pcb.com - experiences / shipping costs?

R

Robbo

Guest
Has anyone any experiences with http://www.pcbcart.com/

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On their
site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they can't be
exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges for a
small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or customs / duty
issues incoming to Aust.

TIA.
 
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:da8917e1-e20a-41b7-abec-8289ce301174@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
On Mar 16, 5:36 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/

Yep, I've used them quite a few times now for my own personal projects
and have been recommending them.

Prices are very good, service (technical and sales) is excellent,
quality is good, and they have a big range of production options. For
instance I got a black solder mask with gold plate and 0.5mm thickness
no problems. No problems with slots, cutouts, and other special
requests. If they have any technical queries/problems they email you
straight away.
I've even had them make a front panel for me, no problems at all.

They deliver on the exact day they say they will.

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On
their
site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they can't be
exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges for
a
small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or customs /
duty
issues incoming to Aust.

They gave me exact costing, as part of the checkout process from
memory.
They recommend DHL and it has cost me $19.50 each time (tiny boards in
a small bubble wrap packet).
You can combine jobs and pay the one postage no problems, it's all
part of the automatic cart system.
I used Fedex once thinking it might be quicker (it's not) and that
cost me $24.38
I'd recommend DHL.
No problems with customs or anything else. You get a tracking number
too, which they email you when it ships.

They are brilliant, ordering PCB's really is just like using a
shopping cart.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Cheers Dave - exactly what I wanted to hear! :)
 
On Mar 16, 5:36 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/
Click to expand...
Yep, I've used them quite a few times now for my own personal projects
and have been recommending them.

Prices are very good, service (technical and sales) is excellent,
quality is good, and they have a big range of production options. For
instance I got a black solder mask with gold plate and 0.5mm thickness
no problems. No problems with slots, cutouts, and other special
requests. If they have any technical queries/problems they email you
straight away.
I've even had them make a front panel for me, no problems at all.

They deliver on the exact day they say they will.

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On their
site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they can't be
exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges for a
small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or customs / duty
issues incoming to Aust.
Click to expand...
They gave me exact costing, as part of the checkout process from
memory.
They recommend DHL and it has cost me $19.50 each time (tiny boards in
a small bubble wrap packet).
You can combine jobs and pay the one postage no problems, it's all
part of the automatic cart system.
I used Fedex once thinking it might be quicker (it's not) and that
cost me $24.38
I'd recommend DHL.
No problems with customs or anything else. You get a tracking number
too, which they email you when it ships.

They are brilliant, ordering PCB's really is just like using a
shopping cart.

Dave.
 
"Robbo" <flakey@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:47dcbfff$0$6839$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
Has anyone any experiences with http://www.pcbcart.com/

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On
their site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they
can't be exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges for
a small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or customs /
duty issues incoming to Aust.

TIA.


I've been using them regularly for over a year. No problems or hassles, very
Click to expand...
reliable and do an excellent job.
On one occassion the made my 200 boards with green solder mask, I'd ordered
white. No problem, within 7 days they had delivered the 200 with white
solder mask - no charge for replacement boards or delivery.
Easy to deal with.
 
I've also used them many times now, maybe 20 times. They have been
absolutely fantastic.



Small problems to date:

1. Selected no overlay on their web but the boards came with overlay. I had
to pay for a second batch but they gave me $50 off the next order.

2. FedEx can ship the parcel in 3 days but the local driver does not know
where my building is, so I now use DHL or UPS.

3. Their ISP seems to be rather unreliable. The website can be down for days
on end. (It was down yesterday, and no email communications worked)

4. Watch out for the Chinese holiday periods.

But good points far outweigh the bad:

1. Cheap
2. Quick
3. Great quality
4. lots of finish options
5. Accept protel pcb files
6. electrical testing of all boards
7. pretty much always on time
8. they ask me questions if something does not look quite right.
 
"Phil in Melbourne" <reply@tonewsgroup> wrote in message
news:47dfd675$0$8437$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
I've also used them many times now, maybe 20 times. They have been
absolutely fantastic.



Small problems to date:

1. Selected no overlay on their web but the boards came with overlay. I
had to pay for a second batch but they gave me $50 off the next order.

