SparkFun Forums

[acrimu]

I wanted to buy two atmega128 PCB's ($7.90) but I gave-up when I've seen how much is the shipping ($15.00). This is ridiculous.
I think I will build the PCB myself.

Look at futurlec.com and see how others are doing business. I bought from them a couple of times and I was very happy.

[Caffeine]

I wanted to buy two atmega128 PCB's ($7.90) but I gave-up when I've seen how much is the shipping ($15.00). This is ridiculous.
I think I will build the PCB myself.

Look at futurlec.com and see how others are doing business. I bought from them a couple of times and I was very happy.

On the 2 occasions I've ordered stuff from futurlec, they items have 1) never been shipped, and 2) shipped 2 months late after a lot of faxes (they never responded to emails, only faxes)

On the dozen or so times I've ordered from sparkfun, everything was shipped within 1 day, and arrived promptly and in perfect condition.

[BigJP]

Futurlec blows the prices are good but it takes so long to get anything you forget what you have ordered by the time it arrives.

[jrcfg]

the prices are good but it takes so long to get anything you forget what you have ordered by the time it arrives.

I agree. I've ordered from them twice, received the items in good condition but it took 3 1/2 to 4 weeks! I would rather pay a little extra and get MUCH better service.

[BigJP]

If you select usps first-class mail the shipping costs are only $3.06 on the same products. I would say that is pretty good

[acrimu]

If you select usps first-class mail the shipping costs are only $3.06 on the same products. I would say that is pretty good

This option is not available for Canada.

[sparky]

I love that our customers have Spark Fun's back 8)...

To answer your question acrimu (I dunno if we'll ever see him again) :

The $15 charge is an over-ride problem. Which ever country you reside in, our shipping calc wasn't able to figure out the proper shipping so you are referring to the $15 forced shipping amount. Feel free to email us for a quote. We quote actual published charges plus $2 for packaging/handling.

Most countries, global priority is $10-$15. Airmail is super cheap but depends on every ounce and can take 2-4 weeks. Express mail is $25 but is 3-4 day delivery. Or give Fedex or UPS a try. For a minor $54, you can have your parts in 48-72 hours.

We try really hard to keep markets open to as many people as possible. Obviously you are not an online retailer. While I have been simply blown away by how many emails I get from people all over the world, we have suffered greatly from a large amount of fraud out of India and South East Asia. It's really hard to keep everyone happy.

My best recommendation is to etch/build the PCBs yourself. This will be a great learning experience and you will someday learn just how much your time is worth.

I've never ordered from Futurelec but it sounds like they are pretty bad. We'll keep getting out orders as quickly as possible! We continue to get most orders out same day!

Best regards,
-Nathan

[acrimu]

sparky

Don't worry, you are going to see me again.

It is not my intention to do bad advertisement. I realy like you guys. It is just that lately I got very pissed off seeing that shipping and handling is so high everywhere. It wouldn't bother you to pay let's say 15 USD for S/H and when you receive the package to see that the postage paid was only 2.5 USD ?
I am in Canada, Ontario, (you know, that country just north of USA ) and it doesn't sound good for me to pay the same shipping as other countries on the other side of the planet. Many companies don't make a difference between USA and Canada when it comes to postage fees. Others are adding only 1-2 dollars more.

I use microcontrollers as a hobby, and it is not a big deal for me to wait 1-2 weeks for some components. That's why I prefer to pay less shipping for buying this kind of stuff.

See you soon!

[sparky]

Hey acrimu,

Good to hear from you!

Your right - $15 is rediculous. But we are stuck on the fence.

First off - the shipping cost calculator at checkout rarely works for international addresses. I should check on that and try to get it fixed...

Secondly - should we allow airmail? We currently turned it off because far too many customers were selecting it, and four days later, emailing to find out the tracking number and wanting to know what day it would be delivered. Obviously a problem in communication.

I appreciate your feedback! Canadian customers make up a large portion of our business.

-Nathan