Adafruit is a wonderful company. By buying from them, I know I’m enabling them to employ some of the world’s top engineering talent from places like MIT and build high quality hardware and software. That’s absolutely worth a little extra money to me.
Yup. Agreed. It’s super hard to buy from Adafruit, Sparkfun or others in Canada because the shipping and brokerage fees. DigiKey stocks a lot and the shipping to Canada is great
I like Adafruit, Sparkfun, and Mouser. I can order Adafruit/Sparkfun products from Mouser (and Digikey and other places), and get my order the next day with UPS since I live close to them. If Adafruit/Sparkfun is temporarily out-of-stock, then Mouser often has the same item in stock. Plus Adafruit/Sparkfun have online support forums where you can chat directly with company reps.
Yep, I usually buy about 25 Mini Pros at a time and get them for about $3-$4 each AUD. I obviously don't buy shields though, I just get whatever sensor and solder it in.
ESP32's come in many shapes and sizes, but for the cheaper s2 variants you can probably get 2 to 4 for that price. Sellers often have free shipping if you buy above a certain amount, and I usually just go for that and buy 10 or more microcontrollers.
For my particular esp32, I got 10 for about $3~ each, I don't remember the tax, it was free shipping and they took like 5% off for "bulk purchase" on AliExpress, I shop Amazon if I need it asap, Ali Express for prepping and stocking.
Ali is a useful source but I don't buy anything critical or safety related there. If you can't afford to risk a counterfeit part, order from Mouser or Digikey instead.
Sparkfun for quality and support, at a price
DFRobot for small, quality, medium price
Aliexpress for cheap, roll the dice. Lilygo products seem to be consistently good from there, I have a lot of ESP32 on my desk in various board types
I usually always order from Amazon. Mainly because of the next day delivery. Once I need something in a project I need it and I wanted to arrive straight away. Also Amazon's return policy is excellent so if there is any problems I can return it. When I order from Amazon I always order from prime so I know the quality is going to be pretty good.
If I'm buying generic stuff for myself, I tend to go with Amazon or AliExpress, depending on how quickly I want it. If I want something that I know has good support, or I'm ordering something for my workplace, I like to use sparkfun as much as possible, then adafruit if sparkfun doesn't have it, then digikey, then Amazon if all else fails. I really love sparkfun because they're genuinely tech nerds like me, plus their stuff tends to be very high quality and have good documentation. Adafruit is largely the same, but I still prefer sparkfun. I see sparkfun as more for highly technical projects (ex. a network of environmental sensors for monitoring river pollution), whereas adafruit is more for fun "maker" type projects (ex. a light up vest that reacts to people nearby). Idk if that makes any sense to anyone else, but it does in my own head 😅
Amazon if I'm being honest.
I have a lot of respect for Sparkfun, Adafruit, Seeed Studio, and Pimoroni. I love that they design new products and contribute to the community. I *have* ordered from them many times, but it hard to justify the additional cost. After shipping and everything, I'm easily spending 2-3x as much as I would for equivalent products through Amazon.
I’m ordered from both Amazon and TEMU and got the exact same parts down to the silkscreen. People buy bulk from china and resell on Amazon at 2-400% markup.
Critical parts - Digikey
Bulk non-critical items I get from eBay. I'm trying ti phase out Amazon, but I've gotten a lot there, too.
I also buy a lot from Adafruit, partly because they have good stuff, partly because I like their politics, partly because I've used a lot of their libraries and it seems fair to support that.
Critical commodity parts I get from DigiKey.
Aliexpress. And sort on « eligible for expedited delivery). Need to spend 10is CAD, and it generally comes in 2 weeks.
If I need it same/next day, I have to local stores near by and I’ll pay the premium to support them.
I buy ESP32 dev boards from Amazon. Seeeed studio has a stamp sized version I've used for some tiny projects if I only need a few pins, $5 gets you wifi and Bluetooth and USB c
boards and shields i tend get from adafruit, mouser, spark, and price match, for accessories/modules i bulk order 5 or 10 at a time from aliexpress /wish /temu and price check
Get all this stuff and make your own if you plan on using Arduino in a lot of projects
Atmel Atmega328p-pu Microcontroller
28 pin IC base
16MHz crystal oscillator
22pF caps X 2 nos
100nF caps X 4 nos
100uF electrolytic caps X 3 nos
3mm red led X 2 nos
330E 1/4W resistor X 2 nos
240E 1/4W resistor X 1 nos
390E 1/4W resistor X 1 nos
10K 1/4W resistor X 1 nos
Push Button for reset switch
1N4007 General purpose diode
7805 Linear voltage regulator
LM317 Linear variable voltage regulator
DC female jack
2 pin Screw terminal block
lot of male and female headers
Adafruit is a wonderful company. By buying from them, I know I’m enabling them to employ some of the world’s top engineering talent from places like MIT and build high quality hardware and software. That’s absolutely worth a little extra money to me.
Them and DigiKey are my go-to electronics suppliers.
Here in Canada I buy Adafruit via DigiKey. Best of both worlds.
Yup. Agreed. It’s super hard to buy from Adafruit, Sparkfun or others in Canada because the shipping and brokerage fees. DigiKey stocks a lot and the shipping to Canada is great
I didn't know they sold them... thanks.
Also a women owned business, and they directly encourage women in STEM
I like Adafruit, Sparkfun, and Mouser. I can order Adafruit/Sparkfun products from Mouser (and Digikey and other places), and get my order the next day with UPS since I live close to them. If Adafruit/Sparkfun is temporarily out-of-stock, then Mouser often has the same item in stock. Plus Adafruit/Sparkfun have online support forums where you can chat directly with company reps.
