I just got my first order from Smallbear and none of the components were labeled. I've placed orders from Tayda and Mammoth in the past and everything came in baggies that were either stickered or hand written identifying the value of the part.
Does Smallbear always not label what they send you? It's huge pain to have to and identify everything in dozens of different small bags. >:(
They have never labeled any of the stuff I got there.
Am I alone in finding this super annoying?
Maybe everybody else takes readings to confirm everything? It was really annoying to have to verify all of the resistors, but I've also got different color LEDs with clear plastic that I can't tell apart. Urgh...
I'm sure i read that on their website before, probly why I've never ordered from them. Smallbear seems to have some excellent stuff but, I can't imagine ordering any quantity like that. If I have 2 or 3 thousand components show up at one time there is no way I can check all them on the spot. Seems insane to me that they wouldn't even write on the bag with a marker..
My guess is that they've long ago calculated the labor hours and expense of labeling things and decided it is not affordable to do so. Operating out of NYC probably puts a huge dent in the overhead and makes it difficult to justify hiring someone just to put labels on bags. But, that's just a guess. Most things are easily identifiable (caps, ICs etc are self-labeled). But, yeah with resistors I can see why it's a pain for some folks.
On the plus side, it's a good opportunity to learn to read resistor codes :) It only takes a bit of practice!
Yes this is very annoying. I've ordered specific photocells from them for some projects. But they sent them in unidentified bags! do you know how hard it is to sort photocells!
Next time I will insist they label at least these kinda parts. Hopefully they will.
I honestly can't remember if they have labeled in he past. I'm pretty sure they've always labeled resistors and LEDs. No need for caps, pots, ICs. I just got an order in yesterday from them that had labels for resistors, photocells, optocouplers. It could be a simple matter of one employee does it one way, another does it different.
Quote from: madbean on November 26, 2016, 10:30:21 AM
On the plus side, it's a good opportunity to learn to read resistor codes :) It only takes a bit of practice!
This is actually why I don't label resistors. It gives people a chance to either do a quick Google on DigiKey, or learn them, or use a DMM. Maybe that's why I don't get too much business... ;)
I've never had a single item labelled from them in 5 years. The only thing that's worked for me with clear LEDs is to order different quantities of each so they can be identified by volume. Or set up a simple tester circuit to see the color. It's extra frustrating because Small Bear has by far the most picking errors and omissions of all of my suppliers. I would never buy small quantity resistors from them. Verifying order accuracy is a huge PITA.
This is one of the reasons I've only ordered twice from them. It honestly lacks professionalism seeing a bunch of unmarked parts jumbled together in bags. It takes 2 seconds to write a number on the pick slip and then the corresponding number on the bag. Even with sharpie would be fine. I don't find it educational at all, I find it lazy and irritating. Just my opinion tho.
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Quote from: Torgoslayer on November 26, 2016, 06:19:22 PM
... Or set up a simple tester circuit to see the color.....
Just a quick tip. ;)
A super easy LED checker is nothing more than a 3V button cell.
No test circuit or resistor needed. 8)
Just slip the cell between the 2 LED leads.
Voila, instant LED color verification.
(observe polarity, if it's wrong just reverse it, no damage done if you get the polarity wrong)
Quote from: galaxiex on November 26, 2016, 06:30:41 PM
Quote from: Torgoslayer on November 26, 2016, 06:19:22 PM
... Or set up a simple tester circuit to see the color.....
Just a quick tip. ;)
A super easy LED checker is nothing more than a 3V button cell.
No test circuit or resistor needed. 8)
Just slip the cell between the 2 LED leads.
Voila, instant LED color verification.
(observe polarity, if it's wrong just reverse it, no damage done if you get the polarity wrong)
Ok, this is brilliant!
Quote from: flanagan0718 on November 26, 2016, 06:24:54 PM
This is one of the reasons I've only ordered twice from them. It honestly lacks professionalism seeing a bunch of unmarked parts jumbled together in bags. It takes 2 seconds to write a number on the pick slip and then the corresponding number on the bag. Even with sharpie would be fine. I don't find it educational at all, I find it lazy and irritating. Just my opinion tho.
