Getting parts can be tricky.

[petemoore]

  Getting parts can be tricky
  Just so it is stated as known...
  It is you doing the getting and using, both are necessary steps to becoming a builder.
  I haven't had any troubles whatsoever.
  Just sayin' it's ok to keep your hopes high, and expectations low.
  And...expect that you might have to:
  Sort parts out after they arrive [taking notes suggested].
  Find out why parts haven't arrived [contacting the sender suggested as 1rst resort, posting here...last].
  Fine out that finding out why parts haven't arrived may not help parts arrive any sooner or at all.
  {great patience suggested, persistant diligence in some cases].
  Find a way to rectify and deviances in any components, [asking for creative fix techniques...related to the components is suggested].
  ...one more suggestion...
  This is not a complaint / returns department, the broadcast-ability of comments here is much greater than at the entrance of Target' or Sears .

[birt]

and it does get frustrating when common parts like pots are on backorder for more than 2 months...

[R.G.]

You have put your finger on one popular fallacy.  Pots are not "common parts".

Pots are made to order by pot makers. Some makers of pots **may** have a modest stock line of the parts that they get the most orders for. More likely that the distributor (e.g. Mouser, Digi-Key, Small Bear) puts in a large order for what they want to carry as "standard parts" in their catalog, then gets 10,000 of each one two months later.  This is because each pot maker has many variations of body size, bushing, thread size, type and length of shaft.

If you happen to want the "standard part" that the distributor is out of, you may well have to wait for it. The effects makers and single DIY electronics makers are very tiny bumps on the electronics industry. We're so small that to the industry that makes parts, we are completely invisible, and not worth the investment to make parts for.

[ayayay!]

Getting parts can be tricky.

Yes, it can be.  That's why I always try to find as many sources as I can.  And if one guy has it already, don't stop there.  Buy from guy #1, but prepare in advance to have guy #2 in your arsenal if needed.  Lessens the pain when your supplier runs out! 

[cheezit]

I'm trying to move from building kits to building from schematics (though I don't want to tackle making my own PCBs yet).  The biggest hurdle by far has been parts.  Pretty much it boils down to:

• what does the project need?  Easy enough.
• what do I already have?  Ok, this is hard.  I just spent the weekend going through hundreds of poorly organized resistors, caps, etc., and putting them into little plastic bags wtih a filing system.  What a pain!  My solution is reasonable, though.
• how do I get what I don't already have?  Also a pain.  For a simple part like a film cap there are multiple suppliers and multiple types available, some with modest volume discounts, shipping minimums, parts out of stock, flaky vendors, etc.  The Mouser catalog alone is information overload.

None of this is particularly fun---I like building and playing, not shopping for parts.

Any tips out there?