Is old stock really a problem?

[pylo]

We were looking for a specific stepper motor driver IC for an older project that needs a new manufacturing round. Unsurprisingly in the industry's current situation, hard to get. We've found one distributor though who claims to have it in stock, but we've been warned the stock is over 7 years old. Should we be worried about this? I know about possible moisture problems, but I guess they can be managed with proper baking on the assembler's side. Anything else I should be concerned about?

[langwadt]

oxidation of the pins can make some stuff damn near impossible to solder

[Mangozac]

oxidation of the pins can make some stuff damn near impossible to solder

Yeah this is what I'd be more concerned about.

[james_s]

If they're probably stored I've never had a problem with old stock, I've used parts that at around for 30+ years before.

Can you buy a few samples to evaluate before you commit to a larger order?

[alexaraujo]

I would also be afraid of oxidation, as I've had a bad case. I had a coil that was lost in the stock of LL4148 and when I went to look at the date it was five more years after the purchase, right where we lost approximately 20% of it due to oxidation.
In this case, it was easy because the material was in our possession, we sampled it before sending it to an external plate assembler company;