electronics stores in the greater Seattle area

"aurgathor" wrote

Well, most of now use www rather than mail ...

Electronics are not normally bought 'retail' with the exception of radio/tv repair items and hobby/surplus. The repair business is in decline with the spread of "swap 'til you drop" and most surplus is now sold via the net.

www ordering from Hamilton/Avnet/Arrow/Newark/Digikey is as efficient and fast as it gets. Order by 9pm and get the order by 9am. Check stock and get pricing on line rather than having your inside sales rep give you the 'Let me call you back on that ...'

Furthermore you no longer need to listed in Dunn & Bradstreet to have an account with a major disty.

Expect retail electronics to disappear completely.

Well, there's Vetco on 20th Ave (Northrup Way) in Bellevue. It's on the north side, a couple blocks east of 124th Ave. Of course, their selection is kind of odd as well. There was some other place on 20th, but I don't know if they're still there (near Vetco's original location near the Harley shop).

I know this option, and it makes sense with significant orders, but when I need a couple of connectors that would normally retail at a few bucks, the price with shipping suddenly becomes rather expensive.

Are you sure? According to the phone book, Vetco is on the 148th somewhere.

Their basement was like an electronic junkyard. For new stuff, Active had a lot better selection.

That must've been Active -- they were next door.

And Supertronix seems to have diappeared out of their store on the West Valley Hwy, too, down in RentonKentwilla.

That was/is Electronic Supply, they moved up to Lynnwood, (somewhere near the Half Price Books on Hwy. 99) and as of a couple of years ago were only listed in the Batteries category in the Yellow Pages web site.

It's been about 6 months since I've been there, is Vetco still in the Bellevue Fred Meyer store? (148th and Northup/20th).

Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Washington State resident

"aurgathor" wrote

Plan ahead or pay the penalty. Sort of a universal rule.

But how much do you value your time? If it takes 1 hour to go get the part then it is a whole lot cheaper to spring for $20 for overnight delivery. Even if it is for a 5 cent resistor. I often look for and order stock items that are running low to help amortize the FedEx charge.

Then there is ordering it 'super-saver' manana class and going to the beach to wait for the part to arrive. Very popular.

If you are doing it as a hobby, your call: I often find I would be ahead flipping hamburgers and paying for a service than doing it myself.

Always employ an expert: say, oh, how about a consulting engineer, from Cleveland, even.

Yes. They used to be in the Fred Meyer store at 148th, but they moved not that long ago to the described location. It's near a weight gym.

Probably was.

Thanks, I'll visit them next time I'll be in that area. I haven't been there ever since they moved from their original location.

How about Westlake Electronics Supply? Seattle Store

They are now Alpha Electronics. Located on East Andover near Southcenter.

I just called them to get their address, and was told that: a) "I'm only doing batteries now" b) "I'm getting out of business" Dang. They're about 10 minutes from me.