That makes me wonder why you deal with the retail shops at all.


Things are different now than they were when I was dealing with this on a day-to-day basis. Back then, we had multiple manufacturers producing nearly any component that we used, and it was, in many companies, a "firing offense" to use a sole-sourced part. That gave the board designer considerably more leverage than he has today, when nearly every component is sole-sourced and proprietary.



Jerson,

I understand that, at the pace at which the high-tech commerce in India is expanding, governmental institutions and the culture cannot easily keep up with it. I also understand that much of the moderate-scale development is being done by very small developers, often private individuals, and that in an economy where people don't have lots of money to venture on the "off-chance" that they can raise enough venture capital to turn their very creative ideas into a profitable business, it's painful to take any monetary risks at all.

Further, I clearly understand that the vast majority of concern is about "How much money can we make this week?" rather than the longer-term potential an idea can produce. That certainly would explain why there are so many efforts to replicate the work of others rather than striking out on one's own to do something new and unique.

This business of aligning the government and law enforcement with the will of the people is a difficult and time-consuming process, and, right now, it seems that India is at the stage where the U.S. was, at least in that respect, in the late 19th century. People with resources have power, and people without, don't. Since it is hard work, though, it should be apparent that one has to do something rather than simply tolerating the circumstances.

You didn't address the matter of cost of postage from Europe or the U.S. versus the rather ridiculous price that was paid for these 6 apparently defective or mislabeled parts. Lynn Reed indicated that a small package from the U.S. to India should cost on the order US$10, while you seem to believe it will cost US$50. That's certainly something I'd want to study out.

Once local vendors learn that YOU have learned how to get what you want from outside the country, and why you are willing to go to the trouble, they may change their behavior. Until you do that, it's certain they won't.

Once you let manufacturers know that you're not even considering their products for your new designs because you can't get them at competitive prices, they may do something. It's certain that they won't if you don't complain, though, as it's "the squeaky door that gets the oil."

You can't do all this alone. You have to enlist the cooperation of every small developer you know, including your competitors, as you're all in the same sinking boat, and will surely perish if you don't learn to swim.

Perhaps the place to start is to get together with other local electronic component users, and place monthly colective orders, which then would be large enough to make the impact of the shipping cost less onerous. As I've already stated, I don't know the low-level details of what goes on in the high-tech community in India.

I would point out one thing, though, and that's that whenever I've purchased passives from China, usually via eBay, I've paid, say, $20, for 5000 components, of which $15 was for postage.

I'd guess it doesn't cost that much shipping from China to India. Yes, I've endured uncertainty, waiting, and so on, but I'm not shy about paying just as much for a low price + high freight as for high cost and low freight. It all depends on how you're treated. The indigenous vendors seem bent on cheating you. U.S. and European vendors have learned that it works better to be fair with customers. Your local vendors won't learn much if there are no consequences for mistreating you. Sometimes, it's painful to take the necessary steps, but if you won't do anything about it, then you're their lawful prey.

Ghandi surely demonstrated that the actions of a single person can make a significant difference in the outcome.

RE