Sparkfun overpriced

I like SF, when I need something today and need to know that support (from SF or from other hobbyists) exists for a particular chip/board/etc I'll buy their product.

If I want cheap, questionable, and 3 week shipping, I can get it cheaper from China directly. The catch is that if SF didn't exist to serve us in the US with quick shipping and selecting products that they'll support to sell to us I wouldn't be able to buy the cheap products from China and use them successfully.

I've ordered a few hundred dollars in products from them (and missed the free day!!!) and have never had any problems with anything not working. I've worked with their customer service with board level questions and they've gotten back to me quickly so they clearly know the products they're selling.

What you're paying the extra dollar or two for is having a local company that speaks english selling, supporting, and acting as a one stop shop where you can get these products, which yes, do come from overseas!

Also, regarding the warranty comment, it's electronics, for everyone that's ever hooked up a capacitor/IC backwards and watching it release it's magic smoke, there's no way of knowing how/when/why it died on it's way from manufacturer to your desk.

Think about it this way, the manufacturers assure 99.9% perfection in their manufacturing and testing chain, the chance of SF shipping you dead components is tiny, the chance of you destroying components is very high, I don't blame them for not taking returns, I wouldn't either in their position :stuck_out_tongue:

YMMV

That is a bothersome trend in all consumer relations these days, you are stupid, it must have been your fault, the customer is ALWAYS wrong

Its like the week long battle with the phone company when I moved last year, we wont spend 1 second of our time with you because you must have screwed something up inside (like plugging in a DSL modem) if you agree to accept a bill we can come out and fix it for you, if we were wrong we will issue a credit (at some undisclosed future event)

I dont have the time or patience for that kind of crap, and so I told them where to stuff it and went with another company

if sparkfun automatically assumes their customer is going to screw something up, then THEY need to sit down and make a proper design that removes that week point, with the markup's they have on these things they could toss in a few diodes

I think one of the reasons that the customer is always wrong these days is because the honesty and civility in our country is on the decline. More and more, it is look out for yourself and screw the other guy. Just look at the number of lawsuits at any particular time. All of this to say that Waterppk is right, if it's an electronic device and you hooked it up, it's yours, no refund. This is the same policy in automotive and other industries as well.

I too have had good experiences with SF. I've ordered several parts and had no problems with shipping or the items I received. The complaints about pricing are a bit ignorant, I think. No one knows how much they pay for parts, manufacturing, or engineering time. They have a staff, warehouse, manufacturing facility, etc. that must be paid for. None of us knows what kind of margins they operate on. They are obviously providing a good service to a lot of people or their business wouldn't be expanding. They provide chips with pins so close together that no one could do it with an iron. That takes a very expensive machine to build those parts. Hobbyists didn't used to have access to some of those things. Now we have breakout boards. I tip my hat to them. Great job!

@flyboy - but when I could produce a part in eagle, buy parts from digikey and have it manufactured in panels at somewhere like Dorkbot for less money per part than SparkFun - there is something wrong there.

but when I could produce a part in eagle, buy parts from digikey and have it manufactured in panels at somewhere like Dorkbot for less money per part than SparkFun - there is something wrong there.

Does that include your own time and labor? Normally a hobbyist has an advantage of trading their time off against against labor costs of a commercial enterprise has to endure. So possible yours is a apple Vs oranges comparison?

Lefty

if you do it right you only have to design it once, its not like when you order from sparkfun 3 "engineers" jump right into it designing a custom ciruit and board just for your order (this aint Wendy's)

Now I know designing a board to go from tsop to dip is a real ball buster, but most companies would take a loss on that 15 minuets to bring the customer a better price and make it up in sales

if you do it right you only have to design it once, its not like when you order from sparkfun 3 "engineers" jump right into it designing a custom ciruit and board just for your order (this aint Wendy's)

Now I know designing a board to go from tsop to dip is a real ball buster, but most companies would take a loss on that 15 minuets to bring the customer a better price and make it up in sales

And to design the boards?
Write the software?
answer the phones?
pick up the trash?
empty the trash cans?
disposal service of hazmat waste ?
tooling costs?
lights?

