Electronics and hobby stores are becoming more and more rare. It's unfair to compare with the days of Radio Shack, Circuit City or even Fry's because they just don't exist, and their demise has been for reasons most shoppers can figure out - especially whose who review places like Jameco and then say "I'll just go to Amazon next time." One less sale to a brick and mortar store. One less interaction with a human who can answer a question IRL and IRT. One missed opportunity to see and touch product for yourself. Sure you might get a sour reply. Or an agent who doesn't know a picofarad from a PC board. You might also get damaged deliveries from Amazon. Sure the return process is relatively painless, but the time spent is less productive than hammering out whatever issue it is with the store. I bought two Arduino kits from Amazon. One was damaged and couldn't be used so I searched for replacements and looked at Jameco. Their site yielded pages of replacements and alternatives. Between the selection and the descriptions, I was able to what I was looking for a a few things I didn't know I needed. Kind of like browsing at Fry's. Yes, they have minimum quantity purchases for many items. Yes, your browsing is going to be mostly online. When I went to pick up my items, the display area was basically the lobby. The person at the desk could answer some questions and "a guy in the back" could provide more detail. This is what it takes to maintain a physical retail presence for many specialty shops these days. I learned of Anchor from someone else, and I'll visit that store one day. But it's twice as far from me as Jameco, and Jameco delivered what I needed. read more

Purchased power supply. If failed in 2 weeks. They will not refund. I have to purchase a second one and hope it works. Damn useless. This was response from them. Hi Ben, We cannot do refund on power supply it only goes for repair. Thanks Rohani Singh Customer Service Rep 650.802.1541 / 800.831.4242 rsingh@jameco.com read more

Jameco is a family operated electronics parts and equipment supply company. A rarity these days. Jameco is a terrific resource especially if seeking through hole prototyping components and tools. Great customer service. read more

With the demise of chains stores like Radio Shack, Fry's Electronics, as well as indie stores like San Mateo Electronics, the mid-Peninsula has become a desert for electronics hobbyists looking for a supplier of components. Anchor Electronics in Santa Clara is welcoming, and remains open, but who knows for how long. At one time, Jameco tolerated such customers, but instituted a minimum order/service charge policy, even for will call orders, and in effect told small customers to go away. Unapologetically, I might add, direct from the president's mouth, who characterized such customers as a nuisance, and waste of time/money. Even if Jameco were to relax their policy, I would discourage patronizing them simply for their attitude alone. I'll pay the shipping from Digikey, Arrow, or Mouser for things that Anchor can't provide. Even Aliexpress, which can now deliver orders within about a week, is a more attractive option than Jameco. read more

This is an industrial warhorse. You name it they have it. Their priority is larger orders. But they'll ship smaller ones. I'd love to roam there halls like a store just to find things I didn't know I needed but your not allowed to. The People are very friendly. read more

ordered a few times online and things went well and delivery was fast (I'm also in the Bay Area). Faster than Amazon in many cases. Haven't been to the store, but might if I need to. read more

I needed a power supply for an old transmitter that I use for my simultaneous interpreting business. The original manufacturer no longer supplies it. The Jameco chat tech helped me find exactly what I needed, and I received it two days. It tested perfectly. Thank you. read more

I ordered 100 battery holders. 84 were scratched or scuffed. I returned the 84 units for a refund. (The exact same thing happened last year. I ordered battery boxes and almost all of them were scratched). Today I got a call from Jameco saying: 1. The battery holders I returned were not in that bad of condition. (They were.) 2. Maybe they were scuffed when they were shipped to Jameco from China. (Then Jameco should have checked them before they were shipped to me.) 3. Nobody had ever complained about this before. (I complained, last year, when the same thing happened. 4. It's normal to have some scuffing. (I ordered the same type of battery holder from another vendor. They arrived today, pristine and in perfect condition.) It felt like poor customer service. If there is a problem, just acknowledge it and make it right. Don't try and argue with me about why it's not a problem. read more

Easy to Order Friendly staff. They have everything your looking for and things you didn't know you needed.

oh em gee - Jameco - Where Do I start?? I love this place to pieces, it's one of the best gems in the bay area. I havent been recently though, so keep that in mind for this review. Everything about this place reminds me of what small businesses used to be like in the 1980s and early 90s around here, very humble and customer service oriented. They have an amazing print catalog that they will mail to you, and more than fair prices on all sorts of electronic components. Where the "big guys" like Digikey take a week or two to ship, and are constantly out of stock, you can drive down to Jameco and get your parts the same day! They have lots of wonderful kits for capacitors, audio plugs, mcus, and all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. Conveniently located right by the freeway, I've spent many happy hours here going through their new arrivals in the lobby, and combing their catalog for exciting new toys. Simply a must have in the bay, I hope they're around forever :) read more

