Digi-Key has changed and it is not very good

[ataradov]

That would prevent them from making money without doing any work at all. The capitalist dream all in one checkbox.

[james_s]

I would like to see the marketplace stuff NOT INCLUDED by default.
Or some way to turn it off.

This whole marketplace thing does not give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
There is certainly a level of trust with Digi-Key that you won't get dodgy counterfeit parts.
But opening things up to third parties... I just don't feel comfortable with it. It's the narrow end of the wedge.

The way I see it... I go to Digi-Key to buy from Digi-Key.
Just not a fan of this "Amazonification" of things.

The first time I accidentally order something from some random marketplace vendor when I was trying to order from Digikey is the last time I try ordering anything from Digikey. Either turn it off by default, or provide a way for me to turn it off so that it stays off.

[Bud]

Do they have rules/policies to vet marketplace vendors? Did they explain this anywhere?

[drussell]

I would like to see the marketplace stuff NOT INCLUDED by default.
Or some way to turn it off.

There is a blue iOS-style slide "switch" there to turn it off, but...   

This whole marketplace thing does not give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
...
Just not a fan of this "Amazonification" of things.

Indeed!!!

[ataradov]

There is a blue iOS-style slide "switch" there to turn it off, but...   

Where? I don't have a switch.

[drussell]

I would like to see the marketplace stuff NOT INCLUDED by default.
Or some way to turn it off.

This whole marketplace thing does not give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
There is certainly a level of trust with Digi-Key that you won't get dodgy counterfeit parts.
But opening things up to third parties... I just don't feel comfortable with it. It's the narrow end of the wedge.

The way I see it... I go to Digi-Key to buy from Digi-Key.
Just not a fan of this "Amazonification" of things.

The first time I accidentally order something from some random marketplace vendor when I was trying to order from Digikey is the last time I try ordering anything from Digikey. Either turn it off by default, or provide a way for me to turn it off so that it stays off.

Yeah, this doesn't cut it for me, it's even worse than having to hit "more filters"....

I've normally liked Digikey, they used to even send me giant print catalogs a few times per year (which I still refer to once in a while, actually...)  For decades they've been my go-to supplier, especially since I can order something at 8pm and it's at my door at home or the reception desk at the office the next morning, but all this recent fuckery leaves a very bad taste in my mouth and I will now spend my own precious time to actively seek out other alternatives first. 

Are you listening Digikey?!



This bullshit must stop!

[drussell]

There is a blue iOS-style slide "switch" there to turn it off, but...   

Where? I don't have a switch.

I should not have to have to flick this switch EVERY GOD DAMN TIME!

... and new, or less aware customers should not have to deal with this crap to begin with!

Don't dare just try to save it as a cookie, and it should certainly not be on by default!

Digikey ≠ Amazon, and for good reason!!

FAIL!  FAIL!!!

[ataradov]

I should not have to have to flick this switch EVERY GOD DAMN TIME!

Well, yes, we know about that. That's what we were discussing in this thread. Without this option DK would be the same as AliExpress.

That's the problem here - it is not persistent and never will be unless they see less profit. Which from my side already happens, my last order went to Mouser and another one will be coming up after the holidays. But I'm a small fish, DK would not care.

[dr.diesel]

my last order went to Mouser and another one will be coming up after the holidays. But I'm a small fish, DK would not care.

I'm small as well, $20kish/year, but I have also switched to Mouser.

[floobydust]

I'd bought from Digi-Key in the mid 1970's when they first started business, catering to the small orders and hobbyists. They were the most expensive distributor around and still are, but their service is what you pay for.
Engineers doing small stuff and prototyping paved the way for the larger orders and production. Back in the day when customers meant something.

This Marketplace crap is all about profit: "Digi-Key takes a 25% commission from the sale price of each order."

They even offer price-fixing:
"Digi-Key does reserve the right to modify prices for two purposes:
-Adherence to price fixing laws, and
-If a supplier were to enter the market and attempt to undercut all competition by lowering their sale price below standard market pricing, we would adjust the price upward to put all suppliers on an equal footing. We don’t want a supplier trying to “buy” the market and force out the competition. At the same time, at no point would we adjust downward the resale cost, as that would impact the market as a whole and reduce the revenue of the supplier – obviously unfair to all involved."

