Mouser
- Thread starter Dippy
- Start date
I've been using mouser for almost 2 decades, they generally have lower costs than especially digikey and others. There used to be a fair amount of shipping errors, wrong parts that drove me nuts in my small business. Digikey never makes mistakes. One thing that can get you, if you depend on a certain part being available, like odd asian funny switches, or even beepers and sometimes chips, is be aware that once in awhile if they run out, it can take up to 2 months for more to come in, so keep good floor stock. When Freescale moved their sensor line to china, a part I needed was not avail for 3 months, it caused one of my products to almost fail, lost a good UK distrib. Live and let learn.
Mouser have great prices. They even sent me a catalogue with my last order. If you have a local store in the UK then that should help a lot with shipping. Eg - buy a chip in the US and they will send it to you for $4.95 via US postal service or $5.61 via UPS. Buy the same chip if you live in Australia and it will be $30 USPS or $70 UPS. Great value for a 25c chip. I have no idea why shipping is so high given many small firms in the US can post to Australia using the US postal service for only $3-4. Maybe because they include that heavy catalogue with each order? Futurlec do postage worldwide, anywhere, for a flat $4.
Mouser's big advantage is an amazing range and great prices. Its big disadvantage is rip-off shipping costs. But if the store is local, I'll bet those shipping costs will come way down. You lucky lucky ...
Mouser's big advantage is an amazing range and great prices. Its big disadvantage is rip-off shipping costs. But if the store is local, I'll bet those shipping costs will come way down. You lucky lucky ...
My experience with Mouser has been limited but good.
I recently had to get some chips for prototyping that a) weren't available direct from Manuf in the package I wanted (!!) and b) weren't available in UK in small numbers.
One batch came from Mouser and the other from DigiKey.
Both took less than a week to arrive and both charged about £12 for carriage.
I am quite happy to pay that amount of money for the carriage costs.
If any of you have seen the potential hassle (paperwork) of importing I think you'd agree that the cost is OK. And they ain't charities after all.
"To help kick off this exciting event, for a limited time Mouser is offering FREE FedEx SHIPPING on most orders over £50, duties and customs fees included! (Excludes VAT and all other taxes.) Free shipping offer does not include orders containing large or heavy products indicated by a "BIG" icon."
As an occasional UK user I'm quite pleased.
I should add that in UK we are pretty well serviced with component suppliers (Farnell, RS, CPC, Rapid, Rev-Ed and others). But, just now and then, for something odd Places like Mouser and Digi-Key are ideal. Hopefully, Digi-Key will follow suit.... (hope you're watching Digi-Key
).
I recently had to get some chips for prototyping that a) weren't available direct from Manuf in the package I wanted (!!) and b) weren't available in UK in small numbers.
One batch came from Mouser and the other from DigiKey.
Both took less than a week to arrive and both charged about £12 for carriage.
I am quite happy to pay that amount of money for the carriage costs.
If any of you have seen the potential hassle (paperwork) of importing I think you'd agree that the cost is OK. And they ain't charities after all.
"To help kick off this exciting event, for a limited time Mouser is offering FREE FedEx SHIPPING on most orders over £50, duties and customs fees included! (Excludes VAT and all other taxes.) Free shipping offer does not include orders containing large or heavy products indicated by a "BIG" icon."
As an occasional UK user I'm quite pleased.
I should add that in UK we are pretty well serviced with component suppliers (Farnell, RS, CPC, Rapid, Rev-Ed and others). But, just now and then, for something odd Places like Mouser and Digi-Key are ideal. Hopefully, Digi-Key will follow suit.... (hope you're watching Digi-Key
).westaust55
Moderator
I concur Dr_A.
Mouser just seems to be exorbitantly high with postage costs for overseas orders.
I have been using Futurlec who have offices in Australia and the US and ship the components (say a handful at a time) air mail out of a warehouse in Thailand for AUD$4. Other than an order in Nov where they were out of stock (but did not indicate so when I ordered), delivery is under a week.
I'm not one of the zillions (despite ordering from them), so what exactly is a "customer service centre"? Is it a distribution warehousefor UK orders - doesn't sound like it.... I can't believe they'd stock every line item they do in the UK, just for UK orders.
All I can see on mouser.com is that you can have prices in GBP and there is freed delivery to UK on orders over $50
...so how is the free shipping offer going to work?
In the past I've always got my mouser parcel and then a few days later the Fedex charges in a letter with a paying in slip attached. The charges are:
- Import Duty
- VAT
- Fedex Collection Fee (always, it semms, dis-proportionately large)
So what are the free "Duties and Customs" fees exactly? And if it doesn't cover VAT, are Fedex going to charge me a collection fee for it, as they are doing work they want to normally charge for?
