Package from China!

At about 1030 this morning, my package from China has arrived, fresh from the factory. And I think the whole process took about 2 weeks, from sending the TT to the package arriving at my doorstep.

As far as I can remember:
08102008 - Send TT to the manufacturer
15102008 - QC Label passed
21102008 - Package arrived

Some of you would have thought that I was nuts to get them all the way from China whereas I can get them from other sources. I agreed too but after searching all over the place in Pasar Road, RS Catalogues, Farnell, etc., the only solution left is to scour the Internet. And I do not mean eBays, or other companies. The moment I Googled my requirement, AliBaba came up and I decided to try them.

Mind you, not every Chinese contacts have what I wanted even though they're making loads of LED on almost any kind. And when I do find the ones I wanted, I have to filter out the minimum 10,000 pieces requirement as well. I mean, I just wanted a few, not the rest of the 9,9998. The Alibaba site is a Global Trade site and you can, most of the time, find what you're looking for. And you can even chat with some of them and most have a video presentation of their companies. This is, I guess, how trading would be dealt with in the near future. Its faster and cheaper than flying over there and meeting them face to face, wine and dine, etc. With just a few mouse clicks, the deal is done. But most of the time, like any Internet transaction, its best to go face-2-face or find the most reliable. Its difficult because although you cannot see them but you'll just have to trust them. Thank goodness my purchase is micro-size compared to real business deals.

But if you're looking for this company, you can E-Mail me for details, OK?

Bundled in the DHL pack are styrofoam wrappings to protect the
two static sensitive plastic bags which contains 500 LEDs each

These are the 2*5*7 (or 2mm by 5mm by 7mm) no-flange,
clear lens, three-legged, bi-colour LED.

One one side is the Yellow LED

While the other is Blue. Nice or not? You do not see this
very often because bi-colour LEDs are more common
with red/green combination or yellow/green but never
yellow/blue which is rare or expensive