Hi, my name is Lee and I'm an Arrow abuser

[EBRAddict]

I once ordered 1 qty Analog Devices DSP chip for $10, it came in a whole JEDEC IC tray set and 2' x 2' x 3' box sent Next Day Air. It can't be profitable, and they have to be well aware of it. It will end one day...



I went through a 3 year phase of building tons of stuff, it was much easier to buy 1-2 each and not have to keep inventory, especially when they had next day shipping from halfway across the country.

[TFZ]

I'm still going to use them. I use Amazon prime too. It's a similar experience. Drone delivery is going to be even better!

How about learning to plan further ahead than where your next meal comes from? Amazon daily deliveries, sure . People like you... Any sort of environmental or moral conscience is just 404. Murica first, me firster!

[EBK]

I'm still going to use them. I use Amazon prime too. It's a similar experience. Drone delivery is going to be even better!

How about learning to plan further ahead than where your next meal comes from? Amazon daily deliveries, sure . People like you... Any sort of environmental or moral conscience is just 404. Murica first, me firster!

Wanna hear the most effed up part?  We basically consider this a purely political issue here in the US.

[BuGG]

I'm guilty...   I needed one IC, and I needed it fast.     

But rather than let Arrow Next-Day ship me a part that cost 54 cents I figured I'd go ahead and stock up on a couple hundred EEPROMs just to offset the shipping cost a bit.
Buuut, they shipped from different parts of the USA... One via FedEx, one via UPS.... so my attempt to save them money probably actually cost them more.

The irony?   The EEPROMs arrived today.   The specific item I needed was delayed with no ETA.     

[pickdropper]

I'm still going to use them. I use Amazon prime too. It's a similar experience. Drone delivery is going to be even better!

How about learning to plan further ahead than where your next meal comes from? Amazon daily deliveries, sure . People like you... Any sort of environmental or moral conscience is just 404. Murica first, me firster!

While I agree that there should be attention paid to the environmental impact of our decisions, I'm not sure it's totally fair to lump Lee in with folks that don't care or ignore environmental impact.  Unfortunately, there are many Americans that do think that way, but it's not everybody.  Sadly, convenience too often is the final arbiter of successful products.  I hope so see that change in our lifetimes.

Beyond that, I simply can't handle buying parts on a 1 in, 1 out basis.  It's simply too time consuming to constantly generate small orders.  Now, everybody is susceptible to a surprise shortage or part emergency (I see it all the time in engineering), but it's much less stressful to keep a stock of known used parts.

[cooder]

It is sickening to see that business models like this seem to work where the majority of 'stream lined' trade buffers the losses of stupidity like this. It is cheaper for Amazon to destroy lightly damaged or even just perfectly fine but customer returned products rather than sorting them, getting them fixed or re sold. Also that would undercut their profit margin of selling new products in the first place. The business model eats it's base and keeps the shareholders happy, for the moment.

Sickening. Just sickening.

If anyone tells me that it is a good idea to go to Mars and start a human colony to insure survival of mankind I think that person needs to think through how to solve these 'much simpler' problems first. Go on.

Going to Mars and leave our bad habits and a heap of trash behind. Great idea. I won't be on board, thanks a lot, and so won't be billions of ordinary people.
Like in the 'hitchhickers guide to galaxy' we should send all those hairdressers and phone sanitizers etc in the first ship of 'the fleet' and then get on with looking after ourselves and our planet.

Maybe it's all just a simulation. Sorry for the rant. It's all the sense I can make of it...

[Leevibe]

I'm still going to use them. I use Amazon prime too. It's a similar experience. Drone delivery is going to be even better!

How about learning to plan further ahead than where your next meal comes from? Amazon daily deliveries, sure . People like you... Any sort of environmental or moral conscience is just 404. Murica first, me firster!

So, I feel like I've really offended some people here and for that I sincerely apologize. I got a little tongue-in-cheek and didn't realize I was touching on some deeply held convictions. Sorry guys.

