{"id":2222,"date":"2012-04-27T04:01:39","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T08:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/labrigger.com\/blog\/?p=2222"},"modified":"2012-04-23T08:54:16","modified_gmt":"2012-04-23T12:54:16","slug":"online-catalogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/labrigger.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/27\/online-catalogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Online catalogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For small things, I pick vendors based on a few key criteria, the biggest one is how easy it is to find what I want on their web site. (The other factors are delivery time and if they’ll take a PO without needing any other information from me.)<\/p>\n

McMaster-Carr<\/a> has the best web site I’ve ever used (pictured above). It’s fast and intuitive to find what I’m looking for, and the information I need in order to select the right product is right there on the product pages (I don’t have to click through to a PDF or run a Google search to remind myself which type of aluminum is the lightest). It’s way ahead of the competition. Aesthetically, their all B&W line drawing look is pleasing, but it would be nice if I could get a color photo at some point in the search. Thier search interface works so well that sometimes I just use it to find a manufacturer item code, which I then use to find something on a different company’s web site.<\/p>\n

Digikey<\/a> recently released their Dynamic Catalog<\/a> and it’s wildly underwhelming. As far as I can tell, it’s simply a reformatting of a portion of their offerings. Their basic search system (pictured below) is showing its age, but it’s decent.<\/p>\n

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Mouser’s<\/a> web site is functionally similar (below).<\/p>\n

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Sparkfun’s<\/a> web site is well done. They have a relatively limited catalog, so it’s easier for them to keep things nice without needing a complex search interface. What’s really nice is the discussion thread on each item’s page.<\/p>\n

Thorlabs’<\/a> web site deserves high praise as well.<\/p>\n

Related post:<\/strong> Catalogs as Textbooks<\/a> (popular<\/em>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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For small things, I pick vendors based on a few key criteria, the biggest one is how easy it is to find what I want on their web site. (The other factors are delivery…<\/p>\n

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