Top / Best DIY Electronic Stores & Suppliers

Over the last few years I have ordered countless items online for various electronics and DIY projects. Ordering stuff can be a pain - tedious, frustrating, and often, overly expensive. This is the first Instructable you should read before beginning any electronics-centric project!

Each step has specific details about the stores. 

These are just my opinions based on my experience. This is in no way definitive. I encourage you to leave comments about each store based on your experience so we can build a stronger evaluation. I can potentially add more stores upon request - I know I left many out. 


ELECTRONICS

• All Electronics [USA, CA]
• Futurlec [Worldwide]
• Adafruit [USA, NY]
• Sparkfun [USA, CO]
• Sure Electronics [China]
• Newark/Element14 [Europe/USA]
• Digikey [Worldwide]
• Radio Shack [USA]
• Mouser [USA, TX]
• Octopart [web]
• Findchips [web]
• Pololu [USA, NV]
• Solarbotics [Canada]
• AliExpress [China]
• Seed Studio [China]
• Electronics Goldmine [USA, AZ]
• Alltronics [USA, CA]
• Tayda Electronics [Thailand]
• Electronics Surplus [USA, OH]
• DX [China]
• Jameco [USA, CA]
• Mammoth [USA, OK]
• LighthouseLEDs  [USA, WA]
• HolidayCoro [USA]
• Monoprice [USA, CA]

MECHANICAL, MATERIALS & MANUFACTURING

• McMaster-Carr [USA, NJ]
• Ponoko [USA/Europe]
• Inventables [USA, IL]
• Shapeways [USA/Europe]
• Amazon Supply [USA]

This list is (as you can probably tell) North America specific.

The Good

• Amazing prices on tools and small components
• Good selection
• They have a storefront 

The Mediocre

• Surplus parts are sometimes a bit odd

The Not-So-Good

• No datasheets and limited part descriptions
• Slow shipping 

The Good

• Amazing prices!

The Mediocre

• Site search and navigation is a bit odd

The Not-So-Good

• Some knock-off and bogus products
• Slow shipping to USA
• I have seen others leave terrible ratings and reviews

The Good

• Great resources and code samples
• Unique products
• Strong community

The Mediocre

• Small inventory
• Customer service

The Not-So-Good

• ?

The Good

• Great resources and code samples
• Unique products
• Strong community
• Open Source

The Mediocre

• ?

The Not-So-Good

• Some of the small parts and components are insanely expensive 

The Good

• Holy hell they have some cheap stuff
• Unique items

The Mediocre

• Very unusual inventory

The Not-So-Good

• Search and navigation is rubbish
• Expensive shipping to USA

The Good

• Customer service
• Fast shipping
• HUGE selection
• Rasberry-Pi 

The Mediocre

• Pricing 
• Searching and filtering
• DIY community

The Not-So-Good

• ?

The Good

• Holy hell they have fast shipping
• Good customer service
• HUGE selection
• Great prices for ICs
• Lots of datasheets

The Mediocre

• Searching and filtering 
• Interface
• Photos of products

The Not-So-Good

• Some stuff is just insanely overpriced
• No community, resources, coding samples

The Good

• They have a storefront! All over the country.

The Mediocre

• Selection is limited

The Not-So-Good

• Expensive
• Staff doesn't know much about electronics 

The Good

• HUGE selection
• Many unique ICs
• Lots of datasheets

The Mediocre

• Searching and filtering

The Not-So-Good

• No community
• Unreasonable shipping rates

Not a store, rather, a search engine.

Very handy when searching for specific parts!

Another parts search engine, similar to octoparts. Findchips.com tends to have better search results than octoparts at times. I use both equally.

The Good

• Great selection of motors and motor controllers
• Lots of details and descriptions
• They offer laser cutting services

The Mediocre

• Shipping is a bit pricey

The Not-So-Good

• Searching engine 

....have yet to order from here yet but heard great things.

Please share your experiences in the comments. 

....have yet to order from here. Appears you can get some amazing deals. I am planning to make an order very soon. 

Please share your experiences in the comments.

....have yet to order from here. Looks like a great site!

Please share your experiences in the comments.

....have yet to order from here.

Please share your experiences in the comments.

The Good

• HUGE selection
• Super fast shipping
• Great customer service
• Amazing website. The best online shopping experience I have ever had. 
• Download almost every part (2D and 3D)

The Mediocre

• A bit overwhelming.  
• Pricing

The Not-So-Good

• ?

The Good

• Great material selection
• Laser cutting and 3D printing services
• Good customer service
• Track the progress of your design

The Mediocre

• The selling thing has not really taken off yet
• Pricing

The Not-So-Good

• Metal prices are through the roof

....only made one small order here. Not much to say yet. Seems quite expensive, but they have a great selection. 

Please share your experiences in the comments.

....have yet to order from here.

Please share your experiences in the comments.