Component Prices Rip off in Australia

"Glenn" <glenn@evans-pure.net> wrote in message
news:1159829234.023403.117870@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
steve wrote:
Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

I'm surprised none of the other posters have mentioned futurlec
(www.futurlec.com.au).

I've been using them for a year or two now. They ship out of Thailand
and their prices are usually hard to beat. Interestingly, their
shipping costs ($4) are usually lower than every Australian based
supplier. The postage charges on mail order stuff now (like ebay) is
part of the profit margin for many.
Click to expand...
I placed my first order with them in July and haven't received it yet. They
haven't responded to any of my emails either, so I'm not too impressed with
them so far.
 
Poxy wrote:

I'm surprised none of the other posters have mentioned futurlec
(www.futurlec.com.au).

I've been using them for a year or two now. They ship out of Thailand
and their prices are usually hard to beat. Interestingly, their
shipping costs ($4) are usually lower than every Australian based
supplier. The postage charges on mail order stuff now (like ebay) is
part of the profit margin for many.


I placed my first order with them in July and haven't received it yet. They
haven't responded to any of my emails either, so I'm not too impressed with
them so far.
Click to expand...
Futurlec can be a very mixed bag, and have been for years.
You will find they are loved by some, and hated by others, very much the same as
above.

Google on: futurlec bad

Don...




--
Don McKenzie
E-Mail Contact Page: http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html

Micro,TTL,USB to 1.5" color LCD http://www.dontronics.com/micro-lcd.html
USB,RS232 or TTL to VGA Monitor http://www.dontronics.com/micro-vga.html
World's smallest USB 2 TTL Conv http://www.dontronics.com/micro-usb.html
 
On 2 Oct 2006 13:53:41 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com>
wrote:

george@joho.com wrote:
Jaycar is much better, but sell other crap (farting keyrings) I
guess to pay their overheads but really I just see these stores selling
a range of PIC devices a few components here and there and thats it for
electronics..

Rubbish.
Jaycar are selling a wider range of components than they ever have,
same with Altronics.
Just compare catalogs from 10-15 years ago.
See page 9 of the current catalog for their explaination of why they
have the sell the farting gadgets.

Dave :)
Click to expand...

G'day Dave,
I gave my copy to a mate. I can't find anything on the Jaycar
website explaining why they flog all those stupid toys.
Can you summarize what page 9 says, for those of us who don't have
the catalog?

Bob
 
Bob Parker <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in
news:d5e1i2p0bcsqis4cjchclhl5fhsvfnsqu0@4ax.com:

On 1 Oct 2006 23:13:00 -0700, "steve" <steve.mew@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

I usually get my stuff from Rockby Electronics in Melbourne.
http://www.rockby.com.au

Bob
Click to expand...
Have you seen their surplus store next door? Full of all sorts of genuine
surplus stuff.
 
On Mon, 2 Oct 2006 17:50:00 +1000, "Johnny Boy" <NoSpam@Please.com>
wrote:

"moby" <moby@kcbbs.gen.nz> wrote in message
news:1159774083.016070.295940@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...

steve wrote:
Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

Soanar used to be great - now they seem hell bent on
becoming a toyshop. If I see on more flyer for coughing ashtrays
or farting men......
M

Sounds just like Jaycar, they're going the same way as DSE these days.

... Johnny
Click to expand...

Moby, Johnny,

There's a good reason for that - Soanar/Jaycar/Electus is all part of
Fermionic which is owned by Gary Johnston.
http://www.soanar.com/showpage.cfm?pageid=1
 
On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 04:37:31 GMT, Geoff C <notinterestedin@spam.com>
wrote:

Bob Parker <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in
news:d5e1i2p0bcsqis4cjchclhl5fhsvfnsqu0@4ax.com:

On 1 Oct 2006 23:13:00 -0700, "steve" <steve.mew@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

I usually get my stuff from Rockby Electronics in Melbourne.
http://www.rockby.com.au

Bob




Have you seen their surplus store next door? Full of all sorts of genuine
surplus stuff.
Click to expand...
No, I'm in Sydney and they're in Melbourne. Is that at their place in
Renver Rd which used to be occupied by Rod Irving Electronics (which
deservedly went out of business)?

