal entity, no VAT ID)

If you'd like to recommend your favorite hobbyist-friendly supplier instead, I don't mind at all! Thanks

Dunno about the EU, I'm in the colonies, but late last year I ordered one of their processor eval boards direct from TI because it was much cheaper than DK or Mouser and got a run-around about export restrictions and shit that made no sense. If I had ordered it from Mouser it would have arrived promptly but for some reason TI took three weeks to get its shit together. I even tried to cancel the order because in the interim I came across an NXP processor that is a better fit for the product design.

[Cerebus]

Dunno about the EU, I'm in the colonies, but late last year I ordered one of their processor eval boards direct from TI because it was much cheaper than DK or Mouser and got a run-around about export restrictions and shit that made no sense. If I had ordered it from Mouser it would have arrived promptly but for some reason TI took three weeks to get its shit together. I even tried to cancel the order because in the interim I came across an NXP processor that is a better fit for the product design.

Eh? Last time I bought anything direct from TI they used Digikey to do the fulfilment on their behalf for small orders of dev and eval boards. That was two or three years back. So, unless they've changed that, it looks like TI can take Digikey's normal small handful of days to deliver and turn it into weeks - classy.

[gnuarm]

Hey man, if you don't tell them you are a hobbyist, we won't either.  ;-)

Before I had my company, when buying at places where they had that sort of policy I would make up a company name like "Happy Days Enterprises".  Just don't add "inc" or "incorporated", that has legal meaning. 

[Bud]

... TI took three weeks to get its shit together.

It takes IBM nine months to ship an empty box, so in your case TI was lightning fast 

[werediver]

Hi 👋 I usually source my parts from Distrelec (https://distrelec.com/, in my case https://distrelec.nl/) or Sinuss (https://sinuss.nl/), but it's very easy to come up with a part that's not available from either of them. Some time ago I've heard of Texas Instruments store making some improvements for their European customers. For sure they primarily target companies, but I wonder if they ship at all to hobbyists? (meaning no legal entity, no VAT ID)

If you'd like to recommend your favorite hobbyist-friendly supplier instead, I don't mind at all! Thanks

Dunno about the EU, I'm in the colonies, but late last year I ordered one of their processor eval boards direct from TI because it was much cheaper than DK or Mouser and got a run-around about export restrictions and shit that made no sense. If I had ordered it from Mouser it would have arrived promptly but for some reason TI took three weeks to get its shit together. I even tried to cancel the order because in the interim I came across an NXP processor that is a better fit for the product design.

I suspected export restrictions can be PITA. Hopefully, I won't need restricted devices any time soon (I reckon it's mainly microcontrollers). This time I was looking at their SMPS converters/controllers.

I'm planning an electronic load and I want it to work with either a battery (9 V probably) or a 5–18 V external DC PSU.

Hey man, if you don't tell them you are a hobbyist, we won't either.  ;-)

Before I had my company, when buying at places where they had that sort of policy I would make up a company name like "Happy Days Enterprises".  Just don't add "inc" or "incorporated", that has legal meaning. 

Sure, but this legend will stop working somewhere around the VAT ID field in the form 

[CJay]

UK, pre brexit, ordered a TI Launchpad, no shenanigans, company names or anything needed, they just took my money, my delivery details and shipped it.

No problems with export, import, duties, nothing.

I just paid them and got what I ordered, drama free.. 

[paf]

Mouser sells to individuals in EU, and has lots of parts and kits.

[rdl]

About 10 years ago TI had a sale on their TTL Databook. I ordered one on a Friday afternoon. Price was 10 cents with free shipping. They shipped it Monday via FedEx and I got it Tuesday Morning.

[ebclr]

Ti is the king to support  anyone interested in a electron, All companies must be like that, the opposite evil is renesas

[gnuarm]

What  did Renesas ever do to you?

I know a lot of the Japanese electronics companies did a bunch of merging some 10-20 years ago so I don't recall the details of who and when, but I recall they could be pretty bad when it came to helping to understand their product lines.  I remember looking at the rather large variety of proprietary MCUs from one company and being overwhelmed as there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their part numbers.  I spoke with a representative asking for selection guides.  He told me I could download their data sheets.  I asked how would I know which ones to download and look at, he said I could look at all of them.  lol 

Then ARM became the one MCU to rule them all.