Smallbear is getting transformed!

[aziltz]

we got off to a bumpy start a few years ago, but small bear is by far my favorite.  Mammoth is 2nd, PPP is great for enclosures, but I agree the ordering experience/storefront is crap.  Mammoth has a good platform.

I haven't tried Tayda.  I used to order from effectsconnection.com but I forgot about them for a while.

[insomniac2295]

Mammoth definitely has the best platform and a lot of their prices are better than SmallBear. One other thing I haven't liked about SmallBear was the payment method. Either you can write a check/money order (honestly who even does that?) or by PayPal. I. Hate. PayPal. I would order from SmallBear 10x as much if they changed their payment options. I don't necessarily support business undercutting other businesses marginally like the way mammoth has most of their stuff 5 or 10 cents cheaper than SmallBear. So I would rather give SmallBear my business, especially since they have been around much longer

[DuctTapeRiot]

Tayda can be great but stay away from anything hardware related, because guess what?? Cheap hardware is ... cheap!! Out of the 40 or so DC jacks I ordered I would be surprised if more than half of them had nuts that actually fit properly, and their 3PDT are absolutely TERRIBLE.  Again the nuts dont fit properly and strip out at the slightest pressure. But for passives and ICs and whatnot their prices are pretty much unbeatable. 

[pickdropper]

I avoid Taydas electrolytics as well, but I am admittedly a bit paranoid about no name electros.  Their film caps are fine.

[aballen]

Call me lazy but I really like getting my passives from mouser, because of all the well labeled packages.... Shiny too

[aziltz]

Call me lazy but I really like getting my passives from mouser, because of all the well labeled packages.... Shiny too

i second this.  I go with mouser when its a better buy than Smallbear in quantity.

[Micpoc]

It looks marginally better... I guess that's something.  Being mostly a one-man operation, it's still pretty impressive.

lol, behind every one-man operation is a wife cracking the whip !

VERY true! 

[alanp]

Call me lazy but I really like getting my passives from mouser, because of all the well labeled packages.... Shiny too

I buy everything I can from Tayda, especially because every value is individually ziplock bagged and labelled. Plus they have the best bloody shipping prices out of any of the electronic sites I shop at.

My first Mouser order ever is on the way... but at $39 shipping, they're far worse than Smallbear has been to me for shipping! Plus ordering a few dozen resistor values on their site is a task of pain and agony.

[BraindeadAudio]

Steve @ Small bear has the only reasonable stock on NOS transistors and Diodes I have found on certain things.

Has anyone noticed the sound difference between LM308AH korean metal can op amps and the Motorola branded Metal cans? Night and day to me.

[fish22]

Glad to see the Small Bear improvement.
One of the ladies at PedalPartsPlus told me they were in the process of redesigning their site to make it really easy to order enclosures but their programmer/designer passed away near the end of the process so that set them back... but she told me there would be a huge improvement soon. That was a month ago.

[davent]

Call me lazy but I really like getting my passives from mouser, because of all the well labeled packages.... Shiny too

My first Mouser order ever is on the way... but at $39 shipping, they're far worse than Smallbear has been to me for shipping! Plus ordering a few dozen resistor values on their site is a task of pain and agony.

Could you get the same stuff from Digikey, even to Canada shipping is a flat $8 for orders under $200, free for those over. That said, I need to place an order with Mouser, only place i can find certain things,  but the shipping to Canada can be worrisome to say the least, no idea what to expect.
dave