Shout out to DigiKey

[boffin]

I'm forever in awe of Digikey's ability to ship stuff seemingly immediately; especially given the fact that they operate in a village in the middle of nowhere, 5hrs from the nearest US City of note, and 3 hours from the nearest Canadian city.

I placed an order yesterday at 2:30p digikey time, and it still managed to get ordered, fulfilled, trucked to a city in another country, and make the fedex flight overnight to arrive here thousands of km away today.

If I were in the large-volume fulfillment business I would think the only city to do it effectively would be in Memphis (FedEx) or Louisville (UPS), but Digikey manage to do it in the middle of freek'in nowhere.

[suicidaleggroll]

 I'm constantly amazed by that as well.  I've ordered from them as late as 6pm Mountain Time and they still got it out the same day, even with over a hundred line items.

[D3f1ant]

Agree. The only problem I have is they have redefined what fast is and now I get annoyed when other suppliers doesn't deliver in time frames similar to what digikey manage. It can take longer to get something delivered across the country than digikey manages international!

[rdl]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_River_Falls_Regional_Airport

Code: [Select]

Cargo Airlines Destinations

Alpine Air Fargo, Sioux Falls
DHL             Minneapolis/St. Paul
FedEx Feeder    Fargo
FedEx Feeder    Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul
UPS Airlines    Minneapolis/St. Paul
UPS Airlines    Louisville, Minneapolis/St. Paul


[tooki]

I'm forever in awe of Digikey's ability to ship stuff seemingly immediately; especially given the fact that they operate in a village in the middle of nowhere, 5hrs from the nearest US City of note, and 3 hours from the nearest Canadian city.

I placed an order yesterday at 2:30p digikey time, and it still managed to get ordered, fulfilled, trucked to a city in another country, and make the fedex flight overnight to arrive here thousands of km away today.

If I were in the large-volume fulfillment business I would think the only city to do it effectively would be in Memphis (FedEx) or Louisville (UPS), but Digikey manage to do it in the middle of freek'in nowhere.

Where is the warehouse in the middle of nowhere? My hunch is that it's adjacent to — possibly even integrated with — a FedEx hub, which also makes sense to have in the middle of nowhere, where there is space for an airport and huge logistics ops.

[ataradov]

All major carriers are on-site. The packages quite literally fall into the respective carrier container after sorting conveyor belt. The whole operation is amazing.

My only gripe with them is over-packaging. I would prefer to use USPS, but they always seem to put my packages into more expensive price bracket. So I started using fixed price FedEx, and over-packaging went away.

They do have organized tours, so if you ever in the area (which is indeed in the middle of nowhere), it is worth checking out. I was there for work, so I have no idea how to get the tour as a regular person.

[boffin]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_River_Falls_Regional_Airport

Code: [Select]

Cargo Airlines Destinations

Alpine Air Fargo, Sioux Falls
DHL             Minneapolis/St. Paul
FedEx Feeder    Fargo
FedEx Feeder    Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul
UPS Airlines    Minneapolis/St. Paul
UPS Airlines    Louisville, Minneapolis/St. Paul


I'm not sure I'd 100% trust Wikipedia here....

Their cargo flights appear to be contracted to IFL Group who run dedicated Falcon 20 (biz jet - the same planes FedEx started with 40 yrs ago) cargo flights to both KMEM/Memphis and KSDF/Louisville.  Now if that's DigiKey, or FedEx/UPS doing it I don't know, but I suspect that it's someone local (handling Digikey and Artic Cat??), because both flights are by IFL, and they leave within 15 minutes of each other:

IFL7567 KTVF-KMEM http://flightaware.com/live/flight/IFL7567/history/20170810/0330Z/KTVF/KMEM
IFL1015 KTVF-KSDF http://flightaware.com/live/flight/IFL1015/history/20170810/0220Z/KTVF/KSDF


However, my shipment didn't go via KMEM nor KSDF, but was trucked to Winterpeg, and then on the Morningstar(Fedex) flight from CYWG-CYVR

All in all, it's incredibly impressive feat from a small town of less than 10,000 people, that's 3 hours from Winnipeg, and 5 hours from Minneapolis.

[rdl]

True, I edited for clarity 
They're all operated by contractors.

[TheSteve]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thief_River_Falls_Regional_Airport

Code: [Select]

Cargo Airlines Destinations

Alpine Air Fargo, Sioux Falls
DHL             Minneapolis/St. Paul
FedEx Feeder    Fargo
FedEx Feeder    Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul
UPS Airlines    Minneapolis/St. Paul
UPS Airlines    Louisville, Minneapolis/St. Paul


Actually it appears to be contracted to IFL Group who run dedicated Falcon 20 (a biz jet) flights to both KMEM/Memphis and KSDF/Louisville

You're on the west coast of Canada like me. It can get even more interesting watching the tracking which seems to depend on the time day you order. If you order first thing in the morning the package will pre-clear customs and then get trucked across the border to Manitoba, go back east(Ontario) and then get shipped out west and delivered (generally by Fedex) but Fedex doesn't seem to be carrier that gets the package from Manitoba to Ontario(I suspect that is Purolator). If you order later in the day it goes the more traditional Fedex route which is direct to Memphis and then to Vancouver where it clears customs and then gets delivered. Unless you order on a Friday, then it might go Memphis to Seattle and then get trucked from Seattle to Vancouver.
Yep, I order from Digikey a lot!

