Delivery charge back on Farnell orders - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

McMurdo · 29th Sep 2016, 4:40 pm

A while back Farnell relinquished its handling fee for small orders placed online and on account. Apparently it's now back on, if the order is worth less than £20.
I wish they'd make up their mind.

MrBungle · 29th Sep 2016, 5:05 pm

That has been like that for quite a while I thought?

Last free order I got from them was a couple of years ago.

evingar · 29th Sep 2016, 6:26 pm

Both RS and Farnell started charging for small order postage a while back for account clients, but for some time we haven't been charged - the last sub £20 Farnell order I put through was over week ago - It's disappointing if they have reinstated it becuase the business we do with them over a year is substantial and must more than cover the occasional small order

All eyes on RS now - what's the betting they follow suit. Both parties have to be careful, becuase the cost of parts from Mouser UK are often substantially lower, even after carriage costs from the US. (and buried import duty costs that are included in the prices)

dseymo1 · 29th Sep 2016, 8:14 pm

Oddly, CPC are still doing free delivery for orders over £5.00, but have mildly repositioned themselves as a 'business-to-business distributor' where they previouly seemed to increasingly after the consumer market.

MrBungle · 29th Sep 2016, 8:26 pm

CPC lines are shrinking as well.

I've been buying a lot of parts from bitsbox.co.uk recently. Reasonable delivery cost of 1.75 and low quantities available I.e. individual parts. Finding I'm buying what I need to complete something and it turns up the next day via RM. RS use ParcelForce and min quantities are getting ridiculous so it doesn't add up for me now.

McMurdo · 29th Sep 2016, 9:36 pm

When I queried the farnell charge the girl said it was a computer glitch and would not appear on the final invoice. As always with farnell and RS, I thought the elevated component prices were to offset free postage, as opposed to say, Rapid where the parts are very cheap but you have to order £30 worth. Swings and roundabouts. The system has worked for years. It's no use having dear parts and minimum order values to boot though.

MrBungle · 30th Sep 2016, 7:10 am

Agreed. The thing that annoys me is if I want a few Vishay branded good old fashioned 0.6W MF resistors with known tempco then I have to dodge back and forth between Farnell and RS. Sometimes they're as low as 50p for ten and sometimes as high as 1.60 depending on the value. Different for each vendor. Farnell never ends up cheaper due to delivery so I've stopped looking.

CPC are good on volume on things they have on sale. I can fill one of their standard mailing boxes for less than a min Farnell order.

29th Sep 2016, 4:40 pm	#1
McMurdo Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 5,273	Delivery charge back on Farnell orders A while back Farnell relinquished its handling fee for small orders placed online and on account. Apparently it's now back on, if the order is worth less than £20. I wish they'd make up their mind. __________________ Kevin

29th Sep 2016, 5:05 pm	#2
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Delivery charge back on Farnell orders That has been like that for quite a while I thought? Last free order I got from them was a couple of years ago.

29th Sep 2016, 6:26 pm	#3
evingar Octode Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Newbury, Berkshire, UK. Posts: 1,770	Re: Delivery charge back on Farnell orders Both RS and Farnell started charging for small order postage a while back for account clients, but for some time we haven't been charged - the last sub £20 Farnell order I put through was over week ago - It's disappointing if they have reinstated it becuase the business we do with them over a year is substantial and must more than cover the occasional small order All eyes on RS now - what's the betting they follow suit. Both parties have to be careful, becuase the cost of parts from Mouser UK are often substantially lower, even after carriage costs from the US. (and buried import duty costs that are included in the prices) __________________ Chris

29th Sep 2016, 8:14 pm	#4
dseymo1 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Shropshire, UK. Posts: 3,051	Re: Delivery charge back on Farnell orders Oddly, CPC are still doing free delivery for orders over £5.00, but have mildly repositioned themselves as a 'business-to-business distributor' where they previouly seemed to increasingly after the consumer market.

29th Sep 2016, 8:26 pm	#5
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Delivery charge back on Farnell orders CPC lines are shrinking as well. I've been buying a lot of parts from bitsbox.co.uk recently. Reasonable delivery cost of 1.75 and low quantities available I.e. individual parts. Finding I'm buying what I need to complete something and it turns up the next day via RM. RS use ParcelForce and min quantities are getting ridiculous so it doesn't add up for me now.

29th Sep 2016, 9:36 pm	#6
McMurdo Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 5,273	Re: Delivery charge back on Farnell orders When I queried the farnell charge the girl said it was a computer glitch and would not appear on the final invoice. As always with farnell and RS, I thought the elevated component prices were to offset free postage, as opposed to say, Rapid where the parts are very cheap but you have to order £30 worth. Swings and roundabouts. The system has worked for years. It's no use having dear parts and minimum order values to boot though. __________________ Kevin

30th Sep 2016, 7:10 am	#7
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Delivery charge back on Farnell orders Agreed. The thing that annoys me is if I want a few Vishay branded good old fashioned 0.6W MF resistors with known tempco then I have to dodge back and forth between Farnell and RS. Sometimes they're as low as 50p for ten and sometimes as high as 1.60 depending on the value. Different for each vendor. Farnell never ends up cheaper due to delivery so I've stopped looking. CPC are good on volume on things they have on sale. I can fill one of their standard mailing boxes for less than a min Farnell order.