I wouldn't buy from China it I could do it locally. I've searched in every local store, every online store and 3 major importers, and not a single one offers what I want, and when they do, their prices are absolutely prohibitive.
And yes, I know Santa Efigénia, everyone one in Brazil has heard of that particular neighborhood in São Paulo. But, unfortunately (apart that I currently live on the other side of Brazil), and I have contacted several of them regarding Resistors (mainly) and all they have is 5% or 10% tolerance resistors from unknown or shady brands. I compared their prices to every other store in Brazil (Online and Local) and guess what: Their prices are way more expensive than buying from China.
The last option I got is retail, I'm waiting a response from 3 different official Yageo importers, I haven't got their prices yet, but one of them already replied saying that the PN's I ordered were not something they order on a daily day basis... That said, I must think that even them only stock 10% Tolerance and PR of about 1/4 and 1/2 Watt max values. So what kind of importer am I dealing with in Brazil?
I'm still waiting for their prices, but something tells me China is about to win.
So you lived in Brazil? Ever heard of "Gerson's Law" ? I'll explain it to you. In Brazil, because of local politics, corruption, poverty and everything else in between, makes the locals want to earn a lot of money in the most possible least effort. And so, on top of the fair price on products, comes this law and it's very hard to come by a store with competitive prices. I don't own an iPhone (never did), but do you know how much it can cost in Brazil? 3 times more than in Europe or the US... I recently bough a ZTE for 50€, it's about 250 BRL... And the cheapest Smartphone you can buy in Brazil is at least 700BRL.
And even if I would buy locally, apart from the prices being higher than China, the postage in Brazil is awfully expensive and a very tedious thing to watch. I'll tell you this: If I wanted to mail something to myself, it would take longer than someone posting something from Australia or Asia and reaching Brazil. It takes about 3 or 4 days from leaving China or Australia and reach Brazil, but it takes about 3 weeks from south to north of Brazil, unless you pay a lot more of something already expensive, and that thing will get to you in a couple of days.
Fortunately, I'm not staying here for more than 3 or 4 years, because I'm afraid I would go mad if I would stay longer than that. Not that Brazil does not have its Pros... But the Cons are way heavier
So... All of this just to tell you: I wish I could just take a flight to São Paulo and go to Santa Efigénia, but even a ticket from something like Lisboa - London, costs more than soemething like Tokyo - New York. You don't get tickets like 30 or 50€ in Brazil. The cheapest I got so far was about 400€ for a two and a half hour, one way flight.
And yes, I know Santa Efigénia, everyone one in Brazil has heard of that particular neighborhood in São Paulo. But, unfortunately (apart that I currently live on the other side of Brazil), and I have contacted several of them regarding Resistors (mainly) and all they have is 5% or 10% tolerance resistors from unknown or shady brands. I compared their prices to every other store in Brazil (Online and Local) and guess what: Their prices are way more expensive than buying from China.
The last option I got is retail, I'm waiting a response from 3 different official Yageo importers, I haven't got their prices yet, but one of them already replied saying that the PN's I ordered were not something they order on a daily day basis... That said, I must think that even them only stock 10% Tolerance and PR of about 1/4 and 1/2 Watt max values. So what kind of importer am I dealing with in Brazil?
I'm still waiting for their prices, but something tells me China is about to win.
So you lived in Brazil? Ever heard of "Gerson's Law" ? I'll explain it to you. In Brazil, because of local politics, corruption, poverty and everything else in between, makes the locals want to earn a lot of money in the most possible least effort. And so, on top of the fair price on products, comes this law and it's very hard to come by a store with competitive prices. I don't own an iPhone (never did), but do you know how much it can cost in Brazil? 3 times more than in Europe or the US... I recently bough a ZTE for 50€, it's about 250 BRL... And the cheapest Smartphone you can buy in Brazil is at least 700BRL.
And even if I would buy locally, apart from the prices being higher than China, the postage in Brazil is awfully expensive and a very tedious thing to watch. I'll tell you this: If I wanted to mail something to myself, it would take longer than someone posting something from Australia or Asia and reaching Brazil. It takes about 3 or 4 days from leaving China or Australia and reach Brazil, but it takes about 3 weeks from south to north of Brazil, unless you pay a lot more of something already expensive, and that thing will get to you in a couple of days.
Fortunately, I'm not staying here for more than 3 or 4 years, because I'm afraid I would go mad if I would stay longer than that. Not that Brazil does not have its Pros... But the Cons are way heavier
So... All of this just to tell you: I wish I could just take a flight to São Paulo and go to Santa Efigénia, but even a ticket from something like Lisboa - London, costs more than soemething like Tokyo - New York. You don't get tickets like 30 or 50€ in Brazil. The cheapest I got so far was about 400€ for a two and a half hour, one way flight.
