I`m in the Uk BTW.
All the big names Maplin, CPC etc, have about £5.00 handling charge
I usually look on ebay first.
For really cheap you can import from china, but that takes about 6 weeks.
My current goto site is http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/
What do you use? (in the Uk)
Hobbytronics, Rapid (usually easy to achieve the free carriage threshold!).
My orders from China normally take around two weeks to arrive.
Farnell - no handling/postage charge, but minimum order of £20 or so.
I have several:
Components: Digikey, Jameco, Tayda Electronics (cheap overseas, great for passive stuff and occasional semiconductor bargains - check out their price on MAX7219!)
Kits/Sensors: Adafruit, Sparkfun. Both are great and need our support. Honorable Mention: Polulu.
Samples: Anyone who will send me one for free, which so far is everyone except Cypress . Big thumbs-up to TI, AD, and Linear.
In USA orders from China also take about 2 weeks. It seems they send them through the Port of San Francisco for me and there USPS to Chicago.
Farnell, RS for everything Farnell hasn't got, and eBay for everything RS hasn't got... or old/weird parts.
Since it is US based, I'm not sure how much it will help you, but my preference is Mouser, though I prefer Digi-key's web interface. I will routinely use the Digi-key interface to identify parts that I will then purchase from Mouser. Mainly since I get better service from Mouser.
Some exceptional bargains on things can be found at Electrodragon. When I start comparing prices on things "commonly" stocked by several different vendors I generally find Electrodragon the least expensive and they have an 8 day shipping method that is consistent.
http://www.electrodragon.com/?f=2. Take a look, You might be surprised, like 433 MHz OOK transmitters and receivers for $1.80... A Pair.
Doc
Docedison:
Some exceptional bargains on things can be found at Electrodragon. When I start comparing prices on things "commonly" stocked by several different vendors I generally find Electrodragon the least expensive and they have an 8 day shipping method that is consistent.
Electrodragon - Millions of prototyping stuffs online! - ElectroDragon. Take a look, You might be surprised, like 433 MHz OOK transmitters and receivers for $1.80... A Pair.Doc
For a hodgepodge "let's check what is new this week" type store, which is what I think Electrodragon is, DealExtreme (www.dealextreme.com) is also a good bet. I have bought from both, Electrodragon at your suggetion and Dealextreme as suggested by someone else. Dealextreme has a sensor kit which would be a godsend for a new Arduino enthusiast at an unbeatable price.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/arduno-37-in-1-sensor-module-kit-black-142834?item=2
I have placed several orders from http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/ Great prices and good shipping times.
That is one neat kit especially for a noOb, I roll my own and those things don't look really re-rollable. I like Electrodragon just because it is a "Hodgepodge" It's a place that really separates the "Electronic" men from the boy's. Electrodragon seems to be happy with a 100% markup... unlike most of the Ebay Vendors. Ebay's vendors were what got me into Arduino... I have a lot of experience with Pic processors and I was originally going to make/buy a board for the Amicus project because I have a lot of basic experience, Ebay made me a believer in Arduino because of all the Arduino parts for sale. I like Terry Kings store "Sunshine Electronics" slow shipping but really great prices. I bought a nice DVM for my son... (he want's my Fluke 179). I like Majenko's Site although I haven't purchased from him yet. Crossroads is another "Real" place to do business as he really tries to sell what he backs up, I''m Impressed, Totally. I do a lot of shopping before I buy. It's a great way to pass time and always interesting... find a lot of places unfortunately that are a little short of Ethical. Sure Electronics is one, I bought a PIC 18F2540? Low Power Demo board from them that has a design fault that blocks the ICSP from working and apparently they are aware of it. After 5 back and forth email sessions with pictures and sound... they told me to ship it back so they could "Determine" what if anything was wrong with it. They were rather skeptical of my claims to the point of rudeness. I tossed it as there was nothing worth salvaging. Another one is Sainsmart, I've never seen Anything there that I couldn't buy somewhere else cheaper and what they sell looks really shabby, There is also the contribution that they (Sainsmart) really seem to generate a lot of traffic in this part of the Forum... IMO
Doc