Futurlec opinions?

JVanDe7 · Post by **JVanDe7** » 19 Mar 2012, 21:59

I ordered a transistor from them many moons ago and I feel like I should've just walked to their store and picked the damn thing up on foot. I live in Chicago but it would probably be quicker than waiting for the mailman to bring it.

Is this typical for them? If so, I'll just stop buying from them. I'll forget what the hell I bought the thing for by the time it actually shows up...

mictester · Post by **mictester** » 19 Mar 2012, 22:10

JVanDe7 wrote:I ordered a transistor from them many moons ago and I feel like I should've just walked to their store and picked the damn thing up on foot. I live in Chicago but it would probably be quicker than waiting for the mailman to bring it.

Is this typical for them? If so, I'll just stop buying from them. I'll forget what the hell I bought the thing for by the time it actually shows up...

Just one transistor? The postage charge will be crazy!

I order from them frequently, and their delivery times are variable - the best was five days, and the worst was eighteen days. My orders average (roughly) $150, and I mostly buy switches, pots, sockets, a few ICs, resistors and capacitors. Their prices are usually excellent, and they are seldom out of stock of any parts I want. I have NEVER received an incorrect order from them.

JVanDe7 · Post by **JVanDe7** » 19 Mar 2012, 22:15

Yeah but I don't mind paying a few bucks for shipping if I need that one part. It was a BC109C transistor and I couldn't find it cheaper anyplace else, was in a hurry, placed my order and now I'm wondering wtf happened.

On March 7th I got the shipment email. It says 7-10 days shipping.

12 days later... nothing received. If I don't get it this week I'm going to just order from someone else, cut my losses, never order from Futurlec again. I guess I should have researched their location before ordering. Where are they anyways? The north pole?

Greenmachine · Post by **Greenmachine** » 20 Mar 2012, 02:11

they take awhile.

I'm in montreal, it took between three and four weeks to arrive. hope that helps.

Scruffie · Post by **Scruffie** » 20 Mar 2012, 02:21

14 days is the average for me, tayda comes no faster though.

Also, they can hold orders if a part is out of stock and not tell you so you do have to e-mail them if shipping info isn't updated and you just want them to send it without the part.

blackbunny · Post by **blackbunny** » 20 Mar 2012, 03:09

JVanDe7 wrote: I guess I should have researched their location before ordering. Where are they anyways? The north pole?

The two shipments I have received were sent from Bangkok, Thailand and took nearly 3 weeks to get to my part of Australia. Their head office is in New South Wales, Australia, and they have offices in New York and London.

They have been mostly accurate in supplying what I ordered, except one time about a year ago when they sent a bunch of 1n60 Schottky-type diodes instead of the 1n34 Germanium diodes I ordered.
They never answered my emails or supplied 1n34's, so I guess they don't actually have any 1n34s.

Scruffie · Post by **Scruffie** » 20 Mar 2012, 03:29

blackbunny wrote:
JVanDe7 wrote: I guess I should have researched their location before ordering. Where are they anyways? The north pole?
The two shipments I have received were sent from Bangkok, Thailand and took nearly 3 weeks to get to my part of Australia. Their head office is in New South Wales, Australia, and they have offices in New York and London.

They have been mostly accurate in supplying what I ordered, except one time about a year ago when they sent a bunch of 1n60 Schottky-type diodes instead of the 1n34 Germanium diodes I ordered.
They never answered my emails or supplied 1n34's, so I guess they don't actually have any 1n34s.

Nah, the 1N34As they send are always Schottky, I assume they don't actually have germanium, this has come up before.

Only issue i've had with them parts wise was I once got some random chip (think it was for telephone lines when I looked it up) instead of a PT2399 and that's in about 5-10 orders of probably about $300 worth.

mojah63 · Post by **mojah63** » 20 Mar 2012, 09:07

Yeah the shipping time is 1 to 3 weeks. You never know... My last order posted from
Germany. Tayda has been faster for me but you never know. The stuff is coming from halfway
around the world.

LucifersTrip · Post by **LucifersTrip** » 20 Mar 2012, 10:10

I stopped ordering from them about a year and a half ago. Back then, to the US, it would ALWAYS take over a month to get my orders...up to 6 weeks. In addition, they held up my orders (I usually ordered $50-100 worth) for sometimes up to 2 weeks to backorder unavailable items without telling me...even though I told them to ship only what was available.

Back then, their customer service wasn't great. They didn't have anyone that spoke great English...It was hard to get a straight answer...and the reply time was usually slow.

I stopped ordering because they missed items in my last order and never replaced them, even though I wrote numerous times.
They also offered me credit for defective items from a previous order...and never came through.

If they've gotten better now, cool...but it will be hard to compete with Tayda.

I miss them for one item only, which I haven't found elsewhere at a reasonable price.
http://www.futurlec.com/LED/Red_2mm_LED.shtml

===================
found my last order dates...

