4 ms·

Digikey products now listed on Octopart

80 points by dfranke 16y ago

dfranke 16y ago
I know there's a sordid history here (http://paulgraham.com/good.html http://paulgraham.com/good.html). I'd love to hear about what brought them around.
- weaksauce 16y ago
  I'd like to know as well. The truth is probably that digi-key saw some profit changes or personel changes that make an increase in traffic from a quality aggregator like octopart advantageous. It could also be a look at all the other places that are on octopart and see that they don't have the inventory that digi-key has; so they might not be the low cost leader on all the parts but they have 1k in stock. Maybe octopart hired a salesperson? I hope they chime in.
- sam 16y ago
  It was a combination of a few things: - Building a relationship - Having users that were vocal about wanting Digi-Key listed on Octopart - Time
rb2k_ 16y ago
Our university wanted to order some Pandaboards (http://pandaboard.org/ http://pandaboard.org/) from DigiKey, but we were kind of scared off by the weird, weird ordering process (and strange localisations) compared to other online shops :(
- FraaJad 16y ago
  Since you are familiar with SBCs, do you happen to know any other board with similar CPU and memory config but having RS232/RS485 Connections on them?
  - amelim 16y ago
    I believe the Pandaboard comes with an RS232 connection. But you could also try the Beagleboard. You might want to take a look at the Gumstix Overo line and their various expansion boards, but I'm not exactly sure if they provide what you need. Also, you could try a USB->RS485 converter if you need that specifically.
    - nitrogen 16y ago
      Are you aware of any USB->RS485 converters that cost less than $30?
      - sigstoat 16y ago
        http://apple.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/ftdichip?productID=102&op=catalogue-product_info-null&prodCategoryID=91 http://apple.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/ftdichip?productID=1... If you're willing to just breadboard it, or want to integrate it into something else, an FTDI chip + Maxim 1308x is basically what they're selling you, and I don't think they cost half that.
    - pingswept 16y ago
      The Beagleboard and Gumstix are both good recommendations. Also look at embeddedarm.com and mbed.org.
kragen 16y ago
If this deal is successful for Octopart, Digi-Key will no longer own the customers; people will go to Octopart instead to search for parts. That means Digi-Key has to compete in a competitive market, which is going to substantially reduce their profits.
- acgourley 16y ago
  People like me are already hitting octopart first (via browser plugin, even). I'll only move on to digikey if I don't find what I'm looking for, or I'm already buying things there and want to combine shipping.
  - kragen 16y ago
    Now you will never move on to Digi-Key unless you suspect Octopart's site is broken. It's awesome to hear that Octopart was working so well for you already, even before this deal!
- blackguardx 16y ago
  Digikey doesn't compete on price, they compete on inventory. Most hardware designers I know use Digikey exclusively because Digikey is pretty much guaranteed to stock the part they want to buy. If Digikey doesn't have it, no one else does either. Also, Digikey ships things out extremely fast. Not many other places offer overnight shipping, which is important when you are closing in on a deadline. If you are doing real engineering and not just screwing around in your basement, you don't really care that much about price. The last thing you want to do is order from multiple vendors because it eats time and is more expensive in the end because you will be raped by shipping costs.
  - jdeeny 16y ago
    If Digikey doesn't have it, no one else does either. I don't think that is really true. Digikey does have an impressive inventory, but there are plenty of brands that they don't stock aggressively (first thing that comes to mind is Lattice). Digikey ships things out extremely fast. Not many other places offer overnight shipping Digikey's major competitors, like Newark and Mouser, offer essentially the same shipping options. All 3 can get things shipped out late in the day (say 5:30PM) for next-day early AM delivery. If you are doing real engineering and not just screwing around in your basement, you don't really care that much about price. The last thing you want to do is order from multiple vendors because it eats time and is more expensive in the end because you will be raped by shipping costs. This is the opposite of my experience. When buying for production, price is a primary concern. When buying for R&D, there are usually other orders that can by added to, so there is no shipping concern.
zck 16y ago
Digikey (now) has ads on Octopart, as well as an image in the search results instead of their name in text the way other result sites are shown.
RK 16y ago
Congrats to Octopart!
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
axiom 16y ago
Octopart is an insanely useful tool when you're doing hardware. A few years back when I was doing hardware design their site was like a second homepage for me. It's really exciting to see them succeed. The whole space they're in needs to be shaken up.
nitrogen 16y ago
I'd love to see Octopart add precise component outlines to its database, with an API so that a component can be added to a board layout or schematic directly from the Octopart meta-catalog. This would make Octopart even more awesome.
- andres 16y ago
  Our backend is already equipped to handle this and now we're starting to focus on getting manufacturer data feeds. If you have a chance, please send me an email to let me know which manufacturers you think we should prioritize (andres@octopart.com).
  - pingswept 16y ago
    I nominate Atmel, Microchip, Micrel, Micron, and NXP. I'd suggest prioritize strongly based on what Sparkfun sells because I bet they dominate the market among early adopters. Also, footprints for as many standard JEDEC components as possible.
JabavuAdams 16y ago
MmmmmmcMaster-Carr next?
planckscnst 16y ago
I really prefer Digikey's search: I can really narrow down to the specs I'm looking for. For example, when I'm searching for a graphical display it's quite important to be able to pick the pixel count I'm interested in. If price is important, I use Digikey to find the specific part, then look for that part number elsewhere.