Buying from "Mercado Livre" ? No thanks, that place is dodgier than a black market on China. I know they have "official" stores in "Mercado Livre", but that place is for small hobbyists who don't mind getting AliExpress fake components, and specially not for someone who wishes to buy about 100 (or more) Resistors and Capacitors with 10 different values.
But thanks for the tip anyway.
OK, then I suggest you physically walk around in Sta Ifigênia plus parallel and crossing streets, TONS of shops , buy from the most serious ones.
Or do what I do: make a shopping list for many components and order at Mouser.
To make it worth it (as in not paying way more freight than parts cost) ,try to reach at least 100 U$D, 200 would be even better (my minimum order), Mouser offers an "Economy Courier deal": U$35 fixed price, I choose UPS because their warehouse is a few blocks away, you choose the one that fits you best.
The beauty of Courier services, compared to regular Post (or Ali Express) is that they deal with Customs, use their own Registered Customs agent, etc. , the "do the paperwork" for you.
While Customs (Alfândega + Receita Federal) can delay deliveries for Months if they want, and make your life miserable (don´t ask 😡)
Of course,I am not suggesting you pay U$35 freight for U$10 worth of parts.
Or do what I do: make a shopping list for many components and order at Mouser.
To make it worth it (as in not paying way more freight than parts cost) ,try to reach at least 100 U$D, 200 would be even better (my minimum order), Mouser offers an "Economy Courier deal": U$35 fixed price, I choose UPS because their warehouse is a few blocks away, you choose the one that fits you best.
The beauty of Courier services, compared to regular Post (or Ali Express) is that they deal with Customs, use their own Registered Customs agent, etc. , the "do the paperwork" for you.
While Customs (Alfândega + Receita Federal) can delay deliveries for Months if they want, and make your life miserable (don´t ask 😡)
Of course,I am not suggesting you pay U$35 freight for U$10 worth of parts.
There is a lot of stock of BD139/140 from Mouser or Digikey,and both of them are reliable,you can buy it from their website.
I'm buying from LCSC. The thing is: two days ago, they had no 140 (the day I created this thread), but the next morning they had it on stock again... That was really weird
@mondogenerator
I can order from Mouser, but their prices and shipping are prohibitive to me.
Let me explain why:
My income is not either on USD or €, so every time I import something, the prices are always indexed to USD, I always have to multiply Brazilian Reais by 5.
And apart from the indexed USD, Mouser always charges 35 USD on postage, which makes about 165 BRL.
LCSC charges about 7USD on postage, about 33 BRL. That's a huge difference, at least to me.
Prices:
Mouser is okay, LCSC are a fraction of their prices.
Now the import fees:
Brazil, no matter where you import from, you always have to expect to pay a 60% rate on top of the total sum and that means postage costs included. Yeah.. That's very fair, right?
And those 60% are totally random. Last week my wife bought something from the US, something like really not expensive, something like 8 USD or so. She was charged for 60% on top of that.
3 weeks before, I bought something from Taiwan for about 150 USD and despite my fears of being charged 60%, I received the package without having to pay taxes for it.
So it's really random. I think it depends on which batch your postage is. Sometimes every batch is charged and sometimes none is.
So imagine you import something, no matter from where, you have to assume you'll be paying an hansom fee to help maintaining dirty politics.
Conclusion:
In the end, every cent counts
I see your point, but not your point in complaint.
LCSC the cheapest around, import duties can't be helped by supplier.
I.e.
I could send you 100 BD 139 and 140 for free, and it would still cost you more than I paid.
Maybe just wait it out until BRICS can buy in Yuan, I dont see a way around it.
I see your point, but let me explain why I still prefer LCSC over Mouser:
Price:
Let's take Yageo Resistors for an example, 1% 50 PPM 250mW, in Mouser they cost about 0.10USD each. In LCSC they cost as low as 0.060, depending on Resistance Value. Even if minimum quantity for buying is 50, it still would be cheaper.
Postage:
No matter what quantity I buy from both, I'll still need to pay for it. But Mouser, whatever I'm buying 50 or 500USD, I'll need to pay 35USD on postage. LCSC on average, I'm paying about 10 to 15 USD. So that's a 20 USD difference. Might be not a huge difference to some, but for who lives in Brazil it is a 100 BRL difference. And 100 is a lot of money just for postage costs.
Import Duties:
There's a 30 to 50% chance to get notified for paying the TAX over imports. My experience so far: in about over 100 items bought from abroad, I had to pay for about 10% of the packages sent to me. I guess I'm a lucky guy. But my wife, she keeps buying things from China and the USA, she keeps getting notified for the taxes. So it's like a lottery.