2. FedEx can ship the parcel in 3 days but the local driver does not know
where my building is, so I now use DHL or UPS.

3. Their ISP seems to be rather unreliable. The website can be down for
days on end. (It was down yesterday, and no email communications worked)

4. Watch out for the Chinese holiday periods.

But good points far outweigh the bad:

1. Cheap
2. Quick
3. Great quality
4. lots of finish options
5. Accept protel pcb files
6. electrical testing of all boards
7. pretty much always on time
8. they ask me questions if something does not look quite right.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback Phil. I'm going to use them.
 
"UPhuel" <U_Phuel@Phoolish.com> wrote in message
news:uB7Dj.26384$421.17559@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
"Robbo" <flakey@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:47dcbfff$0$6839$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
Has anyone any experiences with http://www.pcbcart.com/

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On
their site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they
can't be exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges for
a small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or customs /
duty issues incoming to Aust.

TIA.


I've been using them regularly for over a year. No problems or hassles,
very reliable and do an excellent job.
On one occassion the made my 200 boards with green solder mask, I'd
ordered white. No problem, within 7 days they had delivered the 200 with
white solder mask - no charge for replacement boards or delivery.
Easy to deal with.
Click to expand...
Ordered! Delivery is scheduled for March 29th which is a Saturday - I opted
for DHL - does any one know offhand if they deliver on the weekend or does
delivery roll over to the next business day - Monday?
TIA
 
"David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a1ce9652-6baf-4b71-ae3f-f6877ca59a04@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
On Mar 25, 8:49 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
"UPhuel" <U_Ph...@Phoolish.com> wrote in message

news:uB7Dj.26384$421.17559@news-server.bigpond.net.au...





"Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:47dcbfff$0$6839$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On
their site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they
can't be exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges
for
a small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or
customs /
duty issues incoming to Aust.

TIA.

I've been using them regularly for over a year. No problems or hassles,
very reliable and do an excellent job.
On one occassion the made my 200 boards with green solder mask, I'd
ordered white. No problem, within 7 days they had delivered the 200
with
white solder mask - no charge for replacement boards or delivery.
Easy to deal with.

Ordered! Delivery is scheduled for March 29th which is a Saturday - I
opted
for DHL - does any one know offhand if they deliver on the weekend or
does
delivery roll over to the next business day - Monday?
TIA

Normally it rolls over.
But you can get weekends if you pay extra and pre-arrange it I
believe.
Keep us updated!

Dave.
Click to expand...

That was a quick reply! I just want to make sure I am around on delivery
day - it can be a pain trying to catch up with couriers (and I don't think
they like it either.....)

I'll post an update / review after I receive the boards. Thanks Dave.

r.
 
On Mar 25, 8:49 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
"UPhuel" <U_Ph...@Phoolish.com> wrote in message

news:uB7Dj.26384$421.17559@news-server.bigpond.net.au...





"Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:47dcbfff$0$6839$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On
their site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they
can't be exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges for
a small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or customs /
duty issues incoming to Aust.

TIA.

I've been using them regularly for over a year. No problems or hassles,
very reliable and do an excellent job.
On one occassion the made my 200 boards with green solder mask, I'd
ordered white. No problem, within 7 days they had delivered the 200 with
white solder mask - no charge for replacement boards or delivery.
Easy to deal with.

Ordered! Delivery is scheduled for March 29th which is a Saturday - I opted
for DHL - does any one know offhand if they deliver on the weekend or does
delivery roll over to the next business day - Monday?
TIA
Click to expand...
Normally it rolls over.
But you can get weekends if you pay extra and pre-arrange it I
believe.
Keep us updated!

Dave.
 
On Mar 25, 9:06 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
"David L. Jones" <altz...@gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:a1ce9652-6baf-4b71-ae3f-f6877ca59a04@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...



On Mar 25, 8:49 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
"UPhuel" <U_Ph...@Phoolish.com> wrote in message

news:uB7Dj.26384$421.17559@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

"Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:47dcbfff$0$6839$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/

PCB pricing looks good and comments from other users are positive. On
their site the shipping costs are not very specific - yes I know they
can't be exact, indicative would be good...

I'm a bit wary fo FEDEX / UPS shipping costs, I've seen $100+ charges
for
a small packages from US -> Aust. Any experiences / gotcha's or
customs /
duty issues incoming to Aust.

TIA.