Can I search and select Marketplace only? No. Then what's special about it?
I would want oddball, boutique parts sold in it (marketplace), how about some variety and fun parts... but we all know it will soon get polluted with vendors just reselling cheap parts from the bowels of Shenzen, some at silly high prices just like Amazon, Best Buy etc. retailers. There is mention of the Marketplace for services, perhaps PCB's or Tindie-kind-of offerings - but 25% markup is kinda high? Tindie is 5%.

Do they have rules/policies to vet marketplace vendors? Did they explain this anywhere?

I don't see any criteria in their FAQ. It doesn't really matter, because they are just pimping out the vendor to make money and who would be against that?
It's too bad they are just copycatting other e-commerce sites instead of innovating or providing something customers actually want.

[wizard69]

They certainly haven't improved things with the recent "Whitespace everywhere, moar whitespace, yo guys, crank up the whitespace" facelift, but I wouldn't say it's horribly broken.

Hey John,

I believe the rules for modern web dev can be described as follows:

1. There can never be too much whitespace

I actually like white space.   Some web sites are just so congested I find them unusable, Newark for example.

2. There is no feature of HTML that can't be re-implemented by including a 73MB JS library
3. Under no circumstances should your site work correctly with the back arrow
4. Scolling must be implemented using JS that calls the slowest possible web process for data
5. Videos should always be autoplay and have their volume turn on

Of all the web sins listed above the use of auto playing video is perhaps the most infuriating.   Frankly I'd love to see a browser that runs off this abomination.   Which brings up a question for everyone, is this a possibility on any web browser?

6. Your layout must work on the latest iPhone but doesn't need to support increasing font sizes on the desktop
7. See rule 1

It's probably controversial but I believe that if the answer is JavaScript then the question must have been bloody stupid.

TonyG

I see this constantly on all sorts of updated web sites.   tons of bloody Javascript that slows everything down and makes for a site that really doesn't work any better than the old and often a lot worse.

[james_s]

I actually like white space.   Some web sites are just so congested I find them unusable, Newark for example.

I just looked at Newark and I think the issue is not a lack of white space, but the fact that the background is all white everywhere. Adding acres of white space is not the solution, adding a bit of gray to the background with different shades to separate groups of related items from each other is. For about the last 5 years the trend has been to have everything just floating in a vast sea of stark white background, web and applications too. Then instead of bringing back sensible design they come up with "dark mode" that just flips the situation to have everything floating loose in a sea of black. Then they add more and more empty space between everything. Pixels are expensive and always in short supply, it pisses me off when software and websites consume massive amounts gratuitously.

I should be able to fit as much or more information on my screen than I could 10-15 years ago when resolutions were lower but I can't.

Don't even get me started on autoplay video, I'd like to lynch whoever decided that was a good idea. It makes sense on sites like youtube where you go there *to watch video* but I loathe having video start playing with blaring audio, especially news sites where you close the video window and it pops up again whenever you navigate. There is a plugin I have in Brave (Chrome based) called Disable HTML5 Autoplay, that fixes it for me.

[obuone]

True. Check this glitch. Every time you click anywhere on the parametric bar it creates new "Voltage Offset" window.... What happened to you Digi

[Mark19960]

my last order went to Mouser and another one will be coming up after the holidays. But I'm a small fish, DK would not care.

I'm small as well, $20kish/year, but I have also switched to Mouser.

I have started to move in this direction myself. It didn't help them when their website decided to remove all of the items from my basket.
My prediction is that Mouser will follow them and do the same thing themselves.
Everyone wants to be Amazon and I want to be certain I am buying from Digi-Key and ONLY Digi-Key.

[tooki]

Regarding it losing your whole cart: any chance you accidentally made a new cart? DK lets you save and change between carts, and if you use some features (like adding a BOM to your cart) it offers to put it into a new cart by default. (The old one is saved and can be accessed from the cart manager.) But at first glance one will think the old cart was obliterated.

[Mark19960]

Regarding it losing your whole cart: any chance you accidentally made a new cart? DK lets you save and change between carts, and if you use some features (like adding a BOM to your cart) it offers to put it into a new cart by default. (The old one is saved and can be accessed from the cart manager.) But at first glance one will think the old cart was obliterated.

