Jerson,

Let's start with

http://www.8052.com/forum/read.phtml?id=153680.

Now consider the fact that all those apparently corrupt dealers. Each of them has to pay the customs duty required to get his product into India. True enough, they consolidate shipments so they can save on freight cost, but they surely can't do the same with customs duty.

I suspect the problem is that people aren't willing to wait the two weeks transit time. I've observed the same syndrome here in the U.S. Anxious circuit builders are not willing to wait a few days to find out that their kitchen-table project doesn't work. Unfortunately, kitchen-table operations are not the only ones plagued by this impatience. If people would simply not tolerate the very high "rip-off" prices in combination with the risk of counterfeits, both would go away. It requires a concerted effort from an organized group of developers. Perhaps a bit of networking would be of use. The worst that could happen if you work in concert with others having similar interests is that you get to discuss your issues with others who share your problems. You might even hear about better supply chain management strategies.

I don't wish to assume the role of an omniscient critic. I don't know the exact details. I don't know what the legal or financial constraints on small developers in India might be. I do know that you're not alone in dealing with this matter. Surely, there's someone in the technological development community who has contacts within the government who might take an interest. This is a problem common to all developers of electronic circuits, and not just the small ones, so someone, somewhere, should be concerned that replacement parts, parts on short notice, etc, are unavailable.

Have you attempted to use manufacturers other than Atmel? Which ones? How were you treated? In what quantity were you wishing to deal?

One other thing ... While this is not directly an ATMEL problem, if you and others whom you know to be using ATMEL components stop using ATMEL parts because they are not available without the inherent risk of counterfeiting, you can make it ATMEL's problem by refusing to use their components unless they sell them directly to you. If you do this openly and publicly, making it clear to everyone what the problem is and why you're dealing with it in this way, they may be swayed into taking some action.

Now, the reason I don't use ATMEL is exactly that they don't fix the problems and don't ensure their products are faulty, and don't warn of production problems, don't even tell the truth about flaws in their product, and, in fact, try to blame the customer rather than accepting responsibility for their screwups.

This may sell in Asian culture, though I doubt it, but it doesn't sell here.

RE