LCD Web Store

[ezpcb]

Hi all,<p>I had just got the last issue of Nuts & Volts and I noticed that several companies are selling LCD. Comparing to ours the prices are amazing, for example a widely used 16x2 dot character LCD with backlight, usually sold at $39 on Nuts & Volts, but I can easily get a top quality one at less than $15; An $119 128x32 graphic dotmatrix backlit LCD, our price is only $35.<p>I'd thought about building a LCD web store, but why I'm still hesitating is I don't know how big this market is. Once I build this web store I must hire a LCD expert to manage it, and then buy another advertising page on Nuts & Volts, Both are very costy. <p>Any suggestion for my plan would be highly appriciated. A partner would also be welcomed

[philba]

You might want to go look at
EarthLCD for slightly better prices. I think the N&V stuff is very top of the line hobby prices. The $39 LCD is probably the seetron serial one. Not terribly cost effective. I can find decent prices on surplus units from allelectronics, electronic goldmine and so on.<p>How big is the market? That's hard to say. EarthLCD seems like a reasonably big business but appearances can be deceiving. I suspect that sales to the hobby crowd aren't ever going to be that big. earth seems to focus on several other segments as well as hobby.<p>Still, I think it would be good to see another supplier. Especially if they are focused on value. I've never bought an LCD from EarthLCD or Seetron because I perceive them to be expensive for what you get.<p>One thing that would make a big difference for me is information - its amazing how little data there is on the products being sold. Sometimes they have datasheets, sometimes not. Sometimes the datasheets are worthless. I often have to dig to get simple things like the contrast voltage or backlight current. Lots of info would make the buying decision much easier.

[ezpcb]

Thanks Philba.<p>I did some contacting in the past few days and I get to know if I buy more than 10pcs of LCD, the price is so much cheaper, probably $8-$9 for a 16x2 LCD. But I have no confident on the size of the market, it's not as clear as the PCB market. The documents is not a problem, I have several CDs from some large LCD factory. But make a new web and advertising for a uncertain market is taking high risk. I'll think carefully about this. <p>Anyway, if you need LCD I may help.<p>Mike

[Newz2000]

How much would shipping to the US be?<p>Also, if you're catering to the hobbiest you'll need to figure there will be small quantity orders.<p>I've bought (for others) a few LCDs that came from Asia. A 20x4 with LED backlight costs about $15 with shipping. Check out some of these on e-bay. Two that I often see listed are Rainbow City Store and 411 technology systems. Those two always have LCDs for sale under $15 (counting shipping).<p>[ September 16, 2005: Message edited by: Matt Nuzum ]</p>

[Engineer1138]

It does raise an interesting question though: how difficult is it to purchase components directly from overseas? <p>With the Web, if I want to buy e.g., 25 LCDs as an example, if I can get them substantially cheaper directly from China or Japan as opposed to going through Arrow or other distributor, I'd be inclined to do so. It's not too long ago that only companies making large purchases could afford to buy direct from Asia because it was too hard for buyers & sellers to link up. The Web changes all that. <p>ezpcb: I think if you tried selling the more expensive components like LCD displays or keypads and had a minimum order of US$100 or so, you'd probably sell enough of them to make it worthwhile. $100 might be a lot to the hobbyist, but to a small 1-5 person business that otherwise would have to pay the higher prices, it's nothing!

[Newz2000]

Good point, Engineer1138. EzPCB customers interested in the $50 offer he runs will probably flip over that kind of pricing. I'm shocked at the cost of LCDs through regular US distributors.

[philba]

I did a quick search on ebay and there were a lot of character LCDs for pretty cheap prices. I think there are lots of ways to get an inexpensive unit. <p>I have bought things from hong kong before and it was pretty easy - shipping was not that bad. total cost was in the $30 range, iirc. shipping was maybe $6...