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Inflation: Have components rocketed in price?
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NivagSwerdna:
So I need a 16MHz XTAL and I thought I would just use the same part I used a few years back...

It's E3SB16.0000F09G11AE which I bought from Farnell as Order Code 246744...

I bought 20x of these on 30 Aug 2016.... at 21.4p each...

I checked today.... they are 102p in similar quantities!!!!   And it's not like they are rare... they have >4k in stock.

Shocking!
ajb:
Inflation is a broad economic phenomenon, the price of a single component is not a good indicator for it.  A lot can change in a few years.  Look at what's happened with capacitors, manufacturers are shifting to product lines that are more profitable, leaving less supply of basic commodity parts, so prices jump until the market settles back down.  Getting into the game of making components is hideously expensive and it takes while to get started, and shifting production focus isn't much faster or cheaper, so because there's little elasticity in the supply the market has to react to changing supply and the price changes.  4k is nothing in terms of quantity. 
NivagSwerdna:

--- Quote from: ajb on April 03, 2020, 04:24:06 pm ---4k is nothing in terms of quantity.
--- End quote ---
That's fair.  Maybe they are EOL.
thm_w:
Search for compatible parts and then see if their prices are high as well or not.
It seems to be a common size (3.2x2.5mm) so you can just find something compatible and use that, eg https://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/epson/TSX-3225-16-0000MF18X-AC0/SER4070TR-ND/5260855

That part is a fairly specific crystal for the "CSR chipset" as they don't even provide stability specifications in the datasheet:
http://www.aelcrystals.co.uk/DocumentHandler/125896 but appears to be <25ppm.
Siwastaja:
Component prices at the distributors are completely random, even in qty 1000 or so. They go up and down and follow no logical connection to the actual manufacturer price. Sometimes the distributor adds 50% margin, sometimes 1000%.

In general, not only for price but availability as well, try to use as many parts with secondary sources (different manufacturers) as possible (i.e., ones with a compatible footprint) - do that at the design time, not as an afterthought.
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