Cheers
Bob
 
On Mon, 2 Oct 2006 17:50:00 +1000, "Johnny Boy" <NoSpam@Please.com>
wrote:

"moby" <moby@kcbbs.gen.nz> wrote in message
news:1159774083.016070.295940@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...

steve wrote:
Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

Soanar used to be great - now they seem hell bent on
becoming a toyshop. If I see on more flyer for coughing ashtrays
or farting men......
M

Sounds just like Jaycar
Click to expand...
As indeed it should, as they're now joined at the hip.
 
"steve" <steve.mew@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159769579.975444.38840@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...


** Groper menace.

Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....
Click to expand...


** Farnell will still sell you 50 off 1N4148 diodes for $1.50 + gst.

Or 10 off 20 x 5 mm "Littelfuse" antisurge fuses for $3.44 + gst.





........ Phil
 
"Bob Parker" <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in message
news:2hr3i2d2biss1upjle96qrhu98cm1j94e2@4ax.com...
On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 04:37:31 GMT, Geoff C <notinterestedin@spam.com
wrote:

Bob Parker <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in
news:d5e1i2p0bcsqis4cjchclhl5fhsvfnsqu0@4ax.com:

On 1 Oct 2006 23:13:00 -0700, "steve" <steve.mew@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

I usually get my stuff from Rockby Electronics in Melbourne.
http://www.rockby.com.au

Bob




Have you seen their surplus store next door? Full of all sorts of genuine
surplus stuff.

No, I'm in Sydney and they're in Melbourne. Is that at their place in
Renver Rd which used to be occupied by Rod Irving Electronics (which
deservedly went out of business)?

Cheers
Bob
Click to expand...
Hi again Bob,
as far as I know, it is. (They used to also be known as
Vorlac, from memory.) I'm very familiar with Renver Road - I started out as
a panel-beater before I got (less?) sensible and got into electronics, and
did my apprenticeship in that street, at Collins Auto Panels, back in the
early 70's.

.... Johnny
P.S. I now live in NSW also.
 
Bob Parker wrote:
On 2 Oct 2006 13:53:41 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com
wrote:

george@joho.com wrote:
Jaycar is much better, but sell other crap (farting keyrings) I
guess to pay their overheads but really I just see these stores selling
a range of PIC devices a few components here and there and thats it for
electronics..

Rubbish.
Jaycar are selling a wider range of components than they ever have,
same with Altronics.
Just compare catalogs from 10-15 years ago.
See page 9 of the current catalog for their explaination of why they
have the sell the farting gadgets.

Dave :)


G'day Dave,
I gave my copy to a mate. I can't find anything on the Jaycar
website explaining why they flog all those stupid toys.
Can you summarize what page 9 says, for those of us who don't have
the catalog?

Bob
Click to expand...
Hi Bob
No problemo.
Much quicker to photograph than type though!
http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/images/JaycarPage9.jpg

Dave :)
 
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159862663.653611.222340@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Bob Parker wrote:
On 2 Oct 2006 13:53:41 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com
wrote:

george@joho.com wrote:
Jaycar is much better, but sell other crap (farting keyrings) I
guess to pay their overheads but really I just see these stores
selling
a range of PIC devices a few components here and there and thats it
for
electronics..

Rubbish.
Jaycar are selling a wider range of components than they ever have,
same with Altronics.
Just compare catalogs from 10-15 years ago.
See page 9 of the current catalog for their explaination of why they
have the sell the farting gadgets.

Dave :)


G'day Dave,
I gave my copy to a mate. I can't find anything on the Jaycar
website explaining why they flog all those stupid toys.
Can you summarize what page 9 says, for those of us who don't have
the catalog?

Bob

Hi Bob
No problemo.
Much quicker to photograph than type though!
http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/images/JaycarPage9.jpg

Dave :)
Click to expand...
Hello David,
I'll check that out too. On another note, although you've
probably forgotten, I had a discussion with you once before publishing one
of my circuits in Silicon Chip, the AT Keyboard Translator, which I did in
conjunction with Bob Nicol, (Microzed), in about 2000. If you didn't know
already, Bob died last year, of a massive heart attack. He was a nice bloke,
with a good heart, (not that good, it seems). A shame, there aren't enough
people like him in the world.

