Question about ordering from Smallbear

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Open question to other forum members....

Does anyone else have to actually email them to get your items shipped??

I recently bit the bullet and made a single item order (multiple quantity) from Smallbear because I was tired of asking for them 1 and 2 at a time here on the forum. I placed the order on Friday morning June 3rd. Today (June 8th) I still haven't received news of shipment. I wanted these parts to finish up a build by this weekend which is why I ordered them the Friday before (with paying the additional $9 priority shipping for something that could easily be shipped priority for $5 or less) So, I decided to email them and ask what was going on. IT wasn't until about 2 hours after my email that I get a message saying it had shipped. I can only assume that it means a label was generated and it wont actually make it into the mail until this evening which means it wont ship until tomorrow. Even as priority, this means I will probably not get it until this Saturday if I am lucky but, more likely Monday.

This is the 3rd time I have ordered from there in the last year. ALL 3 times I have had to email to ask when my item(s) would ship. All 3 times I used the Priority option. And... all 3 times it will take 1 week or more to ship priority for a distance of 400 miles!

Does anyone else have these issues with Smallbear? Do you have to email them days after an order to get it shipped? Fairly sure that if I did NOT email them that I would still be waiting for them to ship. This is why I LOATHE ordering from there.

Frustrating.... 

[chordball]

The few times I've ordered from them I have had similar ship times, but I knew this before I ordered. I know they're not Mouser and I don't expect lightning fast order fulfillment. I can understand needing a part fast but since your prior experience wasn't what you expected, maybe a different source would have been a better option. 

That said, I do want fast service and shipping if priority is offered. It defeats the purpose of fast shipping to not fill the order quickly.

[BrianS]

I made an order on May 27 and it arrived Saturday in TX using first class mail.  Paying extra for Priority and it taking the same amount of time would certainly frustrate the heck out of me. I just know it's going to take awhile to get an order from there.

[jtaormina]

My orders usually take a bit longer than I would like as well.

[EBRAddict]

Did you try calling when you placed the order? It doesn't seem like a big outfit... they don't even have their own web domain. My hobby has expanded beyond pedals into Pi/Arduino stuff so I do most of my shopping at Mouser nowadays.

[jkokura]

I'm not sure what your understanding of Priority Shipping is. Do you take it to mean that your order get's bumped to the front of the line, ahead of people behind you, or that when it is shipped, whatever company is shipping the item is using their X-days shipping method?

Priority from Smallbear does not mean it's shipped out faster, but that the method for which it is transferred from their location to yours is faster.

Perhaps that's part of your struggle Greg. I have ordered on a Friday from Smallbear and I usually get my shipped notice about 3-5 business days later. That's normal for Smallbear, and many other small businesses, based on my experience.

Jacob

[neandrewthal]

I made my last order on May 29 and it shipped on June 1.

If you need something super fast I recommend Digikey (only if they have your part of course, I realize that Small Bear has some specialty stuff). Usually whenever I order from them my item arrives the next morning, even sometimes when I ordered after 8pm.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I'm not sure what your understanding of Priority Shipping is. Do you take it to mean that your order get's bumped to the front of the line, ahead of people behind you, or that when it is shipped, whatever company is shipping the item is using their X-days shipping method?

I know its not bumped. I know that priority shipping from Brooklyn to where I am at should take 2 days. My problem is the fact that it took 4 business days to get it out the door. The whole reason I placed the order was to have the parts by Friday and that was giving them 3 business days to ship.

This is the reason I usually do not order from SB. Too long to get out the door. It is what it is. 

[Stomptown]

Personally, I've only emailed small bear to express my gratitude towards them for the great customer service and parts selection for our relatively small community.  I don't expect a small business to be able to operate on the same level as a large corporation so I've learned anticipate my needs ahead of time and order accordingly.  I use Small Bear and Mouser exclusively and order in bulk to make sure that I have what I need and minimize the number of times throughout the year that I do have to wait for parts when I'm excited about a build.  Typically (with Smallbear) if I order mid week or later, I expect my package to ship sometime the next week.  I've never paid for the more expensive services but I suspect Jacob is right that choosing a different method does not bump you ahead of other orders.  With a small business it is reasonable to assume they do not have a system to track shipping methods and only see the method once they go to fill the order.  If these are for customer builds you are constantly getting frustrated over, you should probably set the deadlines accordingly or build up your stock to where this wont happen.  If it is for a personal build; Ob La Di, Ob La Da (you know the rest). If I sound like a jerk I apologize but you've been building long enough to know the drill. 

[Muadzin]

4 business days to get a company to ship stuff you ordered from them? Seems like standard practice with Musikding and Banzai. In my experience SB is usually a lot faster. Fastest still in my experience is Tayda though. They sometimes ship within the same day of ordering.

[Orbis_Ignis]

That's weird. I usually get stuff from Smallbear pretty quick. Tayda takes a week or so just to ship out.

[Muadzin]

A day at the most for Tayda, unless I ordered during the weekend. Maybe its different if you're from the US? I hear they have their own distribution center there.

[dont-tase-me-bro]

The only problem I've had is they sometimes forget a part, but they've always sent it out to me when I asked.  I live about an hour from them, so shipping is pretty quick by default

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I don't expect a small business to be able to operate on the same level as a large corporation so I've learned anticipate my needs ahead of time and order accordingly.  I use Small Bear and Mouser exclusively and order in bulk to make sure that I have what I need and minimize the number of times throughout the year that I do have to wait for parts when I'm excited about a build.  Typically (with Smallbear) if I order mid week or later, I expect my package to ship sometime the next week.  I've never paid for the more expensive services but I suspect Jacob is right that choosing a different method does not bump you ahead of other orders.  With a small business it is reasonable to assume they do not have a system to track shipping methods and only see the method once they go to fill the order.  If these are for customer builds you are constantly getting frustrated over, you should probably set the deadlines accordingly or build up your stock to where this wont happen.  If it is for a personal build; Ob La Di, Ob La Da (you know the rest). If I sound like a jerk I apologize but you've been building long enough to know the drill. 

I do not run a pedal business. I do not exclusively sell for profit. The only time I sell is to fund the hobby. I order project to project and sometimes things get missed.


As for the other comments... I agree about Tayda.... I order with them and use the upgraded shipping (not the high dollar but.. not the snail mail either) and I typically get the parts within 8-9 days (NOT business days... that TOTAL days folks!) from the order date. Keep in mind... that is parts that are coming from Thailand folks!!!!

I don't have a problem with Steve. He provides a great service for this community. I just wish his processing times were faster.

[bcalla]

I guess I have been lucky - I have never had a problem with Small Bear.  They always ship within 2-3 days, and I have the order within another few days.

I, too, have been impressed by Tayda's turnaround.  Before I knew about taydaelectronics.com I used to order from them on eBay (Tayda2009 I think) and it took a while for the orders to be delivered from Thailand.  My taydaelectronics.com packages have a Colorado return address.  I have assumed that they have a warehouse there which would account for their quick delivery and inexpensive shipping charges.