Now, here comes the real reason why I still prefer LCSC: price and postage are about one third comparing to Mouser.
Because the import fees is not only over the bought product, but also over postage costs, the tax gets you 60% of all what you paid for. They don't care if you bought something for 3.99. But when they saw that the postage for the 3.99 costed 20, they'll be charging you over 23.99.
So imagine that I have the bad luck of getting taxed, the low prices on LCSC and 13 USD on postage, is going to make a huge difference compared to the prices of Mouser and the 35 for postage. I've done the math several times, even if I pay 60% on Duties from LCSC, it still would be cheaper from buying from Mouser without paying the 60%.
So that's why I chose LCSC. If I did not care about the money, don't get me wrong, but I would never deal anything from China.
So far, I've been lucky dealing with LCSC, but probably because I stick to some brands and avoid shady ones. I've seen Resistors as low as 0.009 USD, but from companies I've never heard of, but I still stick to KOA or Yageo. Same for the capacitors, I'm not buying Xiamen Faratronic, I'm buying Vishay, TDK and Panasonic
Price:
Let's take Yageo Resistors for an example, 1% 50 PPM 250mW, in Mouser they cost about 0.10USD each. In LCSC they cost as low as 0.060, depending on Resistance Value. Even if minimum quantity for buying is 50, it still would be cheaper.
Postage:
No matter what quantity I buy from both, I'll still need to pay for it. But Mouser, whatever I'm buying 50 or 500USD, I'll need to pay 35USD on postage. LCSC on average, I'm paying about 10 to 15 USD. So that's a 20 USD difference. Might be not a huge difference to some, but for who lives in Brazil it is a 100 BRL difference. And 100 is a lot of money just for postage costs.
Import Duties:
There's a 30 to 50% chance to get notified for paying the TAX over imports. My experience so far: in about over 100 items bought from abroad, I had to pay for about 10% of the packages sent to me. I guess I'm a lucky guy. But my wife, she keeps buying things from China and the USA, she keeps getting notified for the taxes. So it's like a lottery.
Now, here comes the real reason why I still prefer LCSC: price and postage are about one third comparing to Mouser.
Because the import fees is not only over the bought product, but also over postage costs, the tax gets you 60% of all what you paid for. They don't care if you bought something for 3.99. But when they saw that the postage for the 3.99 costed 20, they'll be charging you over 23.99.
So imagine that I have the bad luck of getting taxed, the low prices on LCSC and 13 USD on postage, is going to make a huge difference compared to the prices of Mouser and the 35 for postage. I've done the math several times, even if I pay 60% on Duties from LCSC, it still would be cheaper from buying from Mouser without paying the 60%.
So that's why I chose LCSC. If I did not care about the money, don't get me wrong, but I would never deal anything from China.
So far, I've been lucky dealing with LCSC, but probably because I stick to some brands and avoid shady ones. I've seen Resistors as low as 0.009 USD, but from companies I've never heard of, but I still stick to KOA or Yageo. Same for the capacitors, I'm not buying Xiamen Faratronic, I'm buying Vishay, TDK and Panasonic
Actually strange to hear , that mouser offers no free shipping in your country. I've made three orders , and all times when basket was smaller than 50,00 euro ,they apply a shipping 20,00 euro , also they didn't warn that prices are without VAT (21%). But if i reach 50,00 eur of items in basket , shipping becomes 0,00. Maybe that's only in EU , i don't know. VAT is applied later ,when need to pay. Also mouser advertises about free shipping over 50 euros. So it's strange to hear that they have country dependent policies ...
Yes, Mouser in Europe does not charge for postage costs for 50 USD or more in purchases. In Brazil, unfortunately, it's a whole different story...
...Maybe the postages for South America are more expensive? I don't know, but it's a bit unfair not to charge on US and EU and leave the rest of the world to a 35USD flat rate. Don't know about Australia or New Zealand though
I do agree, that Mouser is super fast. Even items coming from them, get here very fast, but 99.9% of the times, DHL contacts you the next day for paying the 60% taxes.
Yes, they ship and deliver in less than a week, but that, comes with a price.
So, I'm not that on a hurry and I don't have deep pockets, I have to stick to China and with patience and a bit of luck, I don't get taxed and receive the items on a 3 week average
PS
You probably assumed I was in Portugal, but no, indeed I am Portuguese but for now, I'm living in Brazil
...Maybe the postages for South America are more expensive? I don't know, but it's a bit unfair not to charge on US and EU and leave the rest of the world to a 35USD flat rate. Don't know about Australia or New Zealand though
I do agree, that Mouser is super fast. Even items coming from them, get here very fast, but 99.9% of the times, DHL contacts you the next day for paying the 60% taxes.