.... Johnny (alias Steve)
 
On 3 Oct 2006 01:04:23 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com>
wrote:
Hi Bob
No problemo.
Much quicker to photograph than type though!
http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/images/JaycarPage9.jpg

Dave :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave! :)

Bob
 
Johnny Boy wrote:
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159862663.653611.222340@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Bob Parker wrote:
On 2 Oct 2006 13:53:41 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com
wrote:

george@joho.com wrote:
Jaycar is much better, but sell other crap (farting keyrings) I
guess to pay their overheads but really I just see these stores
selling
a range of PIC devices a few components here and there and thats it
for
electronics..

Rubbish.
Jaycar are selling a wider range of components than they ever have,
same with Altronics.
Just compare catalogs from 10-15 years ago.
See page 9 of the current catalog for their explaination of why they
have the sell the farting gadgets.

Dave :)


G'day Dave,
I gave my copy to a mate. I can't find anything on the Jaycar
website explaining why they flog all those stupid toys.
Can you summarize what page 9 says, for those of us who don't have
the catalog?

Bob

Hi Bob
No problemo.
Much quicker to photograph than type though!
http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/images/JaycarPage9.jpg

Dave :)


Hello David,
I'll check that out too. On another note, although you've
probably forgotten, I had a discussion with you once before publishing one
of my circuits in Silicon Chip, the AT Keyboard Translator, which I did in
conjunction with Bob Nicol, (Microzed), in about 2000. If you didn't know
already, Bob died last year, of a massive heart attack. He was a nice bloke,
with a good heart, (not that good, it seems). A shame, there aren't enough
people like him in the world.

... Johnny (alias Steve)
Click to expand...
Hi Steve
I think I remember the discussion, but can't remember if I remember
correctly! :-/

I didn't know about Bob, sorry to hear that, sad news indeed.

Regards
Dave :)
 
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159873550.647647.28940@k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Johnny Boy wrote:
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159862663.653611.222340@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Bob Parker wrote:
On 2 Oct 2006 13:53:41 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com
wrote:

george@joho.com wrote:
Jaycar is much better, but sell other crap (farting keyrings) I
guess to pay their overheads but really I just see these stores
selling
a range of PIC devices a few components here and there and thats
it
for
electronics..

Rubbish.
Jaycar are selling a wider range of components than they ever have,
same with Altronics.
Just compare catalogs from 10-15 years ago.
See page 9 of the current catalog for their explaination of why
they
have the sell the farting gadgets.

Dave :)


G'day Dave,
I gave my copy to a mate. I can't find anything on the Jaycar
website explaining why they flog all those stupid toys.
Can you summarize what page 9 says, for those of us who don't
have
the catalog?

Bob

Hi Bob
No problemo.
Much quicker to photograph than type though!
http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/images/JaycarPage9.jpg

Dave :)


Hello David,
I'll check that out too. On another note, although
you've
probably forgotten, I had a discussion with you once before publishing
one
of my circuits in Silicon Chip, the AT Keyboard Translator, which I did
in
conjunction with Bob Nicol, (Microzed), in about 2000. If you didn't
know
already, Bob died last year, of a massive heart attack. He was a nice
bloke,
with a good heart, (not that good, it seems). A shame, there aren't
enough
people like him in the world.

... Johnny (alias Steve)

Hi Steve
I think I remember the discussion, but can't remember if I remember
correctly! :-/
I didn't know about Bob, sorry to hear that, sad news indeed.
Regards
Dave :)
Click to expand...
Hi Dave, yeah, I for one, miss him. I believe that Margaret, (his wife),
sold the business, but have no idea who now owns it.
Regarding the Keyboard Translator, (which didn't do too well in the
end), I contacted you at the time because you'd done a similar project and I
didn't want to step on your toes.
On an aside, I've enjoyed your various projects and articles over the
years.
Anyway, that's all irrelevant now. I just thought I'd let you and others
that read this group know about Bob, in case you didn't already know.

.... J (Steve)
 
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159873550.647647.28940@k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Johnny Boy wrote:
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159862663.653611.222340@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
Bob Parker wrote:
On 2 Oct 2006 13:53:41 -0700, "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com
wrote:

george@joho.com wrote:
Jaycar is much better, but sell other crap (farting keyrings) I
guess to pay their overheads but really I just see these stores
selling
a range of PIC devices a few components here and there and thats
it
for
electronics..

Rubbish.
Jaycar are selling a wider range of components than they ever have,
same with Altronics.
Just compare catalogs from 10-15 years ago.
See page 9 of the current catalog for their explaination of why
they
have the sell the farting gadgets.