Work down the street from them. Found out about them used to go in all the time. But now with their minimum order when only need $20 or less of stuff insufficient to meet their minimum order. This really sucks. So might as well order for next day from amazon. read more

I used to love going here because you could walk in and purchase whatever you needed right away, rather than order online and have to wait. During the pandemic, their store area wasn't open, like a lot of businesses. So yesterday I stoped off to see if they were open and to my surprise they were. I started grabbing a bunch of desoldering tools and supplies, probably about $40 worth. I went up to the front desk to pay and was informed I had to make $50 worth of purchases to buy anything, or I could order online, at a $20 minimum! Sorry, but you've lost my business. I rather patronize someone who wants to have customers in their store. read more

Everything looked good right up to the submit order. The shipping cost was minimal and the tax expected, but after I submitted the order, I found that a processing fee was added and it was almost the same as the cost of the parts. Would have been nice if there was some indication of that say during the shipping information or at the beginning of the order placement. Will be leery of that next time. read more

Awesome company! I reached out looking for a replacement capacitor (something I know very little about). The Technical Support Supervisor Mr. Barton went out of his way to help me figure out exactly what I needed...and gave me multiple options as well. It really great when you deal with people who know their stuff and are willing to go above and beyond to help others out! Highly recommended! read more

Wow have to downgrade my rating from a few years ago as their ordering policies have changed drastically. Not too long ago they used to have a banner hanging from the freeway Jameco sign saying "Open to the Public " and there was no minimum order. That banner is long gone and for good reason. Now if you walk in to order or buy something, you have to spend a minimum of $50. If you order online for will-call or shipping, you have to spend a minimum of $20...and if you don't, a service charge for the difference is automatically added to your order. Living less than 15 miles away, this was my go-to place to pick up whatever I needed but haven't been there for at least a year, Now I just order from Mouser and Digi-Key. Both have a much larger selection,standard 3 day shipping and best of all NO MINIMUM order. read more

Great place to pick up components and other electronics stuff. Puts Radio Shack to shame. But then I have known about Jameco either by mail or in person for over 20 yeas. Dropped by again on Friday. Great counter service as always! read more

I called in for a 2w slo blo fuse and after not having a clue what I was talking about they put me on hold for over ten mins until I hung up. WTF? It is a fuse I am sure you have a digital inventory and can check in no time at all. Save your money for a more competent company as compared to these clowns. read more

Placed an order July 19, 2019 for three items. Got subsequent message that one item was on back order and because I paid through Paypal, all items would have to be shipped at the same time. (Only after I placed the order was I informed of the Paypal restriction). Well it is now three months later and I have received nothing. I must say, this is the worst online purchase experience I have ever had. I assume this company must have change philosophy or management because I have dealt with them many times in the past with no problem. read more

Great company! I called in an order that was priced below everybody else and within a day it was sent out. Free shipping on orders over $100. If you live in California, delivery is usually within 2 days. Also, the sales rep who took my order over the phone sent a confirmation email but it hadn't arrived, so she called me back 30 minutes later to make sure everything was squared away. I can also vouch for the legitimacy of their products, they aren't counterfeits or factory rejects. They sell the real deal and their service is top notch. Will be back for more as needed. read more

The CR2450 battery that is soldered in my boat's Furuno chart plotter died. Manufacturer wants about $200 to just replace the battery. Decided to take apart the chart plotter and replace the battery myself. Unfortunately the battery needed is CR2450 with soldering tabs which proved difficult to find. A search online revealed Jameco which is just 10 minutes from home sells the battery and even has them in stock! Picked up the battery from the staff at their retail counter. Next day the battery was installed and my chart plotter is back up and running! Thank you Jameco for stocking the battery and remaining in the bay area to serve our electronic needs. read more

Fantastic service and prices. Ordered online, received a quick response, shipped almost immediately, and received it in 3 days. Incredible. Jameco will now and forever be my source for parts. Thank you James! Bill Wittmer read more

This place is a total throwback to tech places of yore. The front lobby has a bunch of clearance stuff that is super dated. Anyone need a parallel/serial multi data switch hub? A friend needed a quick 50ft RJ45 cable and we didnt want to go all the way to Frys. So we drove out here, looked up what we needed in the catalog and out we went. There is a bit of lull while placing the order and getting your stuff (like waiting for the doctor) but in the end they get the job done and the catalog is vast. read more

OK So here I am, a nobody piss ant, desperately needing information on an 89 cent part. I emailed Jameco, and figured they aren't going to want to bother with me. I got home from work, and there's an email waiting for me explaining everything I wanted to know. Thank you Greg B! read more

