I'm looking for a Keithley 6172 triax adapter. It's not common, probably due to the fact that it has always been a specialty part, and never in great demand.
Most of the larger suppliers have them listed as out of stock or obsolete, but I found them listed on Element14's web site with an indication that they were on backorder, and with an option to be notified when they were back in stock.
So, om 18th June I registered an interest. And I got a reply from them saying "We will notify you by email as soon as these products become available."
I didn't hold my breath, but I was surprised to get an email from them on 28 July with the subject line "Your products are now in stock". And behold, the US and Australian sites suggested there was indeed stock!
I've been getting some stuff sent from the US, and the price of the adapter is about 40% cheaper in the US than Australia, so I tried to order it from there first. I set up a mailing address different from my billing address, order, and wait... Something alerted me to a problem, so I called them. It turns out they wanted some more confirmation of exactly how my name is spelled on the card. I see an authorization go through on my credit card.
A week goes by...
The order still says it's "processing", so I call them (again). After giving them a few details I see an authorization go through on my credit card (again). At this point I'm pretty much told that I'm trying to pass off a stolen credit card. They suggest that this particular triax adapter is "exactly the sort of thing that people buy with stolen credit cards". I ask to cancel the order. They pretty much refuse to do that too.
So I bite the bullet and order from the Australian site. They're in stock and I push the button to order it. Shortly thereafter I get an email: "Thank you for your recent purchase order... Regrettably, some items on your order are currently out of stock." The expected date for them to be in stock is 18 September 2017.
I call Element 14 in Australia. The person who answers says that he's sure it can't take that long and promises to get back to me. I receive an email later in the day, and sure enough, there's a 5 week lead time. (The web site still shows them as 16 available in global stock available in 6-7 business days).
At this point I don't know whether to believe them or their web site. Are they pulling my chain because they think I'm not the person on the card? Did they sell out so fast that they couldn't even update their web site? Is my order in the US really just waiting on stock, and might they try to deliver it in 5 weeks? WTF! (btw, the US site still shows 9 in stock)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
I'm certainly not going to use or recommend Newark / Farnell / Element 14 other than as a supplier of last resort.
BTW, I've successfully ordered from Digikey and Mouser in the US, and also a plethora of other places.
Most of the larger suppliers have them listed as out of stock or obsolete, but I found them listed on Element14's web site with an indication that they were on backorder, and with an option to be notified when they were back in stock.
So, om 18th June I registered an interest. And I got a reply from them saying "We will notify you by email as soon as these products become available."
I didn't hold my breath, but I was surprised to get an email from them on 28 July with the subject line "Your products are now in stock". And behold, the US and Australian sites suggested there was indeed stock!
I've been getting some stuff sent from the US, and the price of the adapter is about 40% cheaper in the US than Australia, so I tried to order it from there first. I set up a mailing address different from my billing address, order, and wait... Something alerted me to a problem, so I called them. It turns out they wanted some more confirmation of exactly how my name is spelled on the card. I see an authorization go through on my credit card.
A week goes by...
The order still says it's "processing", so I call them (again). After giving them a few details I see an authorization go through on my credit card (again). At this point I'm pretty much told that I'm trying to pass off a stolen credit card. They suggest that this particular triax adapter is "exactly the sort of thing that people buy with stolen credit cards". I ask to cancel the order. They pretty much refuse to do that too.
So I bite the bullet and order from the Australian site. They're in stock and I push the button to order it. Shortly thereafter I get an email: "Thank you for your recent purchase order... Regrettably, some items on your order are currently out of stock." The expected date for them to be in stock is 18 September 2017.
I call Element 14 in Australia. The person who answers says that he's sure it can't take that long and promises to get back to me. I receive an email later in the day, and sure enough, there's a 5 week lead time. (The web site still shows them as 16 available in global stock available in 6-7 business days).
At this point I don't know whether to believe them or their web site. Are they pulling my chain because they think I'm not the person on the card? Did they sell out so fast that they couldn't even update their web site? Is my order in the US really just waiting on stock, and might they try to deliver it in 5 weeks? WTF! (btw, the US site still shows 9 in stock)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
I'm certainly not going to use or recommend Newark / Farnell / Element 14 other than as a supplier of last resort.
BTW, I've successfully ordered from Digikey and Mouser in the US, and also a plethora of other places.