I started this list, because I like to pretend that my opinions actually matter to someone. If you find it helpful, please
post a comment in the forums
If you’d like to make a recommendation please create a new post in the appropriate place in the
RiddledTV forums
.
TV Parts Sites
Good Parts Sites
MCMElectronics.com
-
This is my favorite site to purchase parts that are specific to TV repair.
They stock good quality parts, and ship quickly and cheap. I always buy convergence chips from here if I
can. I try not to buy passive components (capacitors or resistors) from here if I can buy a generic one
because they cost a premium compared to other places.
| B- |
Prices |
| A |
Quality |
| B |
Shipping Rates |
| A |
Shipping Time |
| A |
Ease of Business |
| A |
My Overall Opinion |
WeHaveParts.com
– Very good site to find the part number you need. All you have to do is type in the model number,
and it returns a list of parts. I usually look here first to find a part number, but I rarely buy it here because
it’s usually cheaper somewhere else after shipping prices are added. I often feel guilty for not buying more
from them since I use their website so much for part research.
| C |
Prices |
| A |
Quality |
| C |
Shipping Rates |
| A |
Shipping Time |
| B |
Ease of Business |
| B |
My Overall Opinion |
Tiptoptuner.com
-
These guys have cheap (rebuilt) tuners and ship very quickly. It’s only $27 shipped for any tuner. It
also costs about $1 in postage to ship the bad tuner back to them. I usually return the bad tuner in the same package
that they use to ship to me. I only wish they had a secure order form on their website. You have to phone in
or email, and give them your credit card number. I have had 1 dud tuner from them, but they shipped a replacement for it
right away… and it cost me an extra $1 in postage to ship the dud back.
| A |
Prices
|
| B |
Quality |
| A+ |
Shipping Rates |
| A+ |
Shipping Time |
| C |
Ease of Business |
| B+ |
My Overall Opinion |
Mouser.com
– No
minimum order. Passive
components
(resistors and capacitors) are dirt cheap here.
They ship fairly quickly too. Transistors and other
active components are cheap here too, but they
don’t have most typical TV components.
It sometimes takes me a while to figure out
what TV part number correlates to a generic part number, but it can be
worth it
if you have time to research.
| A |
Prices |
| A |
Quality |
| B |
Shipping
Rates |
| B |
Shipping
Time |
| A |
Ease
of Business |
| A |
My
Overall Opinion |
Digikey.com
– $5 fee for orders under $25. I buy a lot of generic
active devices (transistors, voltage regulators,
etc.) from here. They
also have decent
prices on passive components. I
usually
end up buying additional passive components to get over the $25 order
threshold.
| B |
Prices |
| A |
Quality |
| B |
Shipping
Rates |
| A |
Shipping
Time |
| A |
Ease
of Business |
| A |
My
Overall Opinion |
B.A.D. Parts Sites
MATelectronics.com
- I had to scrounge to come up with enough parts to purchase to meet their $25 minimum order, because I really only needed an RCA Flyback transformer quickly.
Their online inventory status was not accurate and they did not actually have the flyback I needed in stock. They could not give me an ETA on the flyback, and they refused to ship the remainder of my order unless I purchased
additional items (in order to meet their $25 minimum order amount).
It felt like a bait-and-switch maneuver to me. The manager that I spoke with on the phone was pretty rude about the whole situation.
I’d rather pay a premium elsewhere than do business with them in the future. Their prices appear to be very cheap,
assuming you can get them to actually ship you an order. I have no first hand knowledge on the quality
of their parts.
|
B
|
Prices
|
|
-
|
Quality
|
|
-
|
Shipping Rate
|
|
-
|
Shipping Time
|
|
F
|
Ease of Business
|
|
F
|
My Overall Opinion
|