Dave :)


G'day Dave,
I gave my copy to a mate. I can't find anything on the Jaycar
website explaining why they flog all those stupid toys.
Can you summarize what page 9 says, for those of us who don't
have
the catalog?

Bob

Hi Bob
No problemo.
Much quicker to photograph than type though!
http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/images/JaycarPage9.jpg

Dave :)


Hello David,
I'll check that out too. On another note, although
you've
probably forgotten, I had a discussion with you once before publishing
one
of my circuits in Silicon Chip, the AT Keyboard Translator, which I did
in
conjunction with Bob Nicol, (Microzed), in about 2000. If you didn't
know
already, Bob died last year, of a massive heart attack. He was a nice
bloke,
with a good heart, (not that good, it seems). A shame, there aren't
enough
people like him in the world.

... Johnny (alias Steve)

Hi Steve
I think I remember the discussion, but can't remember if I remember
correctly! :-/

I didn't know about Bob, sorry to hear that, sad news indeed.

Regards
Dave :)
Click to expand...
I just had a look at the page you referred to - I do understand Jaycar's
position and, to be fair, they're still way in front of DSE. So are
Altronics. They've also managed to keep a good range of hobbyist components
in stock.
.... J (Steve)
 
On Tue, 3 Oct 2006 21:52:04 +1000, "Johnny Boy" <NoSpam@Please.com>
wrote:
I just had a look at the page you referred to - I do understand Jaycar's
position and, to be fair, they're still way in front of DSE. So are
Altronics. They've also managed to keep a good range of hobbyist components
in stock.
... J (Steve)
Click to expand...

It's interesting if sad to read the Wikipedia entry about DSE at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Smith_Electronics, part of which
says:

---------------------------------------------------
Replacing the kits, books and radios are aisles of domestic products
such as kettles, coffeemakers, toasters and frypans. Although
Powerhouse stores still stock small components, tools, leads and
connectors their main emphasis is the mass markets of Harvey Norman,
JB Hi Fi and Retravision rather than the niche markets of Jaycar,
Altronics or Radio Parts.

It must be said however, that the shift of the whole company away from
practical electronics is a consequence of two factors. The first is
the declining enthusiast market. With cheap pre-assembled electronics
from China and many technically-inclined people into software and
gaming rather than hardware construction, kitbuilding has diminished
since its heyday in the 1970s and 80s when (at one point) it supported
no less than four commercial magazines.

Secondly there are the aspirations of its owner, for whom gross
turnover and profit are king. No matter how good the company is, high
turnovers cannot be sustained from a niche market. Hence the push to
appeal to 20 million Australians as opposed to 200,000 electronics
enthusiasts or less than 20,000 radio amateurs. Though some have
regretted these changes, they seem to have had the desired effect,
with Dick Smith and Powerhouse major contributors to the health of the
Woolworths group.
-----------------------------------------------

Apparently there are Australians, then there are electronics
enthusiasts and amateurs...
DSE has abandoned electronics people, so it's only reasonable that
we support the opposition.
One wonders what Dick Smith himself thinks about what Woolies have
done to his chain which was successful only because it was supported
by people like us.


Bob
 
Geoff C wrote:
Bob Parker <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in
news:d5e1i2p0bcsqis4cjchclhl5fhsvfnsqu0@4ax.com:

On 1 Oct 2006 23:13:00 -0700, "steve" <steve.mew@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia without
getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on ....

s

I usually get my stuff from Rockby Electronics in Melbourne.
http://www.rockby.com.au

Have you seen their surplus store next door? Full of all sorts of genuine
surplus stuff.
Click to expand...
What the!? I've been there (to the counter section) a couple of times
recently and I figured they'd closed the surplus section down to use it
for storage, after merging with the Huntingdale store. There are no
obvious doorways or signs pointing into that area that I can recall. Is
it still open?

It's a LONG drive there so I'm going to be mighty disappointed to find
out I could have wasted even more time and money there :)
 
Hi Dave, yeah, I for one, miss him. I believe that Margaret, (his wife),
sold the business, but have no idea who now owns it.

Anyway, that's all irrelevant now. I just thought I'd let you and others
that read this group know about Bob, in case you didn't already know.

