First impressions of Digi-Key

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:23 am

Hi Guys,

First of all I am in Canada, so I was a little apprehensive to use a supplier outside of my country, expecting long delivery times and crazy shipping costs.

Well, I placed my first order with Digi-Key yesterday afternoon. Th order consisted of a few different sizes of resistor networks, some transistors, 74HC4514 decoder IC's, a few of those pushbutton rotary encoders featured in the Aug '08 issue of N&V, and some other misc parts.

I found the website to be great; I was able to quickly and easily find all the parts I was looking for as well as the relavent info to go along with them.

The prices were fantastic, better than Newark, and WAY better than anything I could find on eBay (where the shipping to Canada is usually ridiculous).

The shipping cost $8, and I received the package this morning! Talk about super-fast cross-border shipping!

All in all I have to say that I am super happy with my Digi-Key experience and will definitely buy from them again!

Craig

MrAl · Post by **MrAl** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:32 am

Hi there,

I was involved with several online group projects in the past and we
used Digikey a lot. One of the features is you can start a 'project'
and log on to it with a password, and that project would have a list
of all the parts for a given project. You could then give the password
to the other people who wanted to build the same thing and they could
simply go to the site and log on, then order all the parts just like that!
They wouldnt even have to look anything up because the entire
list and all the part numbers would be on the Digikey site already.

I also like Jameco too.

Robert Reed · Post by **Robert Reed** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:14 am

I also like Digikey for there extensive product line and super fast delivery, but my hands down favorite is Mouser. Check them out sometime.

Robert Reed · Post by **Robert Reed** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:14 am

Scratch

Ken1 · Post by **Ken1** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:26 pm

Hi, Digi-key has a warehouse in Winnipeg, Manitoba and that's probably where your parts came from. I have purchased from them several times and yes, shipping is very fast; overnight for me here as I live in Manitoba and it's $8 and shipped by Purolator.

KaOsMoDs · Post by **KaOsMoDs** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:46 am

Yes, DigiKey is definitely a great source for components. I have bought from them numerous times. Their prices are great; shipping, as usual, is insanely fast.

Engineer3104 · Post by **Engineer3104** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:02 am

We've used Digikey for several years now. Extremely happy with inventory availability and FAST shipping. Always overnight to Calgary.
It's faster and cheaper than driving across town to local distributors.

Bob Scott · Post by **Bob Scott** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:29 pm

Engineer3104 wrote:We've used Digikey for several years now. Extremely happy with inventory availability and FAST shipping. Always overnight to Calgary. It's faster and cheaper than driving across town to local distributors.

Same here. A while back I ordered a bunch of parts via www.digikey.ca at 8:30PM, all parts in stock with no back orders. The deliveryman delivered the next day at 10:00 AM.

However I do get the impression lately that they are stocking fewer parts. I hope this does not mean the end of Digikey. It is what happened to Cam Gard, Varah's, Zentronics, WES, Armaco and just about all others. (RIP)

eg: (Varah's) "Good morning. Can I take your back order please?" just before they shut their doors forever.

What are the alternatives in Calgary? You have Future/Active, just a shadow if it's former self, and (what's the name?) B&E Electronics? Neither stock any semiconductors to speak of, just expensive and overpriced tools. I love Calgary but it is not the best place for a company to do electronics R&D.

Janitor Tzap · Post by **Janitor Tzap** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:19 pm

Engineer3104 wrote:We've used Digikey for several years now. Extremely happy with inventory availability and FAST shipping. Always overnight to Calgary.
It's faster and cheaper than driving across town to local distributors.

Can't say anything bad about them.
They're helpful in looking for parts, and have even told me were I could get said part if they didn't carry it.

As for FAST shipping Engineer3104......
You do realize that Digi Key is not that far away from you?
Their right across the boarder in Thief River Falls Minnesota.

Signed: Janitor Tzap

Engineer3104 · Post by **Engineer3104** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:10 am

Er.... Janitor Tzap.

They're practically across the border from Winnipeg, Manitoba, but I'm two provinces and about 1200km (750 miles) west in Alberta.

Janitor Tzap · Post by **Janitor Tzap** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:12 pm

Engineer3104 wrote:Er.... Janitor Tzap. They're practically across the border from Winnipeg, Manitoba, but I'm two provinces and about 1200km (750 miles) west in Alberta.

Ok,
So they're not directly across the border.
But they are still closer than Jameco, Mouser, All Electronics, MCM, or MAT.

Plus, your using the "Over Night Express Mail".
Have you checked what regular ground shipping would be time wise?
I bet that it would take just as long for you to receive a package that way.

Thou, I'm not taking in account all the handling, and how efficient each package handling center is.

Signed: Janitor Tzap

Engineer1138 · Post by **Engineer1138** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 4:33 pm

I was referring to how fast they process an order, not how long it takes UPS to get it here. For as long as I can remember, if you order by 6pm CST, the order will probably go out the same day.

Janitor Tzap wrote:
Engineer3104 wrote:We've used Digikey for several years now. Extremely happy with inventory availability and FAST shipping. Always overnight to Calgary.
It's faster and cheaper than driving across town to local distributors.
Can't say anything bad about them.
They're helpful in looking for parts, and have even told me were I could get said part if they didn't carry it.

As for FAST shipping Engineer3104......
You do realize that Digi Key is not that far away from you?
Their right across the boarder in Thief River Falls Minnesota.

Signed: Janitor Tzap

dtief · Post by **dtief** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:13 pm

I've used DigiKey since their catalog was printed on 2 sheets of newsprint paper.

They have one of the best website / component search on the web. Sometimes it is easier to pick / find a new part on thier page than the actual manufacturer's pages.

GoingFastTurningLeft · Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:02 pm

Digi-key has been nothing but awesome for me.

Jameco I have beef with, not just because it takes a week for ground shipping coast-to-coast (it should be expected)

I ordered 1 pack of 5 RCA phono plugs for $1. When I recieved my order, i looked on the packing list, in the units column everything was EA except the plugs, which were PK.

What did I get? A single plug sealed in its own bag.

I talk to customer service, and they say "we'll send you your parts today, no charge."

A week later, I receive another box, shipped UPS *ground*, with the same info on the packing list and ANOTHER single phono jack sealed in its own bag.

Needless to say, I'll never order from them again. I understand warehouse pickers aren't the brightest people, but twice in a row???

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