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How is Chipageddon affecting you?

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tom66:

--- Quote from: peter-h on January 12, 2023, 02:48:41 pm ---Not the case in the UK. If you quote me a price, I place an order, a contract is formed. Even more so if you ack the order...

If it were as you state, all quotes and all purchase orders would have no commercial value.

--- End quote ---

No, it's not the case in the UK that a contract is formed by a quote alone; it is an Invitation to Treat.  If you accept an order on the basis of a quote, and the order is delivered, the supplier cannot charge more at that point, as that is a satisfied contract and the goods are now in your possession; however, up until that point, they are entitled to say "I want more money" with the remedy being that either party can cancel the order in such an instance.  And the "errors and omissions excepted" statement that practically every retailer includes will cover pricing errors and the like. 

At the end of the day, the distributor has no control over how much Microchip, etc. will charge in the future, so all backorders are made subject to availability and pricing, so they would never enter into an agreement which would guarantee price a year later.

It is possible to enter a contract that is binding upon the seller and buyer, which would be explicitly stated in the terms and conditions.  For instance, a contract relating to the supply of custom made-to-order items would prohibit the buyer from cancelling, as the items cannot be resold.  For construction materials, a contract for delivery might be entered upon which has a penalty for failure to supply within the terms, as it could have a meaningful impact upon project timing.  But these are explicit agreements, and no distributor would include such terms.

A purchase order usually includes additional T's&C's which are agreed between the two companies in advance, for buying from a distributor, these are almost unilaterally on the basis of the distributors terms. Try ordering from Farnell with your own T's&C's... good luck with that.

peter-h:

--- Quote --- it's not the case in the UK that a contract is formed by a quote alone
--- End quote ---

That bit is true. The rest is more complex.

The big change which the current bubble has brought is the despicable practice I described. It never happened before - and I've been in this business since 1978.

But they don't do it to big customers.

Lots of people have been taking the piss, and they will pay for it. Conversely those who have not will get good business.

AndyC_772:

--- Quote from: peter-h on January 12, 2023, 02:48:41 pm ---
--- Quote ---Must be Mouser, Farnell or Digikey...
--- End quote ---

Those are not distis. Those are firms serving hobbyists and prototype builders :) :) And at huge markups (often 2x to 3x) over disti pricing.

--- End quote ---

Compare like-for-like in terms of quantity, and I don't think you'll find too much difference between those companies and the likes of Arrow, Avnet and Future.

The only real difference is that they're better geared up for selling parts in small quantities, and of course they charge a premium for that. I don't blame them for a moment; none of the extra packaging or handling is free.

AndyC_772:

--- Quote from: peter-h on January 12, 2023, 03:22:43 pm ---Lots of people have been taking the piss, and they will pay for it. Conversely those who have not will get good business.

--- End quote ---

No suppliers have been what I'd call supportive throughout this whole situation, though there are companies *way* higher up my sh*t-list than the likes of Mouser and Digi-key.

PlainName:

--- Quote ---However, they can increase the price prior to delivery.
--- End quote ---

I think this is incorrect. It has nothing to do with the delivery, which is just them fulfilling their side of the contract. The contract is in place once the buyer has offered to buy the goods, and seller has accepted the payment. This is the main reason why nowadays the payment isn't taken until the goods are shipped. Previously, it would be taken when the buyer checks out, but then some high-profile companies got stiffed by making a pricing mistake, taking £2 for the goods worth £200 and then being obliged to complete the contract. No-one now takes the money until the goods are on the way out the door so they can cancel the sale without penalty if necessary.

I think in Peter's case the vendor is on dodgy ground because he has offered to buy the goods at one price and they have effectively declined and decided he should pay another price. He has not accepted that new price so the goods have been sent on spec and he is perfectly entitled to tell them he hasn't ordered them (he hasn't - he ordered a cheaper product) and that they should arrange collection at their cost. The T&C small print might be a fly in the ointment there - I don't know how that works for B2B but it seems pretty unfair even in that context.

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