To: amp@futurlec.com
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 5:02 PM
Subject: Re: Order A178984
Hello Amp,
I have updated the credit card info. Please charge & ship.
==================================
Subject: Order Despatch - 178984
"Futurlec Orders" <orders@futurlec.com>
To: lucifer@lordsatan.com
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2010 10:17 PM

Dear Sir,
Your order as per the above order number has already been shipped by Post
The shipping receipt number is RR 95259976 5 SG
Your order should arrive in 7-10 days
Many Thanks for shopping with Futurlec.
Best Regards,
Order Handling Manager
Futurlec

...and my last letter to them:

Dear Sir,
Thank you for waiting 2 months to ship my order. It is very good business.
Best Regards

rocklander · Post by **rocklander** » 20 Mar 2012, 10:46

Scruffie wrote:14 days is the average for me, tayda comes no faster though.

Also, they can hold orders if a part is out of stock and not tell you so you do have to e-mail them if shipping info isn't updated and you just want them to send it without the part.

I've found (to NZ) tayda marginally faster... futurlec generally 2 weeks after they change he status from [ordered] to [shipped] but that transition can take a few days or longer unless I give them an email nudge. their prices are excellent, and pots are great... had a few messed up orders, but they fixed them. I recommend them, but would never buy their 'cheap' audio sockets again.. complete rubbish... overall I'm in favour of them.

JVanDe7 · Post by **JVanDe7** » 20 Mar 2012, 13:01

I guess they haven't exactly done me wrong. But yeah, I won't be a repeat customer. They were up front about the wait time for shipping (7-10 business days). Just really frustrating to wait several weeks for a part but asd I just said, it's mostly my fault for choosing them. Should've done my research.

Dr Tony Balls · Post by **Dr Tony Balls** » 20 Mar 2012, 13:31

I live in new york and maybe 3 weeks was the longest ive had to wait. probably the shortest was a week.

All in all, I love Futurlec. Its the only place here to get cheap vero, so i kinda have to love it.

culturejam · Post by **culturejam** » 20 Mar 2012, 13:45

Futurlec kinda sucks. Customer service/communication is just terrible. Shipping times are horrendous. Pricing is no better than Tayda, which is a much better outfit, in my opinion.

blackbunny · Post by **blackbunny** » 20 Mar 2012, 14:00

JVanDe7 wrote:I ordered a transistor from them many moons ago and I feel like I should've just walked to their store and picked the damn thing up on foot.

Of course, I'm now curious to know what type of transistor you are waiting for....and what you want to do with it?

LucifersTrip wrote:Subject: Order Despatch - 178984
"Futurlec Orders" <orders@futurlec.com>
To: lucifer@lordsatan.com

Great email address Lucifers Trip! Is your domain name for real?

Futurlec shipping is a bit patchy, but they do some things very well; for example, I got a big batch of 2SK117's from Futurlec at about 1/3 the cost of 2SK117s from RS Components, so Futurlec saved me lots of money, making the delays worthwhile. Their 16mm PCB mount pots are an exact fit for Marshall JCM900 and first series Valvestate amps, again at about 1/3 the price that the Australian Marshall importer charges - if they have them in stock.

rocklander · Post by **rocklander** » 20 Mar 2012, 19:15

JVanDe7 wrote:Just really frustrating to wait several weeks for a part but asd I just said, it's mostly my fault for choosing them. Should've done my research.

you'd not be happy living where I do then... there's just little to no access to electronics stuff without waiting for it to be posted

sanction13 · Post by **sanction13** » 20 Mar 2012, 19:20

I've done numerous orders through futurelec. First order I waited a week and order wasn't shipped, sent an email asking why. Received a response saying 1 or 2 parts were on back order, would i like to cancel those parts which i did and the order arrived a week or so later. I was upset that i wasn't informed of the back order (standard practice for other suppliers) so sent an email having a whinge to which i received no response.
Every order I have placed since has been followed by a status request email a couple of days later, back ordered parts canceled and order shipped and recieved within 2 weeks.

In summary, they aren't bad to deal with, you just need to stay on their back if you need parts quickly!! Their prices are worth the issues!

Hides-His-Eyes · Post by **Hides-His-Eyes** » 20 Mar 2012, 19:36

Tayda were a godsend when they arrived; the prices of futurlec and half the shipping times

LucifersTrip · Post by **LucifersTrip** » 20 Mar 2012, 20:17

blackbunny wrote:
LucifersTrip wrote:Subject: Order Despatch - 178984
"Futurlec Orders" <orders@futurlec.com>
To: lucifer@lordsatan.com

Great email address Lucifers Trip! Is your domain name for real?

yes, I actually own that domain...I had to buy it when I saw it was unregistered

I got a big batch of 2SK117's from Futurlec at about 1/3 the cost of 2SK117s from RS Components, so Futurlec saved me lots of money

same price at Tayda
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/catalog ... /?q=2SK117

Dirk_Hendrik · Post by **Dirk_Hendrik** » 22 Mar 2012, 17:21

Problem with Tayda is the far smaller assortment of stuff they sell. Shipping is rather quick and very affordable.

Futurlec does carry some great stuff when it comes to caps, pots and logic gates.
but the shipping..... how can you get sooo slow!?

JVanDe7 · Post by **JVanDe7** » 22 Mar 2012, 21:01

Got my Futurlec order today. It came from Hong Kong. Crisis averted. Lesson learned.