Mind-Blowing Ebay Electronics Deals

SteveHGraham · Post by **SteveHGraham** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 1:37 pm

I don't know if anyone here fools with electronics, but I thought I'd pass some info on.

Nothing is as annoying as needing one resistor or capacitor to finish or repair something. It's especially annoying now that Radio Shack is disappearing. It turns out Ebay has some wonderful deals for people who want a stock of basic components on hand at all times.

I got almost 3000 resistors (1% metal film) in various values for a little over half a cent each. Even if a third of them are crap, it's still a great deal compared to driving across town to pay a dollar for two resistors in a blister pack.

I also got 278 poly film caps in various values for $6.66. To fill in the low end, I got 1000 ceramic caps from China for $4.09.

I'm not knocking companies like Jameco that sell grab bags and so on, but the stuff I got is way cheaper, and it's all sorted.

For under $20, I covered about 90% of my resistor and capacitor needs for the next five years.

Sweet.

toddalin · Post by **toddalin** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:12 pm

Ebay has become my go-to for electronics now too. I used to buy through surplus like Allelectronics and Electronic Goldmine, but ther is typically a fee for the order and shipping.

Now, if you don't mind waiting, you get the stuff right from China at a fraction of surplus prices.

For example, I just got five relays for $2.50 shipped and the same relays are $1.50 each plus the fee and shipping from Allelectronics.

This is my current project..., a "universal" speaker ABX box. It uses a 4 channel remote to select speaker A, speaker B, one of the two speakers at random (speaker X), and mute the system. The system allows you to match the volume of two sets of speakers either using L-pads, by attenuating the signal between the preamp and amp when switching to the appropriate speaker, or both. With two key fobs, the remote control is <$9 with shipping.

http://www.audioheritage.org/photopost/ ... _16_27.jpg

BClemens · Post by **BClemens** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:24 pm

And if you work with Arduino or Raspberry you can buy knock offs of them and any peripheral card that you want for pennies that mimic the real thing using the 'real thing' software to program them. It's like Trump says - "China is eating our lunch".

Steggy · Post by **Steggy** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 4:12 pm

I do electronics professionally (see below pic for an example) and would NEVER purchase anything from an eBay seller unless I knew the origins of what they are selling. Electronics counterfeiting is a huge, world-wide problem, and the majority of the counterfeit crap emanates from communist China. It has gotten so bad wholesalers in the USA now offer inspection services at no charge to volume purchasers to assure them that they are getting genuine parts, not Chinese counterfeits.

It isn't just a case of getting a dodgy part. That cheap resistor, capacitor, transistor or IC could work but not within specs, causing one to spend a lot of time troubleshooting a circuit that that refuses to function as intended. For a little more money, one can get genuine parts that work as they should, avoiding the aggravation and loss of time that comes with trying to nickel and dime the cost of what is already a nickel and dime part.

: Electronic Gadget

Steggy · Post by **Steggy** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 4:13 pm

BClemens wrote:And if you work with Arduino or Blue Berry you can buy knock offs of them and any peripheral card that you want for pennies that mimic the real thing using the 'real thing' software to program them. It's like Trump says - "China is eating our lunch".

China wouldn't be "eating our lunch" if cheapskates quit buying Chinese knockoffs in an effort to save a dollar or two.

SteveHGraham · Post by **SteveHGraham** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:08 pm

As you know if you're doing this for a living, typical cheap-resistor tolerances are 10% and even higher, and they work just fine in products found all over the world. I don't care at all if my 1/2-cent 1% resistor is off by 10%. I was shopping for 10% resistors when I went to Ebay in the first place.

Now that I think about it, among tube amp builders, true cork-sniffers insist on cheesy carbon resistors with huge tolerances. They claim they have mystical qualities because the resistances wander around when they get hot. I don't use them because I read they cause shot noise. Maybe if my cheap transistors are bad, they'll put me in the cork-sniffer club.

To me, it's not a "nickel and dime" thing when the alternative is to spend fifty or sixty times as much per unit and put in half an hour each way driving to the electronics store. And having these things on hand will save me a lot of waiting, compared to mail order.

If I were making parts for drones to protect our military, I'd be all sweaty about the origin of these resistors, so I would share your concerns about quality, but I'll be using them in fun projects in my garage. If I have doubts about one, I can install it, order something less dodgy from Mouser, get the project working, and install the new resistor when it arrives. That's a win. I don't have that many weeks left on earth, so saving a week on anything is good.

I don't actually know these resistors came from China. The seller is in California. I kind of assume a 1/2-cent resistor wasn't made by an American union worker, though. Actually, I suppose those guys have killed just about all the resistor manufacturers here.

Is there really such a thing as a "counterfeit" 1/4-watt resistor? It's not like they have little Louis Vuitton symbols on them. It's not pretending to be anything but a resistor. If it works, and it's within 10% of nominal value, it's genuine as far as I'm concerned. I can always go back and change the color of the little tolerance band!

SteveHGraham · Post by **SteveHGraham** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:21 pm

I'm Googling around, and it looks like a lot of this stuff is fine, but some vendors are painting carbon resistors to look like metal film! Too funny. Maybe I'll scrape one of the resistors I receive and see what's in it.

toddalin · Post by **toddalin** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:22 pm

Sure you get out of spec parts on occasion, and it can drive you crazy until you measure their values. Caps are notorious for this.

But it comes down to even more than the cost. Some stuff just isn't available anyplace else. And if you can find it, you don't know that it didn't come from China.

SteveHGraham · Post by **SteveHGraham** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:30 pm

If I have a problem, I'll go to Paypal and make the seller eat it. That's the American way.

John Hasler · Post by **John Hasler** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 8:33 pm

BClemens wrote:And if you work with Arduino or Blue Berry you can buy knock offs of them and any peripheral card that you want for pennies that mimic the real thing using the 'real thing' software to program them. It's like Trump says - "China is eating our lunch".

a) Arduino comes from Italy.
b) It's Open Source. No such thing as a "knock off". It was explicitly intended that it be copied.

WJH · Post by **WJH** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 10:13 pm

Digikey fulfills my needs, but I must say, bangood.com has amazing deals for the r/c airplane hobby

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BClemens · Post by **BClemens** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 7:29 am

John Hasler wrote:
BClemens wrote:And if you work with Arduino or Blue Berry you can buy knock offs of them and any peripheral card that you want for pennies that mimic the real thing using the 'real thing' software to program them. It's like Trump says - "China is eating our lunch".
a) Arduino comes from Italy.
b) It's Open Source. No such thing as a "knock off". It was explicitly intended that it be copied.

Not sure what you mean....if you purchase a copied Arduino board (uno, mini, nano, maxi, & etc ) - it is a 'knock-off' and usually the clue is that it will cost about a third what the pedigree parts will cost - just like the resistors and capacitors being discussed. That's the temptation to purchase the cheap Chinese stuff. The software is open source and there are good reasons why it is, but that doesn't pertain to the manufacture of the peripheral circuit boards. China is not the only country making 'knock-off' electronic boards and devices. There are actually uno knock-offs made in home electronics shops all over the US - it is encouraged.

The Home Machinist!