Like Pickdropper said, I'm not sure I fit very well with the screw the environment crowd. I actually think stewardship of our planet is important. I have my own deeply held convictions, none of which include blind patriotism. I do feel blessed to be a US citizen and I try not to take the privilege for granted, but loyalty to the country I live in isn't my highest priority by a very large margin. Considering others as more important than myself is a bigger aspiration of mine, and I'm aware daily of my shortcomings in that area.

TFZ, sorry for upsetting you. I don't think you have characterized me very well at all but I can see how this post would lead to a quick stereotype.

As far as Arrow's business model, I think we can speculate but who knows why the really do what they do? I used to deliver steel and I remember how important it was to our company that we treated the little businesses with as much care as our big bread and butter customers. The idea was ultimately self serving in that we believed that they would remain loyal to us if they grew to be big companies. Maybe Arrow is seeing the tinkering community as the breeding ground for future loyal big customers. I don't know.

As to the ludicrous packaging and multiple shipments, who knows? The shipment part isn't surprising to me. I get that it seems to make more sense to get consolidated shipments, but if they are coming from different vendors or warehouse locations, whether they consolidate at their facility or at my doorstep doesn't really change the fact that stuff moves from lots of places.

So far, with the packaging materials I've received, I have recycled all of the outer cardboard boxes and paper packing material. It all broke down to almost nothing. The ESD bags went into the garbage and I've pretty much saved the other boxes because I think they will be handy. One of them has already been used to ship something across the country.

Again, sorry for starting something that is really upsetting to some of you guys. Didn't mean it that way.

[TFZ]

Thanks Lee for typing this reasonable response. I'm actually a bit surprised myself I got upset by this topic, after all it's just the interwebz. Of course I am aware that there are many shades of environmental awareness and it's an uphill battle. Usually I try to educate and point out alternatives where I think somebody might go the wrong way. But somehow I expect better from the people I hang with, even if it's just on a forum (I might be new here, but I'm not in electronics DIY). Building electronics yourself does require more mental capacity than flipping burgers, so I'm disappointed by seeing somebody who I assume should know better blatantly and knowingly ignoring what to me is basic responsible behavior.

I saw the topic already days ago, but I felt like others had said already what had to be said concerning the environmental side of it, so I kept my mouth shut. I realize that half of what you said before was probably in jest, but when you mentioned Amazon en passant you hit a nerve. Closely related to the current environmental issues, it's this general spirit of consumerism that is really a red flag to me. The constant shopping of mostly useless crap, new phone every year, throwing good stuff out because it's not the latest model of xyz, so many bullshit products everywhere that serve no actual purpose. And particularly Amazon is the culprit that helped spawn this behavior. Not to mention the way their workers are treated and getting paid, bullying states or cities into tax cuts by one of the richest and most powerful companies, destroying returned items in masses instead of repairing or giving them away at a lower price or to welfare because that's cheaper, ... The list is really endless.

Sawing the branch we're all sitting on together without any regard for the people around you isn't a reasonable thing to do. But gladly things seem to be changing a lot in the US as well now for the last two or three years, the Donald seems to be the trigger for bringing up all sorts of important issues in protest to him. China is showing signs of trying to move in the right direction as well, so I am actually hopeful we as humans still can turn this ship away from the iceberg. I am also convinced that it is us, the engineers or technically minded people in general, who have to lead and will make the necessary progress to make it happen. But we have to do it in a way that everybody is able and willing to follow. You vote every couple of years for your government, but you vote every day with the money you spend, and every buck counts.

[cooder]

Sawing the branch we're all sitting on together without any regard for the people around you isn't a reasonable thing to do. But gladly things seem to be changing a lot in the US as well now for the last two or three years, the Donald seems to be the trigger for bringing up all sorts of important issues in protest to him. China is showing signs of trying to move in the right direction as well, so I am actually hopeful we as humans still can turn this ship away from the iceberg. I am also convinced that it is us, the engineers or technically minded people in general, who have to lead and will make the necessary progress to make it happen. But we have to do it in a way that everybody is able and willing to follow. You vote every couple of years for your government, but you vote every day with the money you spend, and every buck counts.

Well said.