The Utter Futility of Keeping a Large Spares Inventory

[Cursitor Doom]

I thought I had everything covered when I acquired a huge spare parts
inventory from some chap who was emigrating a while ago. However,
despite now being the proud owner of tens of thousands of caps,
resistors, transistors, diodes, ICs etc etc etc., I can never seem to
find a suitable part to replace one that's blown in whatever item of
equipment it happens to be I'm fixing. There invariably seems to be
some critical aspect in spec that the replacement part can't match
rendering it entirely unsuitable. Or I'm sure I have an exact
replacement *somewhere* in the stock, but it would take forever to
find it so it's easier just to order a new one. Time and time again
this kind of thing happens. For these reasons and others of a similar
nature, I think I wasted my time (and a huge amount of space) by
acquiring all these components and would have been better off never
have been offered them in the first place.
Anyone else have any experiences like this?

[legg]

On Sun, 13 Nov 2022 18:11:36 +0000, Cursitor Doom <c...@notformail.com>
wrote:

If you've already spent the money, then it's only the
maintenance/storage/disposal cost/benefit that is of concern.
It's also a decision only you can make.

What you've wasted is no good fuming about. If you're not
willing to manage the asset competently, the potential for waste
is compounded. Just use your experience to guide current and
future activity.

RL

[Cursitor Doom]

I'm not bothered about the money; it's the space! Takes up 2 rooms.
There is just too much so I can never find what I want. You can't win
whatever you do....

[Phil Hobbs]

It all depends on organization. How many SKUs are we talking about?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com

[Clifford Heath]

You can't find things because you've never made a proper inventory.
You call it a "spares inventory" yet you have no inventory management.
Spend the day or two to catalog everything by shelf & box number.
If the parts aren't worth spending that much time on, ditch the lot,
because you've already decided they're worthless.

[Liz Tuddenham]

Cursitor Doom <c...@notformail.com> wrote:

> I thought I had everything covered when I acquired a huge spare parts
> inventory from some chap who was emigrating a while ago. However,
> despite now being the proud owner of tens of thousands of caps,
> resistors, transistors, diodes, ICs etc etc etc., I can never seem to
> find a suitable part to replace one that's blown in whatever item of
> equipment it happens to be I'm fixing.

If you need the spares for repair only, a lot of modern equipment
doesn't have room for improvisation with replacement parts (perhaps made
up from several components). That means your collection is not
particularly useful.

If you are designing one-offs, a collection of parts like that can be a
huge benefit as long as you are able to adapt your design to use parts
which you already have. It saves tracking down an exact part, ordering
it - waiting for it to be delivered (or finding it is out of stock and
on back-order) - fitting it - finding it isn't quite what you needed -
ordering another replacement - waiting for that to arrive - discovering
that it changes the operating conditions so that another component needs
changing - ordering that - waiting for that to arrive....... etc


--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

[Peter W.]

> Anyone else have any experiences like this?

I have been playing around this hobby for over 50 years now. Yes, I keep a small assortment of common values and common parts - but I am always missing something when a new-to-me object comes along. What I do keep "many" of are tubes - an auction-box here, a flea-market box there, the occasional garage sale, and so forth. The TV-type tubes get culled out pretty fast, but I expect that I have at least one-of any general-purpose and small-signal tube that I will ever need. About 2/3 of a walk-in closet's worth. Sorted.

Mouser is my go-to. $6 + the cost of the part pretty much gets me what I need, usually within 3/4 days.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Cursitor Doom]

Well, that is the one saving grace that's keeping me from throwing the
lot out. Actually I'd just re-sell 'em. There are some rare and
valuable spares strewn about amongst them.

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 13 Nov 2022 19:37:45 -0500, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote:

>Cursitor Doom wrote:
>> I thought I had everything covered when I acquired a huge spare parts
>> inventory from some chap who was emigrating a while ago. However,
>> despite now being the proud owner of tens of thousands of caps,
>> resistors, transistors, diodes, ICs etc etc etc., I can never seem to
>> find a suitable part to replace one that's blown in whatever item of
>> equipment it happens to be I'm fixing. There invariably seems to be
>> some critical aspect in spec that the replacement part can't match
>> rendering it entirely unsuitable. Or I'm sure I have an exact
>> replacement *somewhere* in the stock, but it would take forever to
>> find it so it's easier just to order a new one. Time and time again
>> this kind of thing happens. For these reasons and others of a similar
>> nature, I think I wasted my time (and a huge amount of space) by
>> acquiring all these components and would have been better off never
>> have been offered them in the first place.
>> Anyone else have any experiences like this?
>>
>
>It all depends on organization. How many SKUs are we talking about?

You're right about organization (or lack thereof, Phil!). Sorry, no
idea what a SKU is though. But yes, really must sort 'em all out
properly as they're no use all jumbled up.

[steve1...@outlook.com]

On Mon, 14 Nov 2022 14:01:08 +0000, Cursitor Doom <c...@notformail.com>
wrote:

>>It all depends on organization. How many SKUs are we talking about?
>
>You're right about organization (or lack thereof, Phil!). Sorry, no
>idea what a SKU is though. But yes, really must sort 'em all out
>properly as they're no use all jumbled up.

SKU is Stock Keeping Unit often covered by Mini-Max rules. That's what
I used when I worked in a factory to avoid having to fill order forms
in too often.

