WTF Farnell - About the recent changes in Farnell Russia/Ukraine

[SolarSunrise]

After spending several weeks of designing my hobby project (part selection, schematics, pcb layout, etc.), I was finally ready to build the damn thing. So few weeks ago I placed an order in Farnell, about 150 euros in total, and I get this jolly message:

? ??, ? ? ? ?? ?? ?? , ?? ? ?, ?? ?? ? ? ? ?? ? 300 ?.

Which a quick google translate told me that due to changes in "export policy," my minimum order had to be 300 euros.
Yeah sure...
300 euros...

It turns out people in Russia and Ukraine are also complaining about this new "export policy." Even if I ordered 300 euros worth of parts, my order would have been stuck in customs for at least a month. And don't get me started on Digikey or mouser; their shipping charge is 120 bucks regardless of how much you order, and I am not even talking about customs.

I am pretty sure that these changes are the result of current "global political situation". Right now I am just sad... Bye free shipping from mouser/digikey. Bye farnell. And those of you who can receive parts in 3 - 5 days with FREE SHIPPING, I envy you. 

[Artlav]

And don't get me started on Digikey or mouser; their shipping charge is 120 bucks regardless of how much you order, and I am not even talking about customs.

Hm?
Maybe it's a bit different for Russia, since i always got my orders from Digikey without much trouble, and the delivery is in the $50-$60 range.
Last time was early July, for $350. Before then in late February, for $180 - no issues or "export policy".
No custom fees or delays as well.

I once had a problem with Digikey trying to bullshit something about $120 delivery "to company address only" due to "export restrictions", but repeated hammering of the support with facts resulted in the ticket being read by a conscious entity and the order being sent normally with an apology.

For Farnell, i had to post a signed form to the effect of "i'm not going to sell that to the terrorists" in order to get a BeagleBone board, but that was back in 2009.

[SolarSunrise]

And don't get me started on Digikey or mouser; their shipping charge is 120 bucks regardless of how much you order, and I am not even talking about customs.

Hm?
Maybe it's a bit different for Russia, since i always got my orders from Digikey without much trouble, and the delivery is in the $50-$60 range.
Last time was early July, for $350. Before then in late February, for $180 - no issues or "export policy".
No custom fees or delays as well.

I once had a problem with Digikey trying to bullshit something about $120 delivery "to company address only" due to "export restrictions", but repeated hammering of the support with facts resulted in the ticket being read by a conscious entity and the order being sent normally with an apology.

For Farnell, i had to post a signed form to the effect of "i'm not going to sell that to the terrorists" in order to get a BeagleBone board, but that was back in 2009.

Really? 50$ - 60$ shipping to here? Looks like I haven't read their shipping policies correctly. I think I've been too spoiled by free shipping (when I was in France, ah the good old days of 20% VAT) but that sound pretty reasonable. Nevertheless, I am quite uncertain about the customs in Ukraine though... Anyways thanks for the info!

[Howardlong]

Shipping to Russia and Ukraine is a nightmare at the moment, with some carriers are refusing to ship to residential addresses (Fedex needs a commercial address at the moment for example for me to ship from the UK).