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That's actually a really good idea...print bag #'s with the receipt and just number the bags. Clever.
I've never received anything labeled from them. As a beginner it was slightly frustrating but once you get used to the parts its not a big deal. That said I can verify a 100 part order from Mouser in a couple minutes, not so with Smallbear.
I don't buy much there, not because its not labelled, (i never actually noticed the labeling or lack thereof)
I only buy pots, knobs, the odd IC or transistor, hard to find hardware, etc.
Stuff that's easy to identify without a label.
Resistors, caps, LED's, bulk items etc where its nice to have labelled bags I get from DigiKey or Mouser.
When I ordered multiple types of LDR from them, I added a note in the order to please label the bags for those parts, since sorting LDR's is a PITA.
They did. If you don't ask, you don't know.
They don't label. They are in my hood, so I always order from them but it always takes some time to sort.
I order from Steve all the time and although the parts are rarely labeled (just weird stuff that could get mixed up) I seem to recall that everything is bagged separately. So if I get 10 5088's and 10 5087's it's just a matter of reading a part number off the transistor and the whole bag is one or the other. I measure all resistors as I stuff a board to avoid screwups on my part (most likely) or bad parts (least likely) so I'll read the color code and file them accordingly till I use them.
I do like having printed labels like Mouser and Tayda, but to be honest it's not a game changer and I've really had such great service from SB since he's started that it's a non-issue with me. Yeah, he could tie a Zebra printer with label stock into his ordering system like the big boys but I'd prefer he doesn't pass those costs on to me.
Granted, I'm heavily biased in SB's favor. He has to be one of the hardest working guys in the biz.
Not labelling keeps costs lower. Everybody would bitch if the parts pricing went up enough to cover the labor.
Also, why the hell are you guys buying resistors onesy-twosey from Smallbear? They have the Xicon 200 bags for pretty cheap, and those are labelled.
Put your big-boy pants on and buy some quantity, for fuck's sake. ;D
Quote from: culturejam on November 27, 2016, 01:59:25 AM
Put your big-boy pants on and buy some quantity, for fuck's sake. ;D
HAHA! I love me some unfiltered Forrest!
Forrest has been in the sauce I think!
Nah, I'm 1 beer in. I'm just an "old guy" now in the DIY scene, so I'm naturally inclined to get ornery at almost everything. :)
I order small bear all the time, but I like having all my standard items in bulk from mouser. They're labeled and in the same size bag, so they are easily filed in ascending order
He's a dad now too. He'll be yelling at those damn kids on his lawn before too long. Also, yeah, why are you buying anything onesie twosie????
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Quote from: alparent on November 26, 2016, 12:32:53 PM
Yes this is very annoying. I've ordered specific photocells from them for some projects. But they sent them in unidentified bags! do you know how hard it is to sort photocells!
Next time I will insist they label at least these kinda parts. Hopefully they will.
For resistors and caps, it's not a huge deal (to me) but for photocells, yeah, they should probably label them.
Get the xicons while you can...there are now tripled in price....
I bought a bunch of stock from SB in the last week as he will no longer be carrying them and mouser is now $10 for 200qty
Gone are the $4/200 days...even the other brands have upped the $
Just because Tayda may be labeled does not mean you should trust that is whats in the bag...
Always check...if you decide to use them...
Josh
I probably have a bit of experience here so, here goes!
Labelling takes as long as packing. Its very Labor intensive and doubles the packing time for orders. I still do this though because, from someone that also orders from other suppliers, its tedious having to measure / read colour bands and codes etc and makes organising all your stuff a lot easier and quicker.
With that said and on the flip side, as reciprocal curtesy to the retailer (and as forest pointed out), you should consider ordering larger quantities of each part instead of ones twos or even 5's for low value components. Its quite frustrating packing these types of orders and can take an hour of packing 5 resistors of each value into each bag. I would go as far as saying that retailers make a loss on these orders (at least I do), they are incredibly time consuming.
Just some things to consider.
Quote from: gtr2 on November 27, 2016, 05:33:12 PM
Just because Tayda may be labeled does not mean you should trust that is whats in the bag...