Steve

[John Robertson]

Build a web site and get one of the google bots to find it. Sales will
come in if the prices are reasonable and shipping is available and the
customer can choose speed/costs.

I've had an online store since around 2010, we've done just under 1/2
million dollars USD in sales since then just on that part of our
business. And that is without a full time person working the site. I
have a guy in three times a week for half days, and I add stuff when I
have time. I do have a LOT of semiconductors to put up...gah...

Listing the items, with photos and dimensions, is a royal pain and is
the most time consuming part of the operation. Once listed they sell
themselves...if I have them priced properly. If too cheap, they get
sucked out quickly, if too expensive they sit & sit. Most of my
inventory is New Old Stock parts from the 70s through the late 80s and
related to the coin amusement industry. I currently have over 10,000
parts listed.

A work in progress!

John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
#7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

[Cursitor Doom]

On Mon, 14 Nov 2022 14:41:27 -0800, John Robertson <j...@flippers.com>
wrote:

Sounds interesting, but how do you set the price for the rarer stuff
when there's none around to compare against?

[John Robertson]

I simply try and figure out what it could possibly be worth to someone
and price accordingly. Not aiming for the folks looking for a deal - the
person who NEEDS that chip and is willing to pay for it. I also factor
in staff costs to create the parts listing. I have some chips that sell
once a year or two, but I get $XXUS for them. The cost once up is zero.

I have several thousand semiconductors to put up that I bought from a TV
parts supply house...pricing those is fun. I do search to see if it is
available and price accordingly, or guess at what someone might pay, and
if I have three or 1,000 of the part. I guess wrong a lot.

eBay is one way for trying to find the value of something, but I've
always hated the fact that you can bit in the last micro-second
(snipping) and no-one has the time to counterbid. To me it should be run
like an auction house - those guys know how to squeeze a buck out of
something, leaving little if anything on the table. So, if there is a
last minute bid, then that sets a timer "going", pause (no more bids?),
"going", pause (no added bids?) GONE to the highest bidder. Or "going"
(new bid), "going" (pause no bids), "going" (new bid - some minimum
increment), "going" (pause)...."GONE".

[Cursitor Doom]

On Wed, 16 Nov 2022 07:45:47 -0800, John Robertson <j...@flippers.com>

I wonder why Ebay don't do that? Seems like a worthwhile idea to me.
Win-win all round - except for the snipers of course but who cares
about them (modern day carpet-baggers).

[Peter W.]

Why do I use esnipe?

a) It prevents impulse bidding.
b) There will always be another one.
c) There is NOTHING that I really need from eBay.
d) And, of course, anyone can use it.

Has anyone seen those penny auctions sites, typically advertising with "I got a 60" television for $5.00!!!" eBay spares us from that chaos by setting start and end times. If you resent the snipers, you did not bid high enough. Full Stop.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

https://www.dealdash.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1NebBhDDARIsAANiDD0FNCLfnVuM-ujsOUBxuPsV_7J97ZSV_8AoKEr8lWMRPLkLWDXYxIMaAuoQEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=202041179&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=e-penny%20auction%20sites

[John Robertson]

I use sniping too and have for over twenty years - which as a buyer eBay
works very well indeed.

However as an eBay seller, it does leave money on the table. What I am
saying is that eBay does not do that well for sellers, but it does work
just fine for buyers.

[Peter W.]

On Thursday,

> However as an eBay seller, it does leave money on the table. What I am
> saying is that eBay does not do that well for sellers, but it does work
> just fine for buyers.

I suspect that we are at cross purposes rather than in disagreement. Note, please, I am writing entirely and only for myself, and I have both bought (95%) and sold (5%) on eBay.

The venue is entirely about expectations. if the seller has high expectations the seller had better set a reserve along those lines. If the seller is sufficiently savvy to research the market ahead of posting, that process is not difficult. If the seller is looking for the "Bigger Fool" - that is a crap-shoot, and the seller gets exactly what is deserved.

eBay puts buyers together with sellers with fixed rules. Sure, they favor the buyer - that is what keeps them coming back. And, again, a savvy seller will know all this and list/price accordingly.

Generally, when I sell on eBay it is stuff that is difficult to transport, or stuff I just want rid-of. $1.00 + shipping, no problem!

[Charles Lucas]

I followed this interesting thread for a really long time over several weeks. The commentary has been very interesting.
From have been in the service profession for over 30 years, it is now hard to even keep up on what is a "common part"
these days, given the thousands of models of devices and appliances that use the "micro" or the "nano" technology.
Even with parts made in the 80's and 90's (before and after I got into the profession of repair for a living), you should
have seen how many makers of the appliances and devices had substitute parts for the original. I did a Samsung
TV repair on warranty that had 36 different parts substitutes for this one tv for components on the a light engine
(the TV was a DLP type set). I had seen that.

So, to offer some free advice, look at the maker's service bulletins and look at the part list to find those sub. parts
if you are going to start stocking parts in for back stock. That means you have to have perfect parts with the most
perfected and up to date corrections (even for the most pedantic of reasons). There's millions of things out there,
by the design and creation of some very bright human beings that made them (however, after a certain amount of
use), then they fail. The humans fail too.

That's why, I usually order it when it is absolutely needed. That way, a person doesn't have to chase their tail knowing
what they have themselves. They chase after what other people have instead- and that is me. I do work with some
suppliers that are the very best.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Sincerely,


Charles Lucas