[jimdeane]

The only explanation I have is that they have mastered transtemporal communication and actually receive your order before you place it.

[boffin]

You're on the west coast of Canada like me. It can get even more interesting watching the tracking which seems to depend on the time day you order. If you order first thing in the morning the package will pre-clear customs and then get trucked across the border to Manitoba, go back east(Ontario) and then get shipped out west and delivered (generally by Fedex) but Fedex doesn't seem to be carrier that gets the package from Manitoba to Ontario(I suspect that is Purolator). If you order later in the day it goes the more traditional Fedex route which is direct to Memphis and then to Vancouver where it clears customs and then gets delivered. Unless you order on a Friday, then it might go Memphis to Seattle and then get trucked from Seattle to Vancouver.
Yep, I order from Digikey a lot!

Actually neither in this case
Truck to Winterpeg
Fedex (Morningstar) CYWG-CYVR

FedEx (as a foreign carrier) are not permitted to operate domestic routes within Canada, so it's all contracted to Morningstar, an air cargo operator out of Edmonton partly owned by the Ward (Wardair..) family.

[igendel]

Digikey and Mouser, amazing speed. I received an order today ([edit: from Mouser] with FedEx) which I made less than 48 hours ago, and that's across the Atlantic, through Germany, over the Mediterranean and even through the local customs!

I once made an order with Digikey, and, like, ten minutes later contacted their support to change the quantity of one of the components. The representative told me I was lucky it was a Sunday, otherwise the entire package would have been on its way already 

[Zero999]

This reminds me of how shit RS Components really are. There are two warehouses within 40 miles of me, yet they still can't stock lots of the items and they often arrive late.

[jpanhalt]

My main concern is why Digikey offers free shipping to Canada , but not the US.   Is it planning to move there?

I have changed my allegiance, as Mouser gives just as good service and doesn't discriminate against Americans.

[schmitt trigger]

I believe that Digikey De-composes each item into its individual constituent molecules, which are used to modulate an He-Ne laser beam pointed to the moon, which is reflected by a giant mirror installed by the top-secret Apollo 18 mission.
To maintain secrecy, NASA did not include the rocket fuel to lift the LEM from the moon, and left the astronauts there.
The reflected beam is received by giant radio-telescopes disguised as SETI receivers, which recombine the molecules using the waste energy from underground cyclotrons.

Its all part of Dark Ops.

Have you seen the Star Trek movie? Well, just like that, but in an industrial scale.

[boffin]

My main concern is why Digikey offers free shipping to Canada , but not the US.   Is it planning to move there?

I have changed my allegiance, as Mouser gives just as good service and doesn't discriminate against Americans.

Well, yes and no.  The C$ pricing is quite a bit higher from Digikey's C$ site than Mouser or Digikey USA:

Digikey.CA  ATMEGA328-PU   C$3.28/ea
Digikey.COM ATMEGA328-PU  US$1.96/ea (C$2.50)
Mouser.COM  ATMEGA328-PU  US$1.95/ea (C$2.49)

While we might get free shipping on orders over C$100, you pay a premium to buy from Digikey, and have it shipped to Canada.

it adds up pretty quickly.

[jpanhalt]

@schmitt trigger: Makes as much sense as anything you have posted her or elsewhere.

[jpanhalt]

Americans also pay a premium, namely sales taxes.   

We have paid sales tax on Digikey orders for a long time, but not on Mouser orders.   For over 20 years, I bought from DigiKey because I felt that consent decree by DigiKey went against American virtues of fair play.  When I learned of the incentives to Canadians, that view changed.

The new CEO at DigiKey may not understand its market, but being a CEO is not the time for on-the-job training. My experience with customer service at DigiKey and Mouser over the past few years put Mouser well into the lead.

It is not when everything works that matters, it is when something goes wrong that matters.

[Cubdriver]

I'd add McMaster-Carr to the 'amazing fulfillment' vendor list.  Their nearest warehouse to me is in NJ; if I get my order in before 6 PM local time and the items are in stock there, I normally get them the following day via UPS ground.

On the west coast, if I order things for the office in Irvine, CA before about ten or eleven AM (not certain of the exact cutoff) and they're in stock in the LA McMac facility, they arrive that afternoon!  And shipping on small orders is typically in the $5-$8 range for cost.  Damned impressive!

-Pat

[boffin]

Americans also pay a premium, namely sales taxes.   

We have paid sales tax on Digikey orders for a long time, but not on Mouser orders.   For over 20 years, I bought from DigiKey because I felt that consent decree by DigiKey went against American virtues of fair play.  When I learned of the incentives to Canadians, that view changed.

The new CEO at DigiKey may not understand its market, but being a CEO is not the time for on-the-job training. My experience with customer service at DigiKey and Mouser over the past few years put Mouser well into the lead.

It is not when everything works that matters, it is when something goes wrong that matters.