80 points by dfranke 16y ago

I know there's a sordid history here (http://paulgraham.com/good.html http://paulgraham.com/good.html). I'd love to hear about what brought them around.

weaksauce 16y ago
I'd like to know as well. The truth is probably that digi-key saw some profit changes or personel changes that make an increase in traffic from a quality aggregator like octopart advantageous. It could also be a look at all the other places that are on octopart and see that they don't have the inventory that digi-key has; so they might not be the low cost leader on all the parts but they have 1k in stock. Maybe octopart hired a salesperson? I hope they chime in.
sam 16y ago
It was a combination of a few things: - Building a relationship - Having users that were vocal about wanting Digi-Key listed on Octopart - Time

rb2k_ 16y ago

Our university wanted to order some Pandaboards (http://pandaboard.org/ http://pandaboard.org/) from DigiKey, but we were kind of scared off by the weird, weird ordering process (and strange localisations) compared to other online shops :(

FraaJad 16y ago
Since you are familiar with SBCs, do you happen to know any other board with similar CPU and memory config but having RS232/RS485 Connections on them?
- amelim 16y ago
  I believe the Pandaboard comes with an RS232 connection. But you could also try the Beagleboard. You might want to take a look at the Gumstix Overo line and their various expansion boards, but I'm not exactly sure if they provide what you need. Also, you could try a USB->RS485 converter if you need that specifically.
  - nitrogen 16y ago
    Are you aware of any USB->RS485 converters that cost less than $30?
    - sigstoat 16y ago
      http://apple.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/ftdichip?productID=102&op=catalogue-product_info-null&prodCategoryID=91 http://apple.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/ftdichip?productID=1... If you're willing to just breadboard it, or want to integrate it into something else, an FTDI chip + Maxim 1308x is basically what they're selling you, and I don't think they cost half that.
  - pingswept 16y ago
    The Beagleboard and Gumstix are both good recommendations. Also look at embeddedarm.com and mbed.org.

kragen 16y ago

If this deal is successful for Octopart, Digi-Key will no longer own the customers; people will go to Octopart instead to search for parts. That means Digi-Key has to compete in a competitive market, which is going to substantially reduce their profits.

acgourley 16y ago
People like me are already hitting octopart first (via browser plugin, even). I'll only move on to digikey if I don't find what I'm looking for, or I'm already buying things there and want to combine shipping.
- kragen 16y ago
  Now you will never move on to Digi-Key unless you suspect Octopart's site is broken. It's awesome to hear that Octopart was working so well for you already, even before this deal!
blackguardx 16y ago
Digikey doesn't compete on price, they compete on inventory. Most hardware designers I know use Digikey exclusively because Digikey is pretty much guaranteed to stock the part they want to buy. If Digikey doesn't have it, no one else does either. Also, Digikey ships things out extremely fast. Not many other places offer overnight shipping, which is important when you are closing in on a deadline. If you are doing real engineering and not just screwing around in your basement, you don't really care that much about price. The last thing you want to do is order from multiple vendors because it eats time and is more expensive in the end because you will be raped by shipping costs.
- jdeeny 16y ago
  If Digikey doesn't have it, no one else does either. I don't think that is really true. Digikey does have an impressive inventory, but there are plenty of brands that they don't stock aggressively (first thing that comes to mind is Lattice). Digikey ships things out extremely fast. Not many other places offer overnight shipping Digikey's major competitors, like Newark and Mouser, offer essentially the same shipping options. All 3 can get things shipped out late in the day (say 5:30PM) for next-day early AM delivery. If you are doing real engineering and not just screwing around in your basement, you don't really care that much about price. The last thing you want to do is order from multiple vendors because it eats time and is more expensive in the end because you will be raped by shipping costs. This is the opposite of my experience. When buying for production, price is a primary concern. When buying for R&D, there are usually other orders that can by added to, so there is no shipping concern.

zck 16y ago

Digikey (now) has ads on Octopart, as well as an image in the search results instead of their name in text the way other result sites are shown.

RK 16y ago

Congrats to Octopart!

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

axiom 16y ago

Octopart is an insanely useful tool when you're doing hardware. A few years back when I was doing hardware design their site was like a second homepage for me. It's really exciting to see them succeed. The whole space they're in needs to be shaken up.

nitrogen 16y ago

I'd love to see Octopart add precise component outlines to its database, with an API so that a component can be added to a board layout or schematic directly from the Octopart meta-catalog. This would make Octopart even more awesome.

andres 16y ago
Our backend is already equipped to handle this and now we're starting to focus on getting manufacturer data feeds. If you have a chance, please send me an email to let me know which manufacturers you think we should prioritize (andres@octopart.com).
- pingswept 16y ago
  I nominate Atmel, Microchip, Micrel, Micron, and NXP. I'd suggest prioritize strongly based on what Sparkfun sells because I bet they dominate the market among early adopters. Also, footprints for as many standard JEDEC components as possible.

JabavuAdams 16y ago

MmmmmmcMaster-Carr next?

planckscnst 16y ago

I really prefer Digikey's search: I can really narrow down to the specs I'm looking for. For example, when I'm searching for a graphical display it's quite important to be able to pick the pixel count I'm interested in. If price is important, I use Digikey to find the specific part, then look for that part number elsewhere.