Lawyers.

The list goes on and on when you go from a one man soldering shop in china to a corporate entity in the states. I am not defending their prices but only pointing the start of a long list of things they have to pay for prior to releasing any product.

If little johny got shocked by 5V and accidently burnt his little finger they would get sued and we as customers absorb that in R&D and the price reflects that.

I know a few of their more complex boards are designed by other people using sparfun as a distribution point, IE the UBW32

and with few to little new products and 90+ employees I am sure there is enough arms around to deal with the everyday's of office life

not saying you dont have good points, but a company of their alleged size and growth should be out there slaying all the smaller hobby shops with their good reputation, excellent support and service, and only bulk manufacture could possibly produce a price THIS good marketing

and yet its often the smaller shops who often beat them on 1 or more points, why?

I dont see a thread asking if lady ada, make, modern design etc is overpriced, and if there was, as in this thread asking if seeedstudios was, its a pretty simple non debatable thing

its a pretty simple non debatable thing

Sorry, I think it is debatable - but apparently not with you. :wink:

:stuck_out_tongue:

@graymalkin:

Correct.

You're a malicious terrorist and are actively damaging sparkfun's sales!

There's got to be a law against that. If hobby electronics were like the music business, you'd be facing a hefty lawsuit. Maybe something like 10k$ per board for potential loss of profit.

but when I could produce a part in eagle, buy parts from digikey and have it manufactured in panels at somewhere like Dorkbot for less money per part than SparkFun - there is something wrong there.

Yes but then you also have to make a few hundred which would not be cheaper than the one or two of things most people want.

Mowcius

I dont see a thread asking if lady ada, make, modern design etc is overpriced, and if there was, as in this thread asking if seeedstudios was, its a pretty simple non debatable thing

I have to disagree with you if by "make" you mean the "Makers Shed". They are way more overpriced then Sparkfun.

I have to disagree with you if by "make" you mean the "Makers Shed". They are way more overpriced then Sparkfun.

I think he's just saying he doesn't see a thread on it, not that they are not expensive.

Mowcius

I think he's just saying he doesn't see a thread on it, not that they are not expensive.

You are right, my fault ;).

not saying you dont have good points, but a company of their alleged size and growth should be out there slaying all the smaller hobby shops with their good reputation, excellent support and service, and only bulk manufacture could possibly produce a price THIS good marketing

and yet its often the smaller shops who often beat them on 1 or more points, why?

I think Sparkfun made the choice to not compete (only) on price but on quality. It's hard to compete on price with suppliers from China or with companies like Mouser and Digikey (different way of doing business).

They try to create some kind of community feeling around their brand. Sparkfun is not just a place to get your components (to much competition in that field) but more a nice place to shop. I think you should consider it to be more of a premium brand. Not like a big wholesaler where you order your LED's, Resistors, Diodes and other (small) stuff.

If a company chooses the road of competing on quality/better experience there is always discussion about the price. Best example that comes to mind is Apple ;).

Obviously, there are people who feel that their prices are reasonable enough. Supply and demand. Suppliers will charge what consumers are Willing and Able to pay.

Maybe you should compete with them. Sounds like you have it figured out already. With the amount of money they're making, you should make a killing with your pricing.

This thread reminds me of threads about Starbucks on coffee forums. Or, threads about Petco on pet forums. Or, threads about Best Buy on home electronics forums. Or, threads about Samuel Adams on beer forums.

Maybe you should compete with them. Sounds like you have it figured out already. With the amount of money they're making, you should make a killing with your pricing.

To who are you talking? :wink:

This thread reminds me of threads about Starbucks on coffee forums. Or, threads about Petco on pet forums. Or, threads about Best Buy on home electronics forums. Or, threads about Samuel Adams on beer forums.

Or threads about Apple on computer forums. Etcetera, etcetera :D.

Every niche forum has this kind of discussions :D. A lot of people are (imho rightly) willing to pay a premium for an easier shopping/product experience ;).