I think you mis-understand sales taxes, and how they work. They're not the government trying to suck every last penny from you, they pay for things like support for the elderly, national defence, etc etc.

As a Canadian I pay both a federal (5%) and a provincial (7%) sales tax on a digikey order.

As an American, generally state sales taxes are only charged if the company has employees in your state, although it's most likely that you're technically still liable for them if you didn't pay.  The way sales taxes work actually tend to benefit large online retailers (who aren't charging), and hurt local retailers (who have to).  Given the surge of online retailing, I suspect that all state sales taxes will likely be soon overhauled to allow for collection from out of state suppliers, as is already happening in Canada (HST vs GST/PST), and is happening intra-state where municipal/county sales taxes are added onto state ones.

[Bud]

 
.  When I learned of the incentives to Canadians, that view changed.

I cant see hows that the case.  Everything in Canada is more expensive, and we also pay tax on top.

[rdl]

"State" sales taxes on internet sales in the US are an issue which comes up often.

The last time I checked:

Mouser collects for states where it has a physical presence.
Newark collects from everyone, because it's the law in the state they do business from.
Digi-key collects from everyone because they do.

Because of this, I usually stick with Mouser, followed by Newark.

Eventually I'm sure greedy politicians will have us paying tax on all internet purchases, no matter where we live or where we buy from.

[jpanhalt]

Americans also pay a premium, namely sales taxes.   

I think you mis-understand sales taxes, and how they work. They're not the government trying to suck every last penny from you, they pay for things like support for the elderly, national defence, etc etc.

I am afraid it is you who does not understand that tax issue in the US.   Mouser does not collect sales taxes (often called sales and use taxes) for sales to any state.   Way back when, DigiKey didn't either, except for Minnesota.   Then it was sued (by Minnesota?) and consented to collect sales taxes for every state that has such taxes, even though it did not have a physical presence in those states.  That was done to avoid a very expensive battle. 

In Ohio, that resulted in an increase in cost of about 7% over Mouser.   Of course, if you are not charged sales tax by a company like Mouser (and most other Internet sellers), the buyer has the responsibility to report the purchase on his income tax return and pay the equivalent "use" tax at that time (or before, if estimated taxes are paid).  Fat chance those taxes are actually paid by the vast majority of hobby purchasers!

Amazon was caught in a similar bind and now collects sales/use taxes from anything it (per se) sells to buyers in states that have such taxes.  The social benefit of such taxes is not the issue and is completely irrelevant.

The issue is why should DigiKey be made to collect them and Mouser and most other internet sellers do not.

As a customer, I felt it was my obligation to pay them, so that change by itself did not affect my ordering; although, I thought it was unfair to DigiKey.  What affected my decision about DigiKey was its discrimination against Americans on shipping costs, and apparent degrading of its customer service in the past year.

Why should Canadians get free shipping and Americans don't for the same value of order?  Surely, shipping to Canada is more expensive than USPS to the United States.

[jpanhalt]

I'd add McMaster-Carr to the 'amazing fulfillment' vendor list.  Their nearest warehouse to me is in NJ; if I get my order in before 6 PM local time and the items are in stock there, I normally get them the following day via UPS ground.

On the west coast, if I order things for the office in Irvine, CA before about ten or eleven AM (not certain of the exact cutoff) and they're in stock in the LA McMac facility, they arrive that afternoon!  And shipping on small orders is typically in the $5-$8 range for cost.  Damned impressive!

-Pat

Agree.  I have dealt with McMaster since the 1970's.   Exquisite service and a lot of products to chose from.   The very few problems that have arisen have been solved completely to my satisfaction and even exceeded that.  They are a bit more expensive; however, but the convenience of a one place shop with instant shipping offsets that.

The main exception I make is for ball bearings.  Cleveland, Ohio is home to one of the largest ball bearing warehouses in the US.   I can get a 6203 double-sealed bearing ABEC3 (made in Japan), in stock, same day locally for less than half the McMaster price ($5.00 vs. $11.00).  If I need a full stainless bearing, the price differential is even more.   But I consider myself fortunate in that regard, and it is not a black mark on McMaster.

[floobydust]

Digi-key's (machine-like) efficient service is what you pay for with their higher pricing. Always been that way, even since the 1970's.

Apparently Canada is their biggest market. How else to get transistors to my igloo?

I find their accounts are a confusing mess: Customer Number, Web ID, Access ID, Salesorder Number.
My head spins trying to change a ship-to address, like a personal account and ship to work or vice-versa.
Then I find you can't actually do that 

Their parametric tables are getting polluted with dumbness,
"Package/Case" and "Supplier Device Package" are full of oddball naming and JEDEC bastardization:
SOT-23
SOT-23 (TO-236AB)
SOT-23-3
SOT-23-3 (TO-236)

A TO-220 case search is pretty much useless now, I got 25 variants.
Electrolytic capacitors are sized not to standard offerings, instead they add tolerances to size.
Pick-lists have silly spacing: 2.00mm and 2.01mm when it's a "2mm spacing" part.

[VK5RC]

In South Australia, I have never had a Digikey order arrive shorter than 3-4 business days, I believe they ship from Hong Kong. They have great range.
Here,  RS Components,  is next business day and I find their search system a bit easier.

