I'm curious how hard could it be to create an alternative search engine for parts.
The hard part is who pays for it or how to make money off of it.
For example, the reason Octopart doesn't let you have your own preferences and private reputation system for vendors is not because they are lazy or incompetent, but because they want you to fully trust them and to share your own information with them so that others can fully trust them too.
I have seen this same arrogant "know it all" pattern too many times on "marketplace" type platforms to believe that it is even remotely accidental. These guys genuinely believe that they are making money by offering unique information and connections, not software tools that anyone else could develop too. Their goal is literally for you to type "NE555" into their search box and get the best deals there are; anything else they don't care about.
The scary thought is that this may be the best method of making money off such services that has evolved, and if you want to compete with established players you have to become a dick like them.
Myself, I believe that nothing ever changes and torches and pitchforks still ought to have as much place in society as they ever did