In the past I've always got my mouser parcel and then a few days later the Fedex charges in a letter with a paying in slip attached. The charges are:
- Import Duty
- VAT
- Fedex Collection Fee (always, it semms, dis-proportionately large
)So what are the free "Duties and Customs" fees exactly? And if it doesn't cover VAT, are Fedex going to charge me a collection fee for it, as they are doing work they want to normally charge for?
Martin, I really can't answer. And I'm not going to guess.
I recently placed an order for £14 worth of chips from Digi-Key and was charged £2.90 Duty/VAT and fees upon delivery.
The fees may just be the paperwork costs. (Would YOU do it for nothing? Yes? You're very generous perhaps you'll wash my car for me free of charge.)
It all costs.
But if you want the nitty-gritty then ask them.
PS. I only posted the info as i thought it might be handy to UK users. I didn't know it would start a debate trying to justify costs and how everything should be free.
I recently placed an order for £14 worth of chips from Digi-Key and was charged £2.90 Duty/VAT and fees upon delivery.
The fees may just be the paperwork costs. (Would YOU do it for nothing? Yes? You're very generous
perhaps you'll wash my car for me free of charge.)It all costs.
But if you want the nitty-gritty then ask them.
PS. I only posted the info as i thought it might be handy to UK users. I didn't know it would start a debate trying to justify costs and how everything should be free.
Here is the entire email:
January 30, 2009
Mouser Electronics Opens New UK Office
Dear Customer,
Mouser is proud to announce the opening of our new UK customer service centre on Monday, February 2, 2009. As one of the fastest growing broad-line catalog distributors in the electronics industry, Mouser is your source for the newest products, leading-edge technologies, and world class customer service.
To help kick off this exciting event, for a limited time Mouser is offering FREE FedEx SHIPPING on most orders over £50, duties and customs fees included! (Excludes VAT and all other taxes.) Free shipping offer does not include orders containing large or heavy products indicated by a "BIG" icon. See complete details at www.mouser.com or contact a customer service representative.
In addition to our print catalog, Mouser’s online catalog on www.mouser.com features over a million products and is updated daily with new products from more than 390 industry-leading manufacturers. Mouser delivers a time-to-market advantage with no minimum orders, fast delivery, competitive pricing, flat rate shipping, and NO handling fees. Local sales representatives will provide the very best customer service – regardless of the size of the customer or order size.
Let us help you further grow your business by becoming your electronics supplier of choice!
New UK Customer Service Centre:
+44 (0)1494-467490 (Phone)
+44 (0)1494-467499 (Fax)
Address: E-mail:
2 Cliveden Office Village
Lancaster Road
Cressex Business Park
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP12 3YZ
United Kingdom All Sales inquires UK@mouser.com
In addition to the UK contacts, you can always visit us at www.mouser.com. If you wish to add your name to our mailing list for new catalogs please visit us at www.mouser.com/catalog/. Also, you can sign up to receive new product and technology announcements at www.mouser.com/enews.
We look forward to a continuing relationship with you and hope our new local coverage helps you get your products to market quicker.
Warm regards,
Mark Burr-Lonnon
Mouser Electronics
Vice President Europe
January 30, 2009
Mouser Electronics Opens New UK Office
Dear Customer,
Mouser is proud to announce the opening of our new UK customer service centre on Monday, February 2, 2009. As one of the fastest growing broad-line catalog distributors in the electronics industry, Mouser is your source for the newest products, leading-edge technologies, and world class customer service.
To help kick off this exciting event, for a limited time Mouser is offering FREE FedEx SHIPPING on most orders over £50, duties and customs fees included! (Excludes VAT and all other taxes.) Free shipping offer does not include orders containing large or heavy products indicated by a "BIG" icon. See complete details at www.mouser.com or contact a customer service representative.
In addition to our print catalog, Mouser’s online catalog on www.mouser.com features over a million products and is updated daily with new products from more than 390 industry-leading manufacturers. Mouser delivers a time-to-market advantage with no minimum orders, fast delivery, competitive pricing, flat rate shipping, and NO handling fees. Local sales representatives will provide the very best customer service – regardless of the size of the customer or order size.
Let us help you further grow your business by becoming your electronics supplier of choice!
New UK Customer Service Centre:
+44 (0)1494-467490 (Phone)
+44 (0)1494-467499 (Fax)
Address: E-mail:
2 Cliveden Office Village
Lancaster Road
Cressex Business Park
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP12 3YZ
United Kingdom All Sales inquires UK@mouser.com
In addition to the UK contacts, you can always visit us at www.mouser.com. If you wish to add your name to our mailing list for new catalogs please visit us at www.mouser.com/catalog/. Also, you can sign up to receive new product and technology announcements at www.mouser.com/enews.
We look forward to a continuing relationship with you and hope our new local coverage helps you get your products to market quicker.
Warm regards,
Mark Burr-Lonnon
Mouser Electronics
Vice President Europe