[TheSteve]

My main concern is why Digikey offers free shipping to Canada , but not the US.   Is it planning to move there?

I have changed my allegiance, as Mouser gives just as good service and doesn't discriminate against Americans.

I'd take the US pricing and no free shipping any day. We might get "free" shipping on orders over 100 CAD but the typical Digikey price is the US price + posted exchange rate + 10% extra. So no matter how you slice it we are typically paying more.

[Red Squirrel]

I like how people are annoyed that they "discriminate" against Americans.  99% of the time it's Canada that is discriminated against.  It's nice to get a break once in a while.

I'm always quite impressed with Digikey as well and just how fast they can ship stuff.  My only complaint is that you can't pick the courier, Fedex here is awkward if you are not home when the package gets delivered. You need to call them to schedule a pickup between very specific hours.  So if you're at work you're kinda screwed.  But not a huge deal for me since I work shifts, so I make sure to place an order and time it for a day I will be home.   

I have a bad habit of only needing a few small items but I don't want to pay the shipping so I end up pushing my order to the $200 mark with stuff "I might need one day".  All that to "save" $8. 

[Cubdriver]

I like how people are annoyed that they "discriminate" against Americans.  99% of the time it's Canada that is discriminated against.  It's nice to get a break once in a while.

I'm always quite impressed with Digikey as well and just how fast they can ship stuff.  My only complaint is that you can't pick the courier, Fedex here is awkward if you are not home when the package gets delivered. You need to call them to schedule a pickup between very specific hours.  So if you're at work you're kinda screwed.  But not a huge deal for me since I work shifts, so I make sure to place an order and time it for a day I will be home.   

I have a bad habit of only needing a few small items but I don't want to pay the shipping so I end up pushing my order to the $200 mark with stuff "I might need one day".  All that to "save" $8. 

Glad I'm not the only one who does that...  My issue is that by the time 'one day' comes around, the stuff has had enough time to have gone missing somewhere in the house.   

-Pat

[schmitt trigger]

@schmitt trigger: Makes as much sense as anything you have posted her or elsewhere.

Sarcasm aside, I'm taking this comment as a compliment.

[boffin]

Americans also pay a premium, namely sales taxes.   

I think you mis-understand sales taxes, and how they work. They're not the government trying to suck every last penny from you, they pay for things like support for the elderly, national defence, etc etc.

I am afraid it is you who does not understand that tax issue in the US.   Mouser does not collect sales taxes (often called sales and use taxes) for sales to any state.   Way back when, DigiKey didn't either, except for Minnesota.   Then it was sued (by Minnesota?) and consented to collect sales taxes for every state that has such taxes, even though it did not have a physical presence in those states.  That was done to avoid a very expensive battle. 

I fully understand the sales tax issue in the United States, and I'll offer up Ohio (which I think another poster said they were located in) as an example.

12. Is sales or use tax due on purchases over the Internet?
If the seller is located in Ohio or the out-of-state seller has substantial nexus with Ohio, sales or use tax is due on all sales of tangible personal property and selected services to purchasers in Ohio, unless the purchaser has a statutory basis for claiming exception or exemption. Note: Many out-of-state sellers are registered with Ohio to collect and remit Ohio use tax on taxable sales made to Ohio consumers. Consumers may also remit use taxes due on their personal income tax return (Form IT-1040).

If the seller is not located in Ohio and does not have substantial nexus with Ohio, the seller cannot be required to collect and remit Ohio use tax. However, the purchaser will still owe Ohio use tax on the purchase of goods or services, unless the purchaser has a statutory basis for claiming exception or exemption.
http://www.tax.ohio.gov/sales_and_use/faqs/sales_basics.aspx


What that means is if you're in Ohio, and you buy from Mouser (and they didn't charge you sales tax), you're legally obliged to remit OHIO sales tax that would have been paid had that been an Ohio based reseller.  This is very common in US jurisdictions, and in Canadian jurisdictions that haven't adopted HST. I know, because a good friend of my was a sales tax auditor, and would routinely catch businesses buying out of jurisdiction and have sales tax audits resulting in bills of tens of thousands of dollars.

Go back and re-read my original post.  I suspect that in the US, they'll start adopting a national method of dealing with state/county/municipal sales taxes, as too many states are losing too much tax revenue to untaxed out of state sales to end users.

[boffin]

What that means is if you're in Ohio, and you buy from Mouser (and they didn't charge you sales tax), you're legally obliged to remit OHIO sales tax that would have been paid had that been an Ohio based reseller.

IRS will have a hard time hunting down individual buyers.

The IRS doesn't hunt down people who fail to pay state sales tax, the state (or province here in Canada) does. Yes, a small private buyer is unlikely to be found, but large corporate buyers are on the hook.

It's quite profitable for the states (provinces). A good friend who did this for a living easily exceeded his expected yearly find in unpaid sales tax ($600k) every year, often before the middle of the summer.  One time he found more than twice that in one audit and asked his boss if he could take the next 18 months off...

