Rpschultz13
Well-known member
I’m a happy JLC user. But taxes, tariffs and shipping are ridiculous. Here’s a recent order:
Are there any good alternatives in the states?
Are there any good alternatives in the states?
JLC alternative in US?
- Thread starter Rpschultz13
- Start date
PedalBuilder
Well-known member
Short answer is no. With that said, you probably have some room for saving by optimizing your JLCPCB orders. It doesn't look like you're using their Global Standard Direct Line for shipping. I'm in the US, and I paid $11.26 for shipping on a comparable order two weeks ago. And if you pay by credit card instead of PayPal, you'll save another 50¢. I'm at a loss for how you ended up with a 30% sales tax, though.
Robert
Reverse Engineer
If you think shipping and tariffs are ridiculous... 
(This would be $5 + shipping/tariffs from JLCPCB for 10 pieces)
I generally order the maximum the JLCPCB cart will allow per order, this way the total cost (tariffs / shipping included) ends up being about 2x the Merchandise total.
(This would be $5 + shipping/tariffs from JLCPCB for 10 pieces)
I generally order the maximum the JLCPCB cart will allow per order, this way the total cost (tariffs / shipping included) ends up being about 2x the Merchandise total.
Rpschultz13
Well-known member
Dang you're right about the Global Standard Direct, that would've saved me $20 (and taken 8-13 business days for shipping instead of 2-4).
I've used Oshpark before, but in the case above it's $600+!!
PCBWAY.com is another I've read about, not sure but it seemed in a similar price range as JLC.
I've used Oshpark before, but in the case above it's $600+!!
PCBWAY.com is another I've read about, not sure but it seemed in a similar price range as JLC.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
I jump in and look every now and then and have yet to find any US-based board house that comes anywhere close to JLC pricing, even with tariffs and shipping nobody comes close.
It is worth noting though that once you get above a couple hundred dollars Global Standard Direct stops being an option.
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Passinwind
Well-known member
DK Red boards drop ship from Royal Circuits in Calififornia, FWIW, at least every time I’ve used them. But I guess they still could outsource? Try running a quote for the same spec directly from Royal, talk about sticker shock!
Robert
Reverse Engineer
Not sure when it changed, I've only used it once, but now the total can't be more than $59.99.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Oh wow, yeah I thought it used to be like $300 or so. Most of my orders are more than that so it's moot anyway, but weird that they seemed to have changed it.
dan.schumaker
Well-known member
@StompBoxParts come on guys, the bean has spoken... time to get on this!IIRC, Cusack fabs their boards in house. They already service the DIY community through Stompboxparts. I'm just saying there's money being left on the table, Jon
I'll even be your guinea pig
Rpschultz13
Well-known member
Oh wow, didn’t know that. Yeah that would be cool to have that option!IIRC, Cusack fabs their boards in house. They already service the DIY community through Stompboxparts. I'm just saying there's money being left on the table, Jon
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
I know they do assembly in house, I thought they sourced the bare PCBs from an outside house. I could be wrong though.IIRC, Cusack fabs their boards in house. They already service the DIY community through Stompboxparts. I'm just saying there's money being left on the table, Jon
Robert
Reverse Engineer
I believe you are correct, at least that's how it was a year or two ago.
I think the idea that we're going to save money domestically is just not a reality, even with 200% tariffs.
Guardians of the analog
Papi Fuego
bean
Legume Liaison
I was too lazy to verify before I posted. Still too lazy to check now.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
I do that regularly for prototypes and proof-of-concepts, and I used to do it for the one-off builds I made for myself and friends, but it comes down to scale. CNC-milled boards works great for 1-2 of something, but as you scale up the quantity it gets less practical.
