While I always enjoy visiting the local electronics salvage shop, it invariably takes me hours of wading through the bulk bins to find what I am looking for, if I manage to find it at all. And even then, for a salvage shop, the prices aren't outstanding.
Last year, after spending hours trying to find a particular capacitor to repair a game monitor, I gave up navigating the maze of stacked and broken equipment and looked for an online source. Bob Roberts stocks this particular cap, but I couldn't bring myself to go to the hassle of getting and sending a mail order for one cap and I was trying to avoid bulking up the order with some of the cool stuff that he has.
Eventually, I decided to try to navigate the imposing interface on the Digikey website. I eventually found the appropriate part, along with some other odds and ends that I needed. I was a little hesitant about their UPS shipping to Canada because UPS always bends you over the sink with their brokerage fees and I didn't feel like paying $30 in fees for $25 worth of goods. Well, it turns out that Digikey handles all of the duties/taxes and only charges $8 for shipping. No fees to UPS and the package arrived within 12 hours of my placing the order.
I've ordered several times since, mostly recently last night, and have always had the same great delivery experience. Everything is packaged neatly, if a little excessively, and always arrives before noon the next day. I love Digikey!
What, you may ask, is the downside ?
When I bought my first house and was actively renovating, the Home Depot was a money magnet. I would go in at least once a weekend and buy far more than I had planned to. Sure, it all went to good use, but there was little point in even trying to budget a particular project because every visit spawned enhancements, tool purchases and new projects. Because we were a dual income family with no kids, the cost overruns weren't a big deal.
Digikey is my new Home Depot.
All I needed to order was some capacitors to bring my stock levels up so I can proceed with some monitor and board repairs. By any reasonable reckoning, that should run $20-$30 plus that wonderful $8 shipping charge. Well, by the time I had my order ready to submit, I was over 10 times that.
Fortunately for me, it is far less embarrassing to remove items from your cart at Digikey.com than it was at the Home Depot.
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