[mikeselectricstuff]

A side note, TI store (or at least part of it) is physically located in DK's facility, as you can see a lot of TI parts purchased on TI webstore ships from DK's address, even if DK shows factory stock or out of stock. I believe buyAltera is also operated by DK.

There is something a bit wierd about it though - looks like they keep seperate stock. I recently placed an order at TI Store as it was cheaper than DK and Findchips indicated they had stock, only to be told later it was a month leadtime, but the same part was in stock on Digikey's website

[tooki]

A side note, TI store (or at least part of it) is physically located in DK's facility, as you can see a lot of TI parts purchased on TI webstore ships from DK's address, even if DK shows factory stock or out of stock. I believe buyAltera is also operated by DK.

There is something a bit wierd about it though - looks like they keep seperate stock. I recently placed an order at TI Store as it was cheaper than DK and Findchips indicated they had stock, only to be told later it was a month leadtime, but the same part was in stock on Digikey's website

So probably the DK and TI stocks are separate, despite being in the same warehouse. Or the stock is physically mingled, but some belongs to TI and some to DK, and they're not allowed to sell each other's stock.

[Bassman59]

Their parametric tables are getting polluted with dumbness,
"Package/Case" and "Supplier Device Package" are full of oddball naming and JEDEC bastardization:
SOT-23
SOT-23 (TO-236AB)
SOT-23-3
SOT-23-3 (TO-236)

A TO-220 case search is pretty much useless now, I got 25 variants.
Electrolytic capacitors are sized not to standard offerings, instead they add tolerances to size.
Pick-lists have silly spacing: 2.00mm and 2.01mm when it's a "2mm spacing" part.

I suppose that all of these specs are taken from manufacturer data sheets and they make no attempt at reconciling any of it.

[mrjiffy6]

I like how people are annoyed that they "discriminate" against Americans.  99% of the time it's Canada that is discriminated against.  It's nice to get a break once in a while.

I'm always quite impressed with Digikey as well and just how fast they can ship stuff.  My only complaint is that you can't pick the courier, Fedex here is awkward if you are not home when the package gets delivered. You need to call them to schedule a pickup between very specific hours.  So if you're at work you're kinda screwed.  But not a huge deal for me since I work shifts, so I make sure to place an order and time it for a day I will be home.   

I have a bad habit of only needing a few small items but I don't want to pay the shipping so I end up pushing my order to the $200 mark with stuff "I might need one day".  All that to "save" $8. 

I live in Quebec and i've never had such problems with FedEx. You're not home? Most of the time the driver will wrap the package in a plastic bag and held it to your side door's handle. If you want to pick it up yourself because you desperatly want to play with the goods as soon as possible, once you have the tracking number, you call their 1-800 number and request for a local pickup and they update the system so your package won't end up in a delivery truck once it arrived at destination city.

About the choice I carrier, well I am not a logistic expert but I guess they have huge volume shipping discount by not allowing to choose the carrier so the shipping cost for the end user is relatively low compared to others like newark, etc.

[Brumby]

I like how people are annoyed that they "discriminate" against Americans.  99% of the time it's Canada that is discriminated against.  It's nice to get a break once in a while.

I'm always quite impressed with Digikey as well and just how fast they can ship stuff.  My only complaint is that you can't pick the courier, Fedex here is awkward if you are not home when the package gets delivered. You need to call them to schedule a pickup between very specific hours.  So if you're at work you're kinda screwed.  But not a huge deal for me since I work shifts, so I make sure to place an order and time it for a day I will be home.   

I have a bad habit of only needing a few small items but I don't want to pay the shipping so I end up pushing my order to the $200 mark with stuff "I might need one day".  All that to "save" $8. 

Glad I'm not the only one who does that...  My issue is that by the time 'one day' comes around, the stuff has had enough time to have gone missing somewhere in the house.   

-Pat

Really?   Who does that? 

[rdl]

It's too bad all suppliers don't offer USPS First Class Package shipping for small orders. For small stuff that's not really delicate they could easily cut way back on their packaging and just stuff it in a bubble pack envelope and mail it for $2.50

[Richard Crowley]

I remember as a child back when DigiKey was a small-time mail-order source of surplus and limited range of new components.  How mighty they have grown to fully eclipse most of those old-line distributors who wouldn't even take your call unless you were meeting their line- and order-minimum totals which were unrealistically high for hobbyists.

[floobydust]

I didn't know Digi-Key started with surplus. Poly-Paks was another story... and if you remember them.

Looked at CEO Mark Larson's 2011 interview
Ron Stordahl, the company's founder and CEO- Digi-Key founded 1972 from selling excess parts from ham radio kit Morse "Digi-Keyer" and excess National Semiconductor digital clock modules. {I bought some! MA1010 and MA1003}

"... we had a hobbyist base but we were starting to see that some of those hobbyists were coming back to us to buy parts that would be sent to their workplaces. It turned out that many of them were product design engineers for manufacturing companies. That’s when I had kind of a “eureka” moment, and I told Ron [Stordahl] that I thought we should get some franchises and become [an authorized distributor] so that we would have assurance of quality product and continuity of supply... "

Small parts order becoming big orders, many companies don't get it.

