is Futurlec reliable? (wrt fake parts)

[asdf]

I was looking for a supplier of low noise jfets and found some
good prices at Futurlec (.com). Never purchased from them but
I recall adding their shop to the bookmarks after reading favorable
comments about them. However some prices seem a bit too low
to be true, so the question is how much are they reliable and
if I can purchase without problems. Any good/bad experiences?
Thanks!

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <o2q0hl$sr$1@gioia.aioe.org>, asdf <asdf@nospam.com> wrote:

I was looking for a supplier of low noise jfets and found some
good prices at Futurlec (.com). Never purchased from them but
I recall adding their shop to the bookmarks after reading favorable
comments about them. However some prices seem a bit too low
to be true, so the question is how much are they reliable and
if I can purchase without problems. Any good/bad experiences?
Thanks!

I haven't dealt with them myself, but was rather put off by the
significant number of very negative reports that seem to be floating
around out there on the net. Searching on "Futurelec review" is
enlightening. Their rating with the New York BBB... not comforting.

Some people seem to swear by them, having gotten just what they
ordered. Others swear *at* them, saying that they'd ordered parts
which then turned out (after the fact) to be "out of stock" or which
showed up very late, if at all. Customer service doesn't appear to be
their strong point.

I decided to stick with Mouser and DigiKey and Newark and similar
suppliers.

 

[Computer Nerd Kev]

asdf <asdf@nospam.com> wrote:

I was looking for a supplier of low noise jfets and found some
good prices at Futurlec (.com). Never purchased from them but
I recall adding their shop to the bookmarks after reading favorable
comments about them. However some prices seem a bit too low
to be true, so the question is how much are they reliable and
if I can purchase without problems. Any good/bad experiences?
Thanks!

I've bought a few things off them in the past, not so many lately
as they haven't been quite cheap enough to be worth it since the
USD-AUD exhange rate moved back from its flirt with parity.

I think they always had what they advertised when I ordered, no
wait I did get a refund for something out of stock once. It was
a bit of a battle to get that out of them, but I think I might
have been complaining to the wrong Email address. They refunded
my payment in AUD (they had a special Australian site back then,
and I'm pretty sure they're an Australian business outsourcing
all their operations to Thailand) as the same value in USD, so
I actually made a bit of profit on the transaction.

Oh, that's right. I was offered a refund, or could wait 6 months
until they got in more stock.

Components didn't scream fake. I think some ICs came in branded
tubes. I wouldn't trust their electrolytic caps though.

From memory, it could take a few weeks for them to post
an order. You won't hear anything unless you ask, and ask the
right Email address at that. I think there are different people
who deal with different stages of the order, they don't talk to
each other often - I think you usually want to respond to whichever
address sent you the latest Email about the order. None of my orders
disappeared into the darkness though.

You might want to nag them to tell you when your order has been
posted. They won't tell you anything unless you ask, including
that an item has been put on 6 month back order (see above).

If you pay with Paypal, you have the protection of their claims
process as well.

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