For the past several years I've irregularly posted my experiences
ordering over the web from several catalog houses/surplus suppliers
with online ordering.

My hope in doing this was not just to give pointers to other
small-timers like myself as to which ones are the best sites, but to
give feedback to the companies to get them to improve their interfaces.

But since my first online order (1997 or so) one outfit has risen way
above the others: Digikey. Digikey's website leaves all the others in
the dust. Their search engine and selection forms for picking out
components is simply superb, and is getting better all the time. If I
want to know what X5R dielectric capacitors are available in 0402 form
factor, the answer is just a couple of clicks and a few seconds away.
This is simply amazing.

Semiconductor search is not quite so slick, but I cannot blame Digikey
for not trying. They do a good job, especially seeing as how 7
different vendors describe their similar parts with slightly different
wording. For product lines where categorization and selection menus
might be able to work well, they've coerced everything into selection
menus that are simply superb. And datasheets and sometimes photos are
always just a mouse click away for the real comparison.

Don't get me wrong: Newark, Mouser, Allied, Jameco, and a few others
that I order over the web from have pretty good web-order-entry
systems. They've all improved since they first began taking orders over
the web. Many of them now have near-real-time stock and shipping
status. They let me do my hobby shopping at home at night without
having to call during the day. But they have pretty much zero search
and selection ability.

Digikey, keep doing it right!

Tim.