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By H4T
#128306
Just curious - I've bought the "triple output high power RGB LED" before and had good luck (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8718), but I've seen similar items on other sites for much, much less (such as http://www.dealextreme.com/p/3w-led-emi ... d-rgb-4530). What is it that accounts for the large difference in cost between these items? For one-time projects, I don't mind buying from SparkFun, but when I start thinking about using SparkFun products for kits, the cost becomes a bit prohibitive. Just wondering if someone had some insight about why the cost is so high. Thanks!
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By itikhonov
#128314
H4T wrote:using SparkFun products for kits, the cost becomes a bit prohibitive.
It's simple. SparkFun is a "last mile" in a supply chain. Past some volume it's worth to get things from high volume suppliers like digikey or farnell. Past even higher mark it's cheaper to get directly from factory. Next mark is to buy/build own factory.
By H4T
#128319
Right, I've noticed that on Digikey as well. Does that mean that SparkFun may buy certain items at lower price breaks like 100-200, but wholesale sellers like DealsExtreme might buy 1000-2000, so they can charge less? Also, I imagine that DX has a lower profit margin on this particular item than SparkFun does, but still, the difference in prices in striking. Not trying to say that SparkFun is doing anything fishy, just trying to understand how in the world DealExtreme makes any money on the crap they sell :P
By lyndon
#128322
Beyond that, the feeling I get from Deal Extreme is that they have a pipeline into manufacturer's surplus. A lot of people report that parts from them are often substandard; LEDs don't meet spec, some parts have a lot of infant mortality, etc.

But they sure are a hardware hacker's dream come true.