Page 65 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

34 GETTING PARTS

your country; many Web businesses ship internationally, but not all do. Check for any specific
payment requirements and shipping restrictions. If they accept checks or money orders, the
denomination should be in the company’s native currency.

G If your design requires parts that are no longer widely available or that have you pull the guts
out of a certain toy that’s long gone from the clearance aisle, try eBay (www.ebay.com) or the
classified ads on Craigslist (www.craigslist.org).

Shop Once, Shop Smart

Whether buying locally or through mail order— and that includes the Internet— you’ll want to
get as many of the parts as you need at once. This saves time, trouble, and expense.
When getting parts locally, there’s the hassle of returning to the store for last- minute addi-
tions. That costs you time and gas. And when buying through the mail, repeat orders pile up
the shipping costs. A transistor may cost only 25 cents, but add order minimums and shipping
fees and you could easily be looking at $5 or $10 on your credit card.
Some ideas for savvy shopping:

• Keep an inventory of what you have, and think ahead. Plan your next several projects, and
get as many of the parts for them at the same time as you can.
• Try to group purchases together when buying from the same store, even if the store
doesn’t have the lowest price. If the difference is minor, consider the additional costs of
driv ing or shipping from another source.
• For very basic electronic parts try to get an assortment of standard values. Things like resis-
tors and capacitors (discussed in Chapter 31, “Common Electronic Components for
Robotics”) are just pennies each. A $10 (or whatever) assortment of the most common
values will save you time and money.
• Don’t forget what you already have! See “Getting Organized,” later in this chapter, on how
to keep a good inventory of your stock.

Haunting the Surplus Store

Surplus is a wonderful thing, but most people shy away from it. Why? If it’s surplus, the rea-
soning goes, it must be worthless junk. That’s simply not true. Surplus is exactly what its name
implies: extra stock. Because the stock is extra, it’s generally priced accordingly— to move it
out the door.
Surplus stores that specialize in new and used mechanical and electronic parts are a pleasure
to find. (Don’t confuse these with stores that sell surplus clothing, camping, and government
equipment. Completely different animal.) Many urban areas have at least one mechanical/
electronics surplus store. Bear in mind that surplus stores don’t have mass- market appeal, so
finding them is not always easy. Start by looking in the phone company’s business directory
under Surplus.
Surplus parts are also available through the mail. There’s a limited number of mail- order
surplus outfits that cater to the hobbyist, but you can usually find everything you need if you
look carefully enough and are patient. See Appendix B, “Internet Parts Sources,” for leads.

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