I can do better than that. I ordered from Digi-Key some Panasonic
sliders that were needed for a Peavey mixer amp, and which Peavey
UK -- or anyone else in the UK for that matter -- didn't have in stock.
I placed the order around lunchtime on the one day, and received a
confirming e-mail back within minutes. I also had to declare the end
use, because your government is paranoid about where the items are
going to finish up. After returning this, within a very short time, I received
another mail to say that the goods had shipped. They arrived on my
doormat on the afternoon of the following day.
I guess that when the order was placed, it was early morning stateside,
and I was just lucky in the way that my order caught collections and
customs and flights and clearance into the postal system this end, but
never-the-less, how good a service was that ?
My point was more that Digi-Key was now willing to take small orders without
a surcharge, and ship them inexpensively. But that's incredible service. I
suspect Digi-Key does enough business in GB that it can ship its daily order
"in bulk", and has a local agent that handles splitting it up and getting it
out.
One of the reasons Digi-Key had the part you wanted is that D-K (not to be
confused with the British publisher) started its business by carrying
specific ranges of products (rather than a company's entire line) in depth.
If you wanted a particular kind of Panasonic capacitor, and D-K stocked that
range, you were virtually assured of it being available when you ordered. By
expanding one range at a time, D-K kept its reputation for availability. D-K
is almost always the first place I look for name-brand parts.
When it comes to Chinese "junk", take a look at monoprice. It has
decent-quality stuff at prices that will have your jaw hanging.
By the way, in the US a "slider" is a White Castle hamburger. The name
apparently derives from their small size -- they slide right down your
gullet.
