e015036.PDF

GENERAL INTEREST

Online

Component Shopping

track down those elusive parts

By Martin Cooke

Two years ago we published an article lamenting the passing of many of

the smaller suppliers of components and noting the rise of Internet

shopping. Some companies have since folded and others have sprung up

to serve the needs of the intrepid electronics enthusiast. We thought it

timely to pen an update on the current situation.

advent of the Internet most compo-

nent manufacturers make this infor-

mation freely available on their web-

sites and there are now many inde-

pendent sites dedicated to

supplying technical data sheets, all

the information you need is just a

download away.

Tracking down and ordering com-

ponents using the Internet should

also be much speedier and more

convenient than using traditional

methods. It seems however that

many people are cautious about giv-

ing out their credit/debit card details

on-line for fear that they will fall into

unscrupulous hands. Figures for the

year 2000 suggest that only a tiny

proportion of credit card fraud

occurred over the net. Remarkably,

your card details are far more likely

to be hi-jacked in the high street

than intercepted on the internet.

If anything does go wrong with an

Internet transaction you are pro-

tected by UK criminal and civil laws

if the company is UK based.

RS components…Not just for trade customers.

Methods of payment

How often have you been put off building a

project when you discover that it specifies

really exotic components that no supplier has

heard of?

It used to be that finding data

sheets were a problem not only for

the hobbyist but also sometimes for

professional engineers. With the

The most popular method of pay-

ment for purchases over the Internet

Elektor Electronics

5/2001

GENERAL INTEREST

is with a credit/debit card. Credit

card companies stipulate a minimum

age of 18 years whereas debit cards

can be issued at 16 if you fulfil the

banks criteria (no dosh, no card).

Recently some banks have intro-

duced credit cards to encourage cus-

tomers to make more use of the net

by offering cashback of 2% on net

transactions from its Internet shop-

ping partners. Another innovation to

increase consumer conﬁdence is the

one-use credit card number — for

each purchase you use a credit card

number that is only valid for one

transaction.

E-wallets help to make shopping

more convenient by keeping your

credit card information in a secure

area of your browser and transfer-

ring the necessary card information

(encrypted) at the moment of pur-

chase.

Most overseas web traders

accept the major credit cards and in

this case each transaction is shown

on your monthly statement along

with its conversion into sterling.

Overseas customers living out-

side the EU zone and ordering goods

from companies inside the EU will of

course not expect to pay VAT but

must pay an import duty (this varies

from country to country) and addi-

tional postage charges will be

incurred.

Maplin…The most proliﬁc high street component retailer.

enormous stock of products and has

an impressive web site with on-line

shopping and a 24hr manned order

hot line. It supplies to the trade and

also to individuals. There is a mini-

mum order value of £10.00 on credit

card orders and delivery is free. They can be

found at www.farnell.com .

If you are speciﬁcally searching for parts

for Elektor Electronics projects then a good

source is C-I Electronics based in Rotterdam,

Companies online

An increasing number of component

retailers are turning to the Internet.

Among them is Maplin Electronics .

Maplin has been in existence now

for over 25 years has almost 60

shops throughout the UK and Ireland

and an on-line catalogue

( www.maplin.co.uk ). It stocks

around 20,000 products and offers

on-line product availability check

and same day despatch. Orders val-

ued at less than £30 incur a small

handling charge — otherwise

postage is free.

RS Components have always

been suppliers to the trade but have

been catering for the needs of indi-

viduals through its Electromail

branch since 1985. Their website is

at www.rswww.com .

Leeds-based Farnell carries an

Farnell….An impressive website and excellent service.

5/2001

Elektor Electronics

GENERAL INTEREST

order value of £150.00. Their website

is at www.eurodis.com .

Spoerle is also a large European

distributor and is now part of the

Arrow group. Branches are found in

the UK and most European coun-

tries. They carry a wide range of

products and do not have any mini-

mum order value restriction. The

company does not sell on-line at pre-

sent but you can reach their website

at www.spoerle.com .

Conrad Electronics is based in

Germany and has a multilingual web

site with prices in Euros, it offers full

catalogue and on-line ordering and a

handy Euro to sterling converter on

its website at

www.conrad-electronic.com .

Happy hunting

C-I Electronics…Have been specialising in supplying Elektor Electronic kits and parts for

over ten years.

On balance, the Internet is a good

facility for the electronics enthusiast

but it pays to be cautious if you are

thinking of ordering from a new sup-

plier. Remember the golden rules:

– Always look for the company address,

country and telephone information on

the website.

– Ensure that a secure server is used

before you give details of your credit

card. (look for the key icon in

Netscape Navigator or the little yellow

padlock when using Microsoft

Explorer).

– Check the costs of postage and pack-

ing (p&p), and any minimum order

charge.

– Search newsgroups

( www.deja.com/usenet ) or sites such

as ePinions ( www.epinions.com ) to

check for any bad user feedback con-

nected with the company.

– Check your monthly statement.

The Netherlands. This company specialises

in supplying complete kits and individual

items. Although C-I Elecrtronics does not

trade on the net, its website lists kits of parts

for Elektor Electronics projects and Velleman

kits. Prices are quoted in Euros so with the

current favourable exchange rate to UK ster-

ling the prices represent good value. This

company carries a vast stock of components

and accepts the main credit cards. Orders are

made on a downloaded order form and sent

conventionally via snail-mail. Enquiries

should be made by fax or e-mail. More infor-

mation is available from their website at

www.dil-dos.com .

Greenweld Limited supply

good value components and kits

along with surplus stock items. On-

line ordering and catalogue brows-

ing can be found at

www.greenweld.co.uk .

Electrovalue Ltd stocks an

extensive range of general compo-

nents and in particular wound prod-

ucts, pot cores, ferrites etc they stock

EPCOS (formally Siemens) products

and supply to both the trade and

individuals, a minimum order charge

of £5.00 is only applicable if you pay

by credit card. On-line ordering is

currently not possible. Find them at

www.electrovalue.co.uk .

Viewcom Electronics are another firm

which specialises in the supply of kits, PCB’s

and parts for Elektor Electronics projects

along with a broad spectrum of components

supplying to both the trade and individuals.

This company does not presently have a web-

site but can be reached via email at

sales@viewcom.force9.co.uk .

All major credit/debit cards are accepted.

Distel are a company specialis-

ing in the supply of surplus stock. It

has loads of interesting products on

its web site at www.distel.co.uk so

if your thinking of building a robot to

bash the brains out of hypno-disc in

next season’s Robot Wars then this

may be a good place to start.

If you are still unsure it is worth giv-

ing the company a ring. A five-

minute call can reveal far more about

an organisation than any elegantly

crafted web page.

Not least, PCB’s, pre-pro-

grammed controllers and software

for Elektor Electronics projects, along

with technical books and much more

can be ordered on-line from our own

website at

www.elektor-electronics.co.uk .

(000146-1)

Sky Electronics (formerly Cricklewood Elec-

tronics Ltd) offer a wide range of products

and supplies to the trade and individuals. On-

line ordering is not possible at the time of

writing. They can be reached at www.sky-

electronics.co.uk

Eurodis is a large European

component distributor and has a UK

presence through HB Electronics in

Bolton. They are geared to supplying

to the trade and have a minimum

Elektor Electronics

5/2001

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