I've been using them regularly for over a year. No problems or hassles,
very reliable and do an excellent job.
On one occassion the made my 200 boards with green solder mask, I'd
ordered white. No problem, within 7 days they had delivered the 200
with
white solder mask - no charge for replacement boards or delivery.
Easy to deal with.

Ordered! Delivery is scheduled for March 29th which is a Saturday - I
opted
for DHL - does any one know offhand if they deliver on the weekend or
does
delivery roll over to the next business day - Monday?
TIA

Normally it rolls over.
But you can get weekends if you pay extra and pre-arrange it I
believe.
Keep us updated!

Dave.

That was a quick reply! I just want to make sure I am around on delivery
day - it can be a pain trying to catch up with couriers (and I don't think
they like it either.....)
Click to expand...
I get all my stuff delivered to the front desk receptionist at work,
much more convenient!
Gotta be careful with couriers at home addresses, many of them will
charge you extra if they can't deliver.

Dave.
 
Final on PCB.com as a supplier:

Boards turned up on time (Monday AM), tracked from China to Oz via DHL
tracking number etc.
Vacuum packed with dessicant.
Quality looks good (2 layer, 1 silk basic board).
Price was v/good.

1st one built works fine - I'll use them again.
 
On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:33:26 -0700 (PDT), "David L. Jones" <altzone@gmail.com>
wrote:

On Mar 16, 5:36 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/

Yep, I've used them quite a few times now for my own personal projects
and have been recommending them.

Prices are very good, service (technical and sales) is excellent,
quality is good, and they have a big range of production options. For
instance I got a black solder mask with gold plate and 0.5mm thickness
no problems. No problems with slots, cutouts, and other special
requests. If they have any technical queries/problems they email you
straight away.
I've even had them make a front panel for me, no problems at all.

They deliver on the exact day they say they will.
Click to expand...
David, I'm curious how they size PTH's. I've been burned in the past trying new
suppliers on a job, only to find their approach and my expectation differ and I
get useless boards.

For a hole shown as say 32 thou, some fabs drill 32 thou (or their nearest 0.1mm
size up) and then plate down, so the final hole is almost invariably less than
32 thou. Others allow for the plating build and oversize the hole accordingly.

Their chineselish KB/FAQ at
http://pcbcart.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=43

says:
"What are your standard hole sizes? Are they finished size (after plate) or
drill size (before plate)?
Our standard drill tooling size is from 0.5mm to 6mm with 0.1mm step increase,
we have no extra cost for more drill tooling. You could indicate hole size with
finished size (after plate) that we will consider plating and select proper
drill size"

Have you worked out what they *actually* do?
 
On Apr 4, 7:19 pm, budgie <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:33:26 -0700 (PDT), "David L. Jones" <altz...@gmail.com
wrote:

On Mar 16, 5:36 pm, "Robbo" <fla...@nospam.com> wrote:
Has anyone any experiences withhttp://www.pcbcart.com/

Yep, I've used them quite a few times now for my own personal projects
and have been recommending them.

Prices are very good, service (technical and sales) is excellent,
quality is good, and they have a big range of production options. For
instance I got a black solder mask with gold plate and 0.5mm thickness
no problems. No problems with slots, cutouts, and other special
requests. If they have any technical queries/problems they email you
straight away.
I've even had them make a front panel for me, no problems at all.

They deliver on the exact day they say they will.

David, I'm curious how they size PTH's. I've been burned in the past trying new
suppliers on a job, only to find their approach and my expectation differ and I
get useless boards.

For a hole shown as say 32 thou, some fabs drill 32 thou (or their nearest 0.1mm
size up) and then plate down, so the final hole is almost invariably less than
32 thou. Others allow for the plating build and oversize the hole accordingly.

Their chineselish KB/FAQ athttp://pcbcart.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&...

says:
"What are your standard hole sizes? Are they finished size (after plate) or
drill size (before plate)?
Our standard drill tooling size is from 0.5mm to 6mm with 0.1mm step increase,
we have no extra cost for more drill tooling. You could indicate hole size with
finished size (after plate) that we will consider plating and select proper
drill size"

Have you worked out what they *actually* do?
Click to expand...
I have not actually measured the holes I've got, but based on expected
fit, they are near enough to my specified finished hole size.

They (not so) clearly expect you to provide a finished hole size, as
the majority of manufacturers do.
After Chinglish translation I think you'll find that "You could"
should be "You should" in the stated paragraph.

Dave.
 
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