[Cubdriver]

Yeah - I remember their catalog in the late 70s (when I first got into electronics as a kid) being the size of a thin magazine, and one of their lines being Panasonic electrolytic caps.  If memory serves, the -ND suffix on most of their part numbers came from 'no discount' - some parts had some kind of straight quantity discount IIRC, while others didn't but instead had quantity pricing tiers as they all have now.  The ND was appended to those with tier pricing.  (I may be all wrong on this as I'm relying on 40 year old memories from my early teens here...)

Now they're a major player with a catalog that makes a phone book look small.  I recall Mouser having a similarly small catalog back then as well.  Both have certainly grown!

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

I didn't know Digi-Key started with surplus. Poly-Paks was another story... and if you remember them.

Looked at CEO Mark Larson's 2011 interview
Ron Stordahl, the company's founder and CEO- Digi-Key founded 1972 from selling excess parts from ham radio kit Morse "Digi-Keyer" and excess National Semiconductor digital clock modules. {I bought some! MA1010 and MA1003}

"... we had a hobbyist base but we were starting to see that some of those hobbyists were coming back to us to buy parts that would be sent to their workplaces. It turned out that many of them were product design engineers for manufacturing companies. That’s when I had kind of a “eureka” moment, and I told Ron [Stordahl] that I thought we should get some franchises and become [an authorized distributor] so that we would have assurance of quality product and continuity of supply... "

Small parts order becoming big orders, many companies don't get it.

Yeah, ain't that the truth?  If you can't be bothered selling me the 10 of them I need for the development, I'm not going to be inclined to go to you for the 10,000 I need once it goes into production.

And I vaguely remember Poly-Paks, too.  Blast from the past!

-Pat

[jpanhalt]

It's too bad all suppliers don't offer USPS First Class Package shipping for small orders. For small stuff that's not really delicate they could easily cut way back on their packaging and just stuff it in a bubble pack envelope and mail it for $2.50

Have you ever gotten a bubble pack envelop from DigiKey?

[rdl]

Well, I don't often buy from Digi-key because of the sales tax, so no I haven't.

Do they ship by First Class Mail? That's the thing, because it's very cheap but the weight limit is 16 oz. Sometimes from Mouser I think the packing alone would exceed that limit, even for just a hand full of small parts.

[jpanhalt]

Well, I don't often buy from Digi-key because of the sales tax, so no I haven't.

You mean you cheat the government?  See earlier dialog on that subject. 

Do they ship by First Class Mail? That's the thing, because it's very cheap but the weight limit is 16 oz. Sometimes from Mouser I think the packing alone would exceed that limit, even for just a hand full of small parts.

Yes, but their standard package is 9x9xX.  That might be great in Thief River Falls, MN, but in big cities, it does not fit a mail slot.   In "good" parts of Cleveland, the letter carrier will leave the package on the steps with indemnification.   In most of Cleveland per se, a package left on the steps is not there 30 minutes later.  So, the letter carriers won't do that. Period.

I was fortunate when I lived in Cuyahoga county (which includes Cleveland) to be in a burb for which the carriers would leave the package after receiving indemnification.

When I moved to another, rural county, the 9X9xX format will not fit a USPS approved mails box.  DigiKey shipments are a real PITA.  After more than 2 years, entreaties to DigiKey have not only failed to be addressed, but no one has deemed them worthy of response.  The fear is that a bubble pack will result in bent leads.   I have never seen a QFN chip with bent leads.  Nor, have I ever received damaged merchandise for Mouser that does use bubble packs.

John

[Corporate666]

Digikey and Mouser, amazing speed. I received an order today ([edit: from Mouser] with FedEx) which I made less than 48 hours ago, and that's across the Atlantic, through Germany, over the Mediterranean and even through the local customs!

I once made an order with Digikey, and, like, ten minutes later contacted their support to change the quantity of one of the components. The representative told me I was lucky it was a Sunday, otherwise the entire package would have been on its way already 

Digikey is my #1 go-to supplier, although Mouser has gotten more $$$ from me this year due to slightly lower prices and parts that Digikey didn't carry or didn't have in stock.  Digikey's search engine is #1 though, I use it as part of my design process.

My only issue with Mouser has been that it seems they semi-regularly miss their shipping deadline, at least with me it seems.  They have outright shipped US Postal orders a day late (like, I ordered Monday evening...  items were in stock, but it shipped out on Wednesday).  Had the same happen several times with UPS/FedEx too, always with ground packages.  Ground is a guaranteed service, and IMO they shouldn't assume "it's ground, no big deal if that one ships the next day".  If the cutoff is 9pm, it should ship if ordered before then - and I am not talking huge orders placed 2 minutes before the deadline.  Often just a couple of reels of resistors ordered during the normal work-day didn't ship until the next day.  I've also had less luck dealing with Mouser by phone compared to Digikey.  When you call, the sales people answer and they seem to be annoyed when I'm calling to make changes to an existing blanket PO, for example, instead of calling to place an order.

[edavid]

My main concern is why Digikey offers free shipping to Canada , but not the US.   Is it planning to move there?

True fact: Digikey offers free shipping on US mail orders which are prepaid by check.