... J (Steve)
Click to expand...
Bob passed away in June 2005, and the business was taken over by David (Surname
escapes me for now) from Chittaway Bay NSW. David is concentrating on the Pixaxe
side of things, and has let most of the other items go.

As it turned out, Bob passed away within a week of Peter Crowcroft's
(kitsrus.com) passing, but I wasn't able to confirm this until about two months
later.

Which bring me to a strange story.
About 5 or 6 years ago, one of my customers told me that Bob had passed away. I
rang Bob up to verify it, however he said he was feeling fine. :)

After this episode, I wasn't going to ring again, to see if he had died again,
when I was informed by yet another customer again.

I know you will see the funny side of that Bob.

Don...



--
Don McKenzie
E-Mail Contact Page: http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html

Now selling the Olimex range of Development boards.
Micro,TTL,USB to 1.5" color LCD http://www.dontronics.com/micro-lcd.html
USB,RS232 or TTL to VGA Monitor http://www.dontronics.com/micro-vga.html
World's smallest USB 2 TTL Conv http://www.dontronics.com/micro-usb.html
 
"rowan194" <googlegroups@sensation.net.au> wrote in
news:1159908699.764895.164010@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

Geoff C wrote:
Bob Parker <bobp.deletethis@bluebottle.com> wrote in
news:d5e1i2p0bcsqis4cjchclhl5fhsvfnsqu0@4ax.com:

On 1 Oct 2006 23:13:00 -0700, "steve" <steve.mew@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyone know where to get decent component prices in Australia
without getting ripped by Farnell, DSE, RS components and so on
....

s

I usually get my stuff from Rockby Electronics in Melbourne.
http://www.rockby.com.au

Have you seen their surplus store next door? Full of all sorts of
genuine surplus stuff.

What the!? I've been there (to the counter section) a couple of times
recently and I figured they'd closed the surplus section down to use
it for storage, after merging with the Huntingdale store. There are no
obvious doorways or signs pointing into that area that I can recall.
Is it still open?

It's a LONG drive there so I'm going to be mighty disappointed to find
out I could have wasted even more time and money there :)
Click to expand...
I went there yesterday. Next building to the north of Rockby. There is a
green door, you just go in and browse and ring a buzzer if you need
service.
 
"Don McKenzie" <look@mysig.com> wrote in message
news:4522d7db$0$32603$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...

Bob passed away in June 2005, and the business was taken over by David
(Surname
escapes me for now) from Chittaway Bay NSW. David is concentrating on the
Pixaxe
side of things, and has let most of the other items go.

As it turned out, Bob passed away within a week of Peter Crowcroft's
(kitsrus.com) passing, but I wasn't able to confirm this until about two
months
later.

Which bring me to a strange story.
About 5 or 6 years ago, one of my customers told me that Bob had passed
away. I
rang Bob up to verify it, however he said he was feeling fine. :)
Click to expand...
Hello Don, I vaguely remember Bob mentioning that he'd heard about his
own death. (Everything that I remember seems to be vague these days.) That
was about the time that we were preparing the Keyboard Translator kit, in
2000. Bob DID think it was funny. I haven't had any dealings with Microzed
since it changed hands and have never tried the PicAxe series. I usually use
raw PICs in my projects.
I'd also heard that David 'someoone' had bought the business, but my
source didn't know his surname either. Maybe he's reading these posts and
will reply.
Incidentally, one reason that I have very little time for Parallax these
days is because they did quite a number on Bob. While still leading him to
believe that he was the sole Australian distributor of their products, they
started supplying Dick Smith with the Stamp directly, whereas previously Bob
sold to them as the middle-man. They also stole the extended-memory Stamp
from us. (That wasn't too big a deal, since the Stamp series was ancient
history by then anyway.) Sounds like sour grapes, but it's the truth.

.... J (Steve)


After this episode, I wasn't going to ring again, to see if he had died
again,
when I was informed by yet another customer again.

I know you will see the funny side of that Bob.

Don...

Don McKenzie
E-Mail Contact Page: http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html

Now selling the Olimex range of Development boards.
Micro,TTL,USB to 1.5" color LCD http://www.dontronics.com/micro-lcd.html
USB,RS232 or TTL to VGA Monitor http://www.dontronics.com/micro-vga.html
World's smallest USB 2 TTL Conv http://www.dontronics.com/micro-usb.html
Click to expand...
 
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