Not all manufacturers will sell direct to smallish CM's or end users.  Some ONLY sell that way because they are not set up for distribution.   Distie's will often have stock on parts, so you don't have to worry about the lead times (but of course thats not always the case).  If you really want pricing to be the best you can get, its the local manufacturer rep's that can authorize certain pricing.  For example, a book price for a AKM codec might be $1.95.  I call up my local rep, tell him im interested and what kind of pricing can he get me on this?  He then negotiates with AKM based on who we are and the projected volumes, and might come back with a $1.25 price, whereas he then lets the distributor know, or CM, thats our negotiated price.  The distie's always go to the reps for best pricing anyway, so most the time I just work with them direct.
   
  Alot of time it comes down to stock.  Mouser and Digikey are distie's, and carry alot of stock.  Arrow is looking at doing the same model since they don't stock everything.   Sometimes the distie's will carry stock for a CM since they are using the parts.
   
  So bottom line you sometimes pay for that service they can provide for you, and best thing is to let the distie's know you are getting it for a smaller price direct, and they will more often than not....match that price.  Depends on the relationship you have with them as well.
  

Timothy Weber <tw@timothyweber.org> wrote:
  Question from a guy who's still learning his way through the commercial 
electronics manufacturing process:

I'm looking at buying a part in moderate quantity (thousands). Got a 
quote from the manufacturer for $N/piece. They then notified their 
distributors, several of which are now giving me quotes for $N+m/piece. 
Nothing else about the quote seems to differ - minimum order, time. 
Just a slightly higher price.

I'm confused. Why would I pay a premium to order through a distributor 
if I can order direct from the manufacturer? Is there something I'm 
missing? Some service the distributor typically provides that I'm 
unaware of?
-- 
Timothy J. Weber
http://timothyweber.org
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