Just got an e-mail from AVNET: Free 2-day shipping to Continental US/Canada on all orders over $10 and up to 10 pounds until Sept 30.
Enter code AVNETEXPRESS on the Order Summary Page.
Sounds like a deal! Thanks for the notice.
What kind of things do you order from AVNET. I've never ordered anything from them, and it was not clear to me from their website what I might want to buy.
I have not purchased anything from them yet. I had been looking for MAXIM parts from them at one point, they were out of what I wanted tho.
I've used them for a couple of bulk component orders - they are roughly comparable to Mouser or Digi-Key in terms of turnaround, customer service, etc. At least at the small volumes that I purchase at.
Thanks for the Tip!
"The coupon " AVNETEXPRESS " is not valid for items in your shopping cart. " ... bummer.
Since we're on the topic... use the code TAKE15 for 15% off your order at Newark/Element14
Oooh - nice find.
My first AVNETEXPRESS experience...
I ordered 15 of these...
http://avnetexpress.avnet.com/store/em/EMController/Microcontroller/Atmel/ATTINY84V-10PU/_/R-4517332/A-4517332/An-0?action=part&catalogId=500201&langId=-1&storeId=500201&listIndex=-1
Website...
• Search works OK.
• The parts are Google indexed; just add "site:avnetexpress.avnet.com" to the search.
• Many part descriptions are too short / abbreviated.
• Long password (32 characters) caused a problem. I had to reset the password and use something shorter.
• They have a bug in their cart. I was having trouble deciding how many processors to buy. The third time I updated the count, the website reported the part was no longer available. The listing indicated 39 available but the cart refused to let me proceed with any included. I tried a few hours later and the problem had cleared.
• Their website is noticeably slower than Digi-Key's and Mouser's.
Price...
• Overall, they appear to be competitive with other vendors.
• Items tagged with a $ are "excess inventory". Prices on these items (like the one I bought) seem to be very low.
• They have offices all over the country (U.S.) so expect to pay sales tax.
Shipping...
• FedEx options
My order...
• The order was placed Saturday evening and arrived in the mail Thursday.
• Total cost: $33.66 (2.2440 per processor delivered)
• Properly packaged (anti-static tube and bag)
Avnet Express was actually the source of the overpackaging hilarity from this blog post:
http://ruggedcircuits.com/blog/?p=12
Our experiences match up that of Coding Badly, but there is one more thing to watch out for. If during the checkout process you see "Products will ship from multiple warehouses" or something like that, get ready to pay shipping cost for EACH shipment they send out from a different warehouse! What you thought was $8 in shipping can easily turn into $16, $24, etc. charged to your credit card with no notice to you. There was even one case where Qty. 200 of one product was done with one Qty. 100 shipment followed by another Qty. 100 shipment and shipping cost was charged on each one.
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The Gadget Shield: accelerometer, RGB LED, IR transmit/receive, speaker, microphone, light sensor, potentiometer, pushbuttons
They definitely over-packed. The tube was twice the size needed, the bag was big enough for 1000 processors, and a dozen long-stem roses would fit in the box (which was a disappoint for the wife).