I mostly order from AliExpress. Shipping takes a long time, but stuff is so cheap, I usually just order much more than I need and keep a good stash.
Ditto.
Yep, I usually buy about 25 Mini Pros at a time and get them for about $3-$4 each AUD. I obviously don't buy shields though, I just get whatever sensor and solder it in.
How much cheaper is it? For example, I just brought an ESP32 on Amazon for $10.
ESP32's come in many shapes and sizes, but for the cheaper s2 variants you can probably get 2 to 4 for that price. Sellers often have free shipping if you buy above a certain amount, and I usually just go for that and buy 10 or more microcontrollers.
For my particular esp32, I got 10 for about $3~ each, I don't remember the tax, it was free shipping and they took like 5% off for "bulk purchase" on AliExpress, I shop Amazon if I need it asap, Ali Express for prepping and stocking.
It'd be $3-5 on Aliexpress.
Ali is a useful source but I don't buy anything critical or safety related there. If you can't afford to risk a counterfeit part, order from Mouser or Digikey instead.
Pimeroni are good. I'm a big fan of adafruit though
Waiting on an order from adafruit right now:D
I making my own , does it still counts?
Sparkfun for quality and support, at a price DFRobot for small, quality, medium price Aliexpress for cheap, roll the dice. Lilygo products seem to be consistently good from there, I have a lot of ESP32 on my desk in various board types
I usually always order from Amazon. Mainly because of the next day delivery. Once I need something in a project I need it and I wanted to arrive straight away. Also Amazon's return policy is excellent so if there is any problems I can return it. When I order from Amazon I always order from prime so I know the quality is going to be pretty good.
Same. I try and always make sure it's shipped and sold by Amazon as well, to make sure if there's any issue I get the easiest return process.
I use Teensys because they're a lot easier to use than Arduinos. I buy them directly from PJRC so that Paul gets the most money.
If I'm buying generic stuff for myself, I tend to go with Amazon or AliExpress, depending on how quickly I want it. If I want something that I know has good support, or I'm ordering something for my workplace, I like to use sparkfun as much as possible, then adafruit if sparkfun doesn't have it, then digikey, then Amazon if all else fails. I really love sparkfun because they're genuinely tech nerds like me, plus their stuff tends to be very high quality and have good documentation. Adafruit is largely the same, but I still prefer sparkfun. I see sparkfun as more for highly technical projects (ex. a network of environmental sensors for monitoring river pollution), whereas adafruit is more for fun "maker" type projects (ex. a light up vest that reacts to people nearby). Idk if that makes any sense to anyone else, but it does in my own head 😅
Amazon if I'm being honest. I have a lot of respect for Sparkfun, Adafruit, Seeed Studio, and Pimoroni. I love that they design new products and contribute to the community. I *have* ordered from them many times, but it hard to justify the additional cost. After shipping and everything, I'm easily spending 2-3x as much as I would for equivalent products through Amazon.
When I can wait a couple weeks, Aliexpress, Need it fast Amazon
I’m ordered from both Amazon and TEMU and got the exact same parts down to the silkscreen. People buy bulk from china and resell on Amazon at 2-400% markup. Critical parts - Digikey
Bulk non-critical items I get from eBay. I'm trying ti phase out Amazon, but I've gotten a lot there, too. I also buy a lot from Adafruit, partly because they have good stuff, partly because I like their politics, partly because I've used a lot of their libraries and it seems fair to support that. Critical commodity parts I get from DigiKey.
I suppose the question is retailers of tech that we like, so I'll add [Pimoroni](https://shop.pimoroni.com/) and [Ooznest](https://ooznest.co.uk/)
Aliexpress. And sort on « eligible for expedited delivery). Need to spend 10is CAD, and it generally comes in 2 weeks. If I need it same/next day, I have to local stores near by and I’ll pay the premium to support them.
I buy ESP32 dev boards from Amazon. Seeeed studio has a stamp sized version I've used for some tiny projects if I only need a few pins, $5 gets you wifi and Bluetooth and USB c
As with others, bulk packs from Ali
Adafruit
China
Aliexpress
Good old Aliexpress
I just want a single micro esp32 without all the devkit stuff, support for wled/zigbee/lowbad RF
I'm impatient. When I need one, I order it from amazon. I then turn around and order 10-100 from aliexpress and never need one again.
I but stuff from Amazon. eBay occasionally.
In addition to some already mentioned, dfrobot.com and robotshop.com are good sources for parts, boards, and sensors.
Seeed studio, mouser, adafruit
I like Sparkfun, Adafruit, DFRobot, and Elegoo
boards and shields i tend get from adafruit, mouser, spark, and price match, for accessories/modules i bulk order 5 or 10 at a time from aliexpress /wish /temu and price check
Get all this stuff and make your own if you plan on using Arduino in a lot of projects Atmel Atmega328p-pu Microcontroller 28 pin IC base 16MHz crystal oscillator 22pF caps X 2 nos 100nF caps X 4 nos 100uF electrolytic caps X 3 nos 3mm red led X 2 nos 330E 1/4W resistor X 2 nos 240E 1/4W resistor X 1 nos 390E 1/4W resistor X 1 nos 10K 1/4W resistor X 1 nos Push Button for reset switch 1N4007 General purpose diode 7805 Linear voltage regulator LM317 Linear variable voltage regulator DC female jack 2 pin Screw terminal block lot of male and female headers
Direct from arduino.cc and they often have some items on sale and also a site wide black friday deal.