Always check...if you decide to use them...
Josh
So true.. So true
Cody
Quote from: gtr2 on November 27, 2016, 05:33:12 PM
Get the xicons while you can...there are now tripled in price....
I bought a bunch of stock from SB in the last week as he will no longer be carrying them and mouser is now $10 for 200qty
Gone are the $4/200 days...even the other brands have upped the $
Check out Allied Electronics for resistors. They've always been the cheapest:
http://www.alliedelec.com/rcd-components-gp55-1002-ftw/70183651/
Quote from: culturejam on November 28, 2016, 03:20:34 AM
Quote from: gtr2 on November 27, 2016, 05:33:12 PM
Get the xicons while you can...there are now tripled in price....
I bought a bunch of stock from SB in the last week as he will no longer be carrying them and mouser is now $10 for 200qty
Gone are the $4/200 days...even the other brands have upped the $
Check out Allied Electronics for resistors. They've always been the cheapest:
http://www.alliedelec.com/rcd-components-gp55-1002-ftw/70183651/
Yep, and the quality is good as well. Not super thin leads.
I've not had a problem with the packaging from Smallbear. In fact, I've never even noticed it if it was labeled or not.
I tend to order odd stuff from them that I can't get anywhere else so the orders are never large like some of my Mouser orders.
I rely on SB for the hard to get stuff. My last order included several rolls of excellent hookup wire. I respect Steve a lot because he's really one of us.
One of these days, I'm going to build his bear tremelo. I still remember reading the DIY article he published a long time ago before the big pedal DIY scene was around.
Haven't tried Allied. Might have to give them a shot.
My strong suspicion (based on no evidence) is that Tayda have a label printer with a few dozen rolls of those little square labels, and when they get an order, they print out all the labels for that order at once, and use that as an inventory while pulling the order (and putting them on the bags as they pack.) Once the printout has no labels left on it, the order is done.
At that scale, that's probably how I'd do it.
First World Problems
Quote from: alanp on November 26, 2016, 07:06:52 PM
When I ordered multiple types of LDR from them, I added a note in the order to please label the bags for those parts, since sorting LDR's is a PITA.
They did. If you don't ask, you don't know.
This is what I do, too, though I can recognize most of them at this point without labels.
I really don't see the need for labeling caps, resistors, and transistors, though. You're all still going to check the codes on the parts themselves before using them or putting them in the box to make sure that they are what the label says they are, right? Right? ???
Quote from: midwayfair on November 28, 2016, 02:51:14 PM
You're all still going to check the codes on the parts themselves before using them or putting them in the box to make sure that they are what the label says they are, right? Right? ???
If I am being 100% honest :-[ , I have never checked the codes on resistors before stuffing. I have never had Mouser send me resistors that were labeled wrong so I guess I have gotten comfortable being lazy. I have, however, checked resistors codes when I have had to troubleshoot. That said, never found a wrong value before.
Quote from: peAk on November 28, 2016, 07:44:43 PM
If I am being 100% honest :-[ , I have never checked the codes on resistors before stuffing. I have never had Mouser send me resistors that were labeled wrong so I guess I have gotten comfortable being lazy.
I have had them send me incorrectly labeled resistors. Once in a few dozen orders. I usually don't get through hole resistors from them because they are expensive. Only when I need some odd-ball size, tolerance or power rating.
They once missed a single capacitor from an order, I emailed them and they sent a replacement out next day air, first delivery.
The thing about smallbear is that even though they don't label everything, they don't ship the fastest, and their prices aren't always the lowest, they offer pedal builders a service we don't necessarily get elsewhere. They always have the more specialized parts, they only sell good quality components, and they pay attention to the community. Those things alone make them worth supporting even if everything else isn't exactly how we want it to be.
I don't order from them to often but im glad they're around when I need them.
+1 on above.
I think the reason people are getting bent out of shape is because when you finally open the package of parts five months after they've arrived and have totally forgotten what project you ordered those parts for, labels make it easier to remember what that project was... ;D
BTW - just ordered from Smallbear, great service as usual. When my package arrives, I'll see if they labeled the green 1590BB enclosure I ordered... ::)