[Corporate666]

There is something a bit wierd about it though - looks like they keep seperate stock. I recently placed an order at TI Store as it was cheaper than DK and Findchips indicated they had stock, only to be told later it was a month leadtime, but the same part was in stock on Digikey's website

They do keep separate stock - often it's the manufacturer who has that restriction in place in case the equation is the other way around, as they do not want the distributor selling the manufacturers own stock out from under them so the manufacturer can ensure they have enough parts available for samples, etc.

Some of the manufacturers must use multiple distributors for this - I've had orders from Cypress' website come from Digikey, Mouser, and IIRC others (TTI perhaps?  I may be misremembering that).  I also had Cypress ship me 20 outstanding (out of a 2,000pcs order) $0.85 microcontrollers in three separate packages, all from different countries, all shipped FedEx International Priority.   

[jpanhalt]

My main concern is why Digikey offers free shipping to Canada , but not the US.   Is it planning to move there?

True fact: Digikey offers free shipping on US mail orders which are prepaid by check.

I verified that.   A little known, but irrelevant practice in fact.   Who sends a paper check to DigiKey, waits for acceptance (up to two weeks for DigiKey to open its mail -- I have an e-mail to verify that) just to get free shipping?

Fact is, for credit cards and identical orders, DigiKey ships to Canadian customers free and charges American customers shipping.  That is also indisputable and seemingly irrational to me.  Mouser does not discriminate against Americans.

[rdl]

My last order from Mouser, I received this email and I have no idea why they did this. I placed the order in the afternoon and it shipped out the next day. I live 400 miles from Dallas and probably would have gotten the package in two days by regular UPS ground, but they did indeed actually send it next day air.

Dear rdl;

Your purchase order number 12345678 is being processed by our warehouse and will ship out on 07/21/2017

We appreciate you placing this order through our website.

You requested your order be shipped by UPS GROUND SERVICE.
To ensure that you receive your order on the day you expected it, Mouser has upgraded your order to ship UPS NEXT DAY AIR at no additional charge to you.

You are a valued customer and we appreciate your business.
If you have any questions, comments, or if we can assist you in any way please let us know.
You can reply directly to this e-mail.


Thank you,

The Mouser Internet Sales Team
orders@mouser.com
Mouser Electronics, Inc.
A TTI Company

www.mouser.com

THIS ORDER IS SUBJECT TO ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS DISPLAYED AT: www.mouser.com/terms

[TheSteve]

Fact is, for credit cards and identical orders, DigiKey ships to Canadian customers free and charges American customers shipping.  That is also indisputable and seemingly irrational to me.  Mouser does not discriminate against Americans.

Fact is everyone outside of the US pays a higher price - so take your pick, higher price on everything you buy or free shipping. Which would you prefer?

[igendel]

I also had Cypress ship me 20 outstanding (out of a 2,000pcs order) $0.85 microcontrollers in three separate packages, all from different countries, all shipped FedEx International Priority.   

I had something similar with TI, very small orders (e.g. a Launchpad board and a dozen opamps) that arrived in separate FedEx deliveries. But I don't remember the sender addresses to say where each came from.

[boffin]

Fact is, for credit cards and identical orders, DigiKey ships to Canadian customers free and charges American customers shipping.  That is also indisputable and seemingly irrational to me.  Mouser does not discriminate against Americans.

No not identical, apparently you haven't read mine nor other previous Canadians posts.

For their Canadian site they charge significantly more per component (yes, even when converted from canuckistan pesos), which more than makes up the shipping cost. 

Also, their shipping costs to Canada are probably quite reasonable, because they can truck it to the FedEx sort point in Canada (Winterpeg), versus having to have it flown (on a biz-jet no less) to MEM or SDF.

[Paul Moir]

They probably know we're allergic to buying from American companies after chronic exposure to brokerage fees.  Smart move:  I know I'm a sucker for free shipping. 

[jpanhalt]

Fact is, for credit cards and identical orders, DigiKey ships to Canadian customers free and charges American customers shipping.  That is also indisputable and seemingly irrational to me.  Mouser does not discriminate against Americans.

Fact is everyone outside of the US pays a higher price - so take your pick, higher price on everything you buy or free shipping. Which would you prefer?

Not if they are priced in USD to Canada.  Didn't check all products in the catalog.  Just checked these from a recent order:

1)    LTC1560-1CS8#PBF-ND: Price USD to US = $9.17; price USD to Canada = $9.17 (price CAN$ = 13.11)
2)  EVAL-AD7276SDZ-ND: Price USD to US = $57.54; price USD to Canada = $57.54 (price CAN$ = 77.23)

Thus, price is the same and free shipping over $100 USD when paid in USD, but only to Canada, not to the USA. 

I don't blame any American seller for charging a small exchange premium for those who insist on paying in Canadian dollars or any other foreign currency.  The currency you use is a choice you control.  If you can get a better exchange with your credit card company, then do that and get a price in USD.

 

[Paul Moir]

Huh?  $13.11 CAD = 10.23 USD and that other thing isn't even available.  At least in Canada.

