I know this isn't meant to be a marketplace or ad site, but I have some very specific parts that I'm looking for that aren't carried by Arrow, Mouser, DigiKey, etc...the big players. Google searches have come up empty-handed unless I want to buy a shipping container full of them direct from China.

I'm looking for recommendations about perhaps some smaller, specialty online retailers that I don't know about, suggestions for substitutions that may be more readily available, and/or tips on some alternate places to look (e.g., a fuse may be hard to find @ Mouser because every auto repair shop has them...)

One - Is this an appropriate question to EE, and Two - What are some suggestions for phrasing so it doesn't get deleted as soliciting recommendations for commercial ventures?


No, those types of questions are not appropriate here. They just don't work well with the Q&A format of this site.


Find the vendor's distributor and/or representative covering your area. Contact them.

Alternate Octopart has a pretty good parts search engine.

  • 3
    \$\begingroup\$ If he says he's "looking for them" then "find them" is not really a good answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – stevenvh
    Jul 12 '12 at 5:07
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ @BrianCarlton that would be great if I knew a manufacturer. Let's say I'm looking for a .33uF capacitor (or something else in a wierd, nonstandard size/rating/performance spec). Who's the manufacturer? Lots of times I can't find ANYthing. If, however, someone knows of oddsizecapacitors.com and I don't, I'd love to have that information so I can continue my research. When I know a manufacturer, I can at least continue my research, to the point where I have the sales rep contact the last client who bought a 5000pc reel of part X to see if they'd sell me one. BTW, they shipped it to me for free. \$\endgroup\$
    – dwwilson66
    Jul 12 '12 at 11:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ @dwwilson66 You could use this forum to ask for tips on using a standard part in place of the 0.33uF cap or whatever weird part to get the same functionality. Generally, if you can't find a specific part there's a good reason for it. \$\endgroup\$
    – ACD
    Apr 8 '15 at 16:56

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