Farnell - Reviews and experiences

warmed up fast, buttons aren't mushy, comfy to use day to day. I got annoyed later when I rang about a tiny glitch — the returns song-and-dance was ridiculous, scripted, and no local Irish number like the site implied. Still, pleased overall.

I ordered a 3D printer and they charged my card straight away, then emailed later saying they couldn't fulfil the order because I'm a private buyer with no trading history. Fine, rules are rules, but the annoying part is the refund — it's tied up for several days and that drags out. Left me waiting and a bit irritated. Would have liked clearer payment-hold info up front; check their policy first.

I was up against the clock last Thursday and thought Farnell would be my fast fix. Made an account, slapped my debit on the site and chose next-day delivery — around a hefty £350 — only to get a call saying they wanted a bank transfer, even though my card had already been charged. That payment mess was the real headache, and half the parts were apparently "out of stock" despite the website. That said, the bits I did get actually arrived quick enough to keep the job alive, so I’m oddly relieved. Not thrilled overall, but glad it didn’t totally sink the project. Won’t be my first choice next time though.

they didn’t. The odd thing: when the box finally arrived the rails and motors felt surprisingly solid, smooth and well-made, so the product itself is decent. Communication and delivery? Not good.

Right in the middle of a hectic afternoon I suddenly laughed out loud — after two weeks of silence on an order I'd started to worry about, someone actually rang me back and fixed it. I had been pacing, checking tracking, thinking I’d need to find another supplier, but the rep listened, checked the system properly, found the hold-up and apologised. They moved my items to express, confirmed everything, and a few days later the package showed up in perfect shape. Yeah, the website and initial contact could've been smoother and I’d had worse runs with other companies before, so I was braced for trouble, but this time it turned out really well. It’s that moment when you go from annoyed to genuinely thankful — I left a bit of a smile on my face. I’m happy I stuck with them and will order again, hoping they keep this level of care.

their prices are higher than other places I check, and the shipping promised "next day" but it never showed. They take forever to ship, even if you click the cutoff time — or at least that's been my experience. Worse, they use UPS and parcels seem to vanish, show up days or weeks later, or not at all. I asked about using a UPS Access Point so I could pick it up on my way home and got some vague "security concerns" answer. So wait — you won't let UPS hold it for me because you don't trust them, yet you keep shipping with them? It was that moment — when they shrugged off helping and gave no alternatives — that I knew I wouldn't bother again. Good stock, sure, but between the price and the delivery nonsense, it's an easy no for me.