Good thought mate but I checked that.
I have had Digi-Key munch the basket before. It's been a very long time since it has happened last.
It may be a coincidence that they have been working on these other bits and bobs and my basket was emptied.

[floobydust]

OMG I was able to search aluminium electrolytic capacitors and the website did not make me scream in frustration.  Hurrah, there is hope - the site is improving.
But 2,611 incorrectly have polarization specified as a "-", instead of "Polar" or Bi-polar". WTF is a "-" anyhow.
Then I found Kemet motor start caps "general purpose" and "polar". Sigh. And the usual Kemet website "You don't have permission to access /component-edge/download/datasheet/040MS22AAMK1STD.pdf on this server". Mouser has the datasheet, 3D models and stock...

Film capacitors are still awkward - you still can't specify a voltage range. Click click click click click click click click click click. Unlike electrolytics where you can say ">100V".

[tooki]

When metadata is wrong, report it. I’ve found that about 80% of the time they’ll fix it right away. (Sometimes, they defer to the manufacturer description, even if the manufacturer uses nonstandard terminology, which is infuriating. But still, 80% is better than nothing.) They always, always respond, which puts them ahead of most companies...

[james_s]

Film capacitors are still awkward - you still can't specify a voltage range. Click click click click click click click click click click. Unlike electrolytics where you can say ">100V".

Can't you click, scroll then shift-click to select a range?

Even so it's still cumbersome, and that's the case with a lot of parts. I'd like to be able to select max and/or min thresholds on virtually any metric. It's especially annoying when the sort order is screwy.

[floobydust]

This is the dumbness - no voltage range or simple top limit for film capacitors, and other parts. But they have it for electrolytics.

When metadata is wrong, report it.

Yes I report the few parts that are wrong in the database whenever I run into it, and only a few arguments so far.

But, over dud parameters like asking why thousands of parts have a polarity spec of "-" or " " is like asking support and hearing "have you tried another browser?".
They could add a mouseover or explanation for these odd parameters.

[bombledmonk]

But, over dud parameters like asking why thousands of parts have a polarity spec of "-" or " " is like asking support and hearing "have you tried another browser?".
They could add a mouseover or explanation for these odd parameters.

For what it's worth, the dash means one of two things. 
The specific parameter wasn't available when the part was laded (maybe it wasn't in the datasheet at all, isn't applicable, or the datasheet wasn't available) or the part's just haven't made it all the way through the queue of getting their information added. 

They could add a mouseover or explanation for these odd parameters.

noted

[floobydust]

I've seen a dash, star and blank in the parameter lists. It's silly because why would I search for parts with incomplete or late data coming in? Who is going to click on that, really.
What's the star mean?

[bombledmonk]

The dash does have a poweruser use case.  If you are unsure of whether a parameter in a specific column is filled in or not, you can include the dash along with any other parameters of your choice to keep from improperly eliminating parts that may not have that single parameter filled in.   Since filling out data isn't a perfect science it gives people an option to be overinclusive rather than having no way to include those thousands of dashed products in the results.  It sounds silly, but it really does get used this way.

The series should be the only place you should see asterisk today.  It's a holdover from when there were separate placeholders for "data not filled in yet" (*) and "parameter doesn't exist" (-).   I believe it's still there in Series due to some legacy system limitations. 

Having those placeholders at the top with no explanation is definitely a less than ideal experience, it's been hanging around on a list of cleanup tasks for a while.

[floobydust]

Why do prices have so many trailing zeros? You don't have that many significant digits anyhow.
If the price is below a dollar, or below $0.10 THEN add the sig digits (just like Mouser) as necessary.
Customers looking at micropennies? Seriously? This kind of stuff makes the website look like it was put together carelessly.

[cortex_m0]

One thing I noticed at work today: the part number search is now fuzzy. If I type in a part number that has a TI prefix (SN74), I explicitly do not want you to try and show me related/similar parts. I want parts that contain that string of characters only.

For example, if you type in SN74LVC1G07 for a SINGLE buffer, I get results including SN74LVC2G07 for a DUAL buffer and also SN74LVC3G07 TRIPLE buffers.

Or you type ATSAM4S into search, and the results include ATSAM3S MCUs in the results! 

I can't find a rhyme or reason. Spent a while putting in partial resistor part numbers, and can't reproduce such problems in that category. I was a bit surprised to read through this thread without seeing other complaints about this...