Hello,
I'm writing from Italy. I apologize if my English isn't so good.
on 20th October I placed an order on Digikey for a Beagle Board + HDMI/
DVI cable. The same day I received the pro-forma invoice with the
confirmation "Order is complete". Both products were available
("shipped" in the proforma) and the backorder column was empty. So I
assumed the goods were in stock.
I immediately paid through a wire transfer and after few days they
told me the order is ready to ship.
Those of us with some responsibility in the BeagleBoard.org community
take these issues very seriously. There was an interruption of supply
between the contract manufacturer and Digi-Key for a period of around
3 weeks. This is largely due to demand being somewhat higher than
anticipated and also a desire to replace the component used for the
serial line driver to avoid the 1% or so of boards where those parts
had poor connectivity.
This week, boards are shipping to Digi-Key again. Hopefully that
means that all of your items will ship soon.
If you have details of your correspondence with Digi-Key, I'd
appreciate if you directly provide me with details and contact
information. So far, all of my investigations into issues reported
with Digi-Key have shown Digi-Key to be responsive when contacted and
conservative when communicating schedules. I'm hopeful that almost
everyone has a positive experience, but expect there to be a hiccup
from time to time. Overall, I've found that Digi-Key has been quite
accommodating to the BeagleBoard.org community.
-Jason
Marco,
when I wanted to order a Beagle, Digikey was out of stock. I came to the
forum and asked about inventory. The forum sent word that inventory was
refreshed weekly. Sure enough, on Monday, inventory enough to cover my
order.
Then, Digikey called informing me that the shipping method I had
selected was more than I required. The lady on the phone requested that
I cancel the order, resubmit, and choose an alternate shipping method
that ended up saving me enough money to order that lovely clear laser
cut case for my Beagleboard from that guy in Arizona.
Mistakes can happen. Perhaps they had one less item in inventory and
when you ordered the inventory error showed up. The folks at Digikey are
very cautious about filling orders. I would expect they are even more
diligent when it is an order as far away as Italy. Nobody likes to wait
six weeks for a package, only to find out one item ordered was missing
and now shipping will be double.
Please, be patient. I'm confident Digikey will act quickly and make sure
your order is shipped in a timely fashion, complete with everything you
ordered. If its a couple days extra, please be patient and trust the
fine folks fulfilling your order. I'm confident the wait will be worth it.
When I ordered my board, I declined to order some of the recommended
extras like a matched USB cable and the HDMI/DVI cable. I thought I
could pick them up around the city I live for comparable prices. I was
wrong. Nobody ad the USB cable I wanted, and I had to order and wait two
weeks. And, one store did have the HDMI/DVI cable I wanted, but I paid
waaaay more than I would have if I had ordered it with my board through
Digikey.
I've learned from my mistake. My next order, its with all the bells and
whistles, and if its a few days late,no matter. I hope to remember the
tank of gas I burned driving around town and the day wasted going from
store to store in frustration.
Darcy
marcotrapanese@gmail.com wrote:
If you have details of your correspondence with Digi-Key, I'd
appreciate if you directly provide me with details and contact
information. So far, all of my investigations into issues reported
with Digi-Key have shown Digi-Key to be responsive when contacted and
conservative when communicating schedules. I'm hopeful that almost
everyone has a positive experience, but expect there to be a hiccup
from time to time. Overall, I've found that Digi-Key has been quite
accommodating to the BeagleBoard.org community.
Thank you Jason. I've just sent you an email with the details.
Mistakes can happen. Perhaps they had one less item in inventory and
when you ordered the inventory error showed up. The folks at Digikey are
very cautious about filling orders. I would expect they are even more
diligent when it is an order as far away as Italy. Nobody likes to wait
six weeks for a package, only to find out one item ordered was missing
and now shipping will be double.
I understand mistakes happens.
But the actual case is different. Digikey told me the proforma invoice
shows all items *as in stock* in any case. They says it's only for
payment, so they show all items as available. Hence, the customer will
confirm the order and proceed with the payment. After that, and after
your own request, they may tell you some items are not available....
Please, be patient. I'm confident Digikey will act quickly and make sure
your order is shipped in a timely fashion, complete with everything you
ordered. If its a couple days extra, please be patient and trust the
fine folks fulfilling your order. I'm confident the wait will be worth it.
Yeah! I'll be very patient if they told me the right availability of
the goods *before* the payment!
Marco