Yes, they ship and deliver in less than a week, but that, comes with a price.
So, I'm not that on a hurry and I don't have deep pockets, I have to stick to China and with patience and a bit of luck, I don't get taxed and receive the items on a 3 week average
PS
You probably assumed I was in Portugal, but no, indeed I am Portuguese but for now, I'm living in Brazil
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Did you used app on phone ? Try to look at their website , desktop version. Try to experiment with different basket sizes, currencies , shipping options . In EU case , i get free shipping only with their default FedEx delivery . Got items from USA warehouse to Lithuania in 3 days!
I tried everything, but like I said before. Even if Mouser did indeed offer free shipping, it still would be more expensive. Take a look at the screenshots:
Exactly the same item: Yageo 470 ohm 1% 100ppm
To get the same price on Mouser, I would have to buy 1000 resistors to get the 0.014 per piece
So if I buy 7 of these resistors on Mouser, it would be the same of buying 50 of the same PN directly from china.
Undoubtedly and unfortunately, no one can compete with China prices, and most anyone can see why: it's an economic war: China wants to rule the world and most of the world does not know it, because China hides everything from everyone, but their economy is about to collapse.
Go on YouTube and search for bicycle or EV fields: tens of hundreds of thousands of perfectly good cars and bicycles, just decomposing on huge fields. Imagine the manpower and resources lost for doing this.
Go and see how many ghost cities they have.
Their economy is a huge lie, because they build all of this and leave everything for the taking. No country can manage a 10% growth every year, on a healthy way. That's pure madness.
And for what? Just to only China can say "China numba one"
But this is all a whole different topic from the initial one
Exactly the same item: Yageo 470 ohm 1% 100ppm
To get the same price on Mouser, I would have to buy 1000 resistors to get the 0.014 per piece
So if I buy 7 of these resistors on Mouser, it would be the same of buying 50 of the same PN directly from china.
Undoubtedly and unfortunately, no one can compete with China prices, and most anyone can see why: it's an economic war: China wants to rule the world and most of the world does not know it, because China hides everything from everyone, but their economy is about to collapse.
Go on YouTube and search for bicycle or EV fields: tens of hundreds of thousands of perfectly good cars and bicycles, just decomposing on huge fields. Imagine the manpower and resources lost for doing this.
Go and see how many ghost cities they have.
Their economy is a huge lie, because they build all of this and leave everything for the taking. No country can manage a 10% growth every year, on a healthy way. That's pure madness.
And for what? Just to only China can say "China numba one"
But this is all a whole different topic from the initial one
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Maybe china can offer better prices because most of electonic component factories are there or nearby , also people work is cheaper... But yes, this is offtopic. Return to topic . Bd139 and 140 are old types and slow, don't remember now exact voltage, only 3Mhz , and 12,5W . They can be replaced by many other types, if space is not a problem for to-220 package(wider). Did you tried to check local sellers catalogs online by parametric search ? Maybe something from old stock exists , unpopular types ?
If you want to go SMD, you can also have a look at the BCP53 and BCP56.
Which should be equivalent or very similar to a BD139/BD140.
Just making a simple adapter PCB is also still an option.
Or another take, just order a whole bunch, and resell them in Brazil.
Sounds like there is a shortage there anyway, so nice side hustle 😉 🙂
Which should be equivalent or very similar to a BD139/BD140.
Just making a simple adapter PCB is also still an option.
Or another take, just order a whole bunch, and resell them in Brazil.
Sounds like there is a shortage there anyway, so nice side hustle 😉 🙂
If you go to a vendor web site and use the selector guides, they list availability for those parts, price etc. But older commodity parts are what the Chinese do well, so you may want to buy parts from Amazon etc and test them.
https://www.digikey.com/en/products...McScTy0iAALRZJBQaxw-wFMgEvTOL4EqlQGhGQwqqgKoA
https://www.digikey.com/en/products...McScTy0iAALRZJBQaxw-wFMgEvTOL4EqlQGhGQwqqgKoA
Thanks for correction! Actually this info is missing in all datasheets i'm having too, but present at unisonic bd139 pdf. Maybe they are new generation, or other manufacturers don't categorize them as fast or switching transistors , so don't include that info.
Not that new generation, they are around over 50 years, being used in a DIY amp during 1970 (Elektuur/Elektor magazine "Edwin" amp). The older the databook the more info, the Mullard 1974 databook even states thermal resistance with or without mica washer 🙂