Sourcing guides
The questions buyers actually ask when a part is scarce: what end-of-life means, how a discontinued line is found, when a cross-reference is safe, how a supplier is verified, and how a mixed BOM reaches a loading dock. Written from the desk that does this work.
Obsolete & end-of-life parts
What end-of-life actually means, what the notices require, and how a discontinued line is found.
- How do I buy obsolete ICs without a minimum order?
Why obsolete lines are often available in small quantities, what MOQ really prices in, and how to buy ten pieces of a discontinued part without paying a reel penalty.
- A part on my BOM just reached end-of-life. What do I actually do?
The four routes available once a component is discontinued — last-time-buy, residual stock, cross-reference, redesign — and how to decide between them before the supply runs out.
- What is a last-time-buy, and how do I plan one without overbuying?
A last-time-buy is the last order a manufacturer will accept before a part stops production. How to size it, what drives the quantity, and what to do when the deadline passes.
- PCN, PDN, EOL: what does each notice actually require me to do?
Product change, product discontinuance and end-of-life notices mean different things and need different responses. What each one obliges you to check, and where teams lose the deadline.
Sourcing from China
How a part gets found, cross-referenced, and priced when it is not on a shelf you can see.
- When is a cross-reference safe, and when does a "compatible part" break the board?
How to decide whether a substitute part is genuinely compatible — the parameters that constrain a design, and why a part-number match is not evidence.
- Franchised vs independent distribution: what is the actual difference?
Why the same part number exists in two different markets at two different prices, what each channel can and cannot guarantee, and when using both is the right answer.
Verification & screening
How to tell what you are buying, and which signals on a suspicious lot actually carry weight.
- How do I verify a Chinese electronic component supplier before the first order?
The signals that carry real weight when checking a Chinese component supplier — documentation, lot consistency, and the willingness to decline a line — and the ones that do not.
Shipping, duties & documents
Incoterms, consolidation, and the paperwork that decides whether a shipment clears.
- DDP, FOB or EXW: which incoterm should I use for components from China?
What each incoterm actually transfers when you buy electronic components from China — who clears customs, who carries the risk, and where small shipments quietly get expensive.
- What documents should travel with a component shipment from China?
The paperwork that decides whether an electronics shipment clears: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and what to check before the goods leave.
BOMs & small-quantity buying
Kitting a mixed BOM, small quantities without reel minimums, and how pricing really works.
- What should I put in a BOM when I send it out for quoting?
The fields that decide whether a BOM quote comes back usable: part number with suffix, quantity, and the handful of extras that prevent a quote for the wrong variant.
Русскоязычные руководства
Отдельный набор руководств на русском языке — закупка микросхем из Китая, аналоги советских серий, проверка поставщика и поставка DDP в Россию и СНГ.
Перейти к руководствам на русском →Where these guides lead
Every guide describes work this desk does — sourcing, screening and shipping parts that are scarce, discontinued or awkward to buy in small quantity.