> Maybe there's another well-known retail site that caters to that type of vendor but it certainly isn't Amazon (or Walmart).
Massdrop is a possible alternative. They have a thriving audio enthusiast community and long fulfillment times for custom/semi-custom orders are not uncommon.
I don't know, lots of their electronics stuff is pretty cheap for a hobbyist, even at retail prices. Unfortunately shipping from NYC to the west coast is either slow or expensive. It would be nice if they had a good west coast distributor.
When I used to work at a modular synth company (and was also building/designing lots of DIY synths) we would usually use OshPark, which are domestic, but it was certainly cheaper and quicker to use a service like JLCPCB from china.
All sorts of parts can be surprisingly hard to find. I've been working on a radio product where the 16-way channel selector switch had to be specially ordered from China, while everything else came from Digikey.
If you are looking for something already built, the eBay/aliexpress shops of the Shenzhen companies often have the option of selling you a complete amplifier made up of their modules. Which will probably end up cheaper than getting all the parts yourself...
Dunno elsewhere but in France pretty solid fist results on both Google and DDG referring to element hardware from matrix audio (founded 2009). Look like once a legal team enjoyed the fun of legal dispute they always ask for more...
I wonder if it's down to having an opportunity to negotiate the price. It's either that, or things like handling get calculated to fine points - a single screw being more expensive than a box of screws, for example. Shipping is complicated as well. Maybe it's about setting up invoicing accounts as well?
Anyway, lots of barriers, makes you think it's either a requirement that I as a layperson don't understand, or a hole in the market.
That said, what about German electronics parts sites like Conrad or Reichelt?
With non-consumer electronics companies, good luck. Usually you have to go through a distributor.
Also I don't think the new VLS-128 is shipping to most normal people yet - it's not on their website and the article mentions that it's a preview. Maybe the title is a bit misleading.
either domestic or overseas - whatever can give us high quality and low price. i have currently been talking to factories in china, but our prototypes have all been made locally.
any times on finding a good intermediary? i've talked to xpicorp.com, who have seemed helpful, and i've tried pch international, but got transferred around their phone system.
lcsc.com. But keep in mind that their prices for Western companies ICs is often worse than DigiKey/Mouser. The passives and connectors are a lot cheaper.
Are there any well-known purveyors? I've been thinking of developing components to sell recently and was looking for some examples of what's already on the market to compare and contrast.
I don't know where you're planning to get it manufactured, but I can recommend a CM in the UK that I used for my own Kickstarter project (vela.io) and have continued to do so for multiple rounds of reorders. I originally found them via an intro from another indie hardware maker who sells high end portable speakers. If you want a chat, send me a DM on Twitter where my username is the same.
Is that good or bad? Do you want the likes of adafruit / sparkfun and similar to exist or do you just want to buy everything direct from the parts suppliers at the source? Neither answer is perfect.
If you choose direct from the supplier then don't expect the same level of support as adafruit since you've voted away with your purchasing power any sufficient margin to support it.
Most of the benefits the locals provide are tutorials, support and shorter delivery from local inventory.
I have their T-Echo and several T-Beam and T-Display-S3. I'm pretty happy with them so far, but have to admit that none of my projects is finished and so far I just have been playing around.
I'm based in Germany and delivery from their German warehouse was pretty fast, some parts came from China but didn't take much longer.
They don't ship batteries though so you have to get them elsewhere.
This was a bit of a challenge for me because I had no prior experience with industrial type batteries and the market is confusing. I was also afraid of fakes that, in the worst case, explode in my face or burn my place down. I finally ordered some from the Netherlands which have not exploded so far.
Anyways, I learned a ton for next to no money, so I can definitely recommend the devices mentioned above for educational purposes.
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