Credit cards offering reasonable exchange rates?  That's about the funniest thing I've heard today!

[TheSteve]

It isn't a small premium at the moment (13% or so). If we do pay in USD then we'll still pay extra because of brokerage fees. So again, in the end, even with shipping you're still paying less being in the US.

[jpanhalt]

It isn't a small premium at the moment (13% or so). If we do pay in USD then we'll still pay extra because of brokerage fees. So again, in the end, even with shipping you're still paying less being in the US.

Obviously, you (Canadians) do not understand that Canadian problems are owned by Canadian voters.  You built that.  Your higher costs are a consequence.

You are not entitled to special benefits from American companies, just because of it.  Most important, that is not justification for DigiKey to pander to you at the expense of Americans.  That policy is bound to backfire on DigiKey.  It should consider that Mouser now has very deep pockets, excellent prices, and gives even better customer service. 

Earlier in this thread, "floobydust" posted:

Apparently Canada is their biggest market. How else to get transistors to my igloo?

  Since DigiKey is a private, closely held corporation, such information is not widely available.   Can anyone cite a source for it?  Or, was that just another legend of the North?



 
 

[tooki]

It isn't a small premium at the moment (13% or so). If we do pay in USD then we'll still pay extra because of brokerage fees. So again, in the end, even with shipping you're still paying less being in the US.

Obviously, you (Canadians) do not understand that Canadian problems are owned by Canadian voters.  You built that.  Your higher costs are a consequence.

You are not entitled to special benefits from American companies, just because of it.  Most important, that is not justification for DigiKey to pander to you at the expense of Americans.

What a steaming load of nationalist condescension.

What you get in USA is domestic economies of scale unknown pretty much anywhere else. A consequence of this is that many US businesses often don't bother to optimize sales processes for foreign customers -- indeed, they're blithely unaware that things can work differently abroad, and that small changes in procedures would improve things a lot. (And when they do, you get goofs like you, getting their panties in a twist...)

Businesses that do lots of foreign sales from their home base (as opposed to using a local subsidiary or distributor) will make changes to "pander" to their customers abroad, because it makes sense. For example, allowing their order systems to bill in the customer's currency (so they don't get the extortionate exchange rate from the credit card issuer), having a good selection of shipping options (since no one shipper is optimal for all destinations, for a given service level and package type), and customs pre-clearance.

Amazon is a great example in the B2C space: for customers who don't live in a country with an Amazon presence, their AmazonGlobal program handles both currency conversion (using sensible exchange rates) and customs pre-clearance, so that the grand total at checkout is the absolute maximum you will pay. No surprises at customs, no surprise charges from UPS, etc.

Pitney-Bowes offers a similar service for smaller vendors who can't justify the expense of setting up such things on their own.

In B2B, DigiKey does pretty well. They also do customs pre-clearance to eliminate all the surprise fees. (Nb: I've been unable to find out conclusively whether Mouser does or doesn't. If anyone knows, please let me know!)


And before you dismiss me as a bitter foreigner: I'm an American who's lived about equally in USA and in Switzerland, both places as both child and adult. So I've gotten to experience mail order from both sides.

[boffin]

What a steaming load of nationalist condescension.

[floobydust]

Digi-Key is expanding, wow {June 2017} http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4276749-digi-key-commits-multi-million-dollar-expansion-thief-river-falls

"... Digi-Key Electronics will build a million-square-foot facility in Thief River Falls Minnesota...

The electronic components distributor announced Thursday the official location of the expansion—just across the street from the Digi-Key headquarters in Thief River Falls—that is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs over 10 years. The announcement of the facility—expected to be a $200 million to $300 million investment..."

I got the snippet about Canada being their biggest market from an interview with CEO or COO and talking about Digi-Key website traffic data.

Thief River Falls is 50 miles away from the border to Winnipeg.

[asmi]

I have a bad habit of only needing a few small items but I don't want to pay the shipping so I end up pushing my order to the $200 mark with stuff "I might need one day".  All that to "save" $8. 

The minimum order for free shipping is now 100 CAD (same as in ca.mouser.com). I usually pad orders with reels of 0402 resistors/caps, slowly building up inventory of these parts as I like them a lot because they are practically free and take very little PCB area, so that I can pack components more tightly. Due to the way part price is being rounded, these reels are cheaper in Mouser (10 CAD for 10k parts reel of 0402 resistors, 30-40 CAD for 10k reel of caps depending on value), so I mostly order there, but Mouser doesn't stock Xilinx FPGAs so these I have to buy these from Digikey. Usually I would compare prices for parts I'm looking to buy and order theme whereever they are in stock and/or cheaper.
I live in Ontario, and I've noticed that DK orders tend to show up about noon of next business day from order, while Mouser orders arrive at the end of next business day. Fedex always attempts to deliver orders (unsuccessfully because I'm at work), but they return and keep them at Fedex location which is very close to where I work, so I drive there after work and pick them up there.

[buck converter]

How could we forget Arrow? Free overnight in US (not sure for other countries) for orders over 20 bucks. They have fewer parts in stock compared to  DK but I see what they have if I need something soon.
Speaking of arrow, go to arrow-sucks.com for a laugh