On Friday, I ordered some parts in the amount of $56.02 from Jameco. I received a duplicate charge in my bank. I attempetd to reach them via phone twice and 3 emails and have had no response. I then emailed them, called them and left a message about cancelling and refunding the whole order and to remove the duplicate chage totaling ($112.04) I have yet to get a response. I realize that they take the weekends off, if thats the case then why are they taking orders on those days, or have a resolution center to respond to 'weekend' issues? I need that money back so as to pursue/place the same order elsewhere. read more

Used to mail order when I was a kid, finally got to see this place in person. They have discount kits in their lobby, totally worth it! Not a lot of in person shopping other than the discounted kits, but you can will-call orders so it's still a great place and you can get what you need anyways. read more

Good product, low price's but beware of the minimum order of $20.00, I purchased a switch for $5.95 + $4.71 shipping. invoice ended up being $20.66 for a $6 dollar invoice. read more

This place is sick - the best place to find local discount electronic components. They don't always have what you're looking for but you might find something that you never even knew you needed. In case you didn't know this address is only for will calls and a very small consignment rack (3 tables) so if you're going to order something I suggest picking up a catalog, ordering online, reserving for will call and saving yourself the shipping cost. Well worth the two mile trip. read more

For not knowing much about electronics, Jameco makes it VERY easy to shop here. I lost the adapter to a phone system. Had a some info and found it immediately. Bought it online thru Jameco and the darn thing arrived within 2 days!! They are quick, inexpensive, and FAST FAST FAST!!! Arrived in perfect brand new condition. Thanks Jameco!!! read more

I just got my order. You should be ashamed of yourself. This is the first and last I will order from you. If I wanted low quality shit from china, I could have ordered it from there a lot cheaper. I'm not sure if this is some kind of joke, I don't think it's funny. I really don't have time for this. Glen M read more

I dropped in on Jameco a few weeks ago after having seen their sign for the last 18 years. Wow, what have I been missing? Start with the catalog. You want op-amps? Capacitors? Breadboards? Sensors? How about a signal generator? Full-blown kits maybe? Next: check out their rather bare display. What they show out front only hint at the possibilities but even then there are quite a few fun things to get, like a kit that for 3-D LED cube that lights up fun patterns, or solar kits, or light sensor doodads if you want to make your own arduino driven cockroach. Too bad my kids are too young or else I will be taking them, solder in hand, to this place to pick up some toys. read more

Since my last glowing review of Jameco last month their shipping price has doubled so I am very unhappy about that. The cost of shipping my last order was exactly half the cost of the entire order. DigiKey shipping costs are about $3 as compared to Jameco $6. Also, some resistor and capacitor values can only be ordered in lots of 100 ~ which can get expensive quick if you only need one or two. If you are working on small projects and need to continuously order parts shipping costs can be a big problem. read more

Stay away from this place with Amazon purchases! I purchased a Beaglebone Black through them on Amazon shortly after Christmas. Almost three weeks later they cancelled the order due to it being "Out of stock". If they didn't have them in stock, why did they have them available on Amazon? Don't trust them and will never order from them again! read more

Very friendly place. It's not a store like a Fry's, but they sure have lots of stuff in their catalog. I work nearby so it was an easy pickup of my parts. read more

Used these guys to order some 7-seg LED displays for an alarm clock. Used to serve in military, so I like my identity hidden for a # of reasons. Not only were the parts a no-show, but they didn't tell me why they were being pissy over the name, AND they had already helped themselves to the money without an option of a refund anymore. Had to give them another alias that was enough for their sensibilities. From now on I work with companies who don't come up with excuses, especially lame ones. Plan to work for Lockheed Martin soon, so can't be dealing with them getting hung up over something stupid like order names when more people might die if I don't get my projects out sooner. Completely unacceptable. -Also, you can go to digikey. They have a lot more parts and do their job. Wrote an e-mail to the VP of sales about this issue and he was saying he needed a name to process debit card. I told him in the e-mail, and this review, "I couldn't get a refund." That means you have to take the money 1st. Still happy I don't do projects through these jerks, when the VP doesn't even have time to listen to his costumers. Good riddance. read more

placed a order from CA and the package was received by USPS 3 full days after. switching back to DigiKey/Mouser.

Staff is friendly. Not sure why the negative comments to the contrary. I have been treated very well here. If you have ordered parts from a car dealership, it would be a similar experience. You would want to know what you need by looking at their catalog first, then filling out their form. Better yet you could order over the phone then pick up later. They take Visa cards btw. Happy soldering! read more

This is one great place for electronics (I imagine most people already konw this!) They are friendly, fast, and you get what you ordered. I think they should have more kits, but maybe that would just muddy the very clear waters. read more

Ordered a part on the 15th, went to will call to pick it up on the 16th. they said they don't have it and wont order it till i pay, then it will take 3 days. Fine. I pay and it should be ready by the 19th. Call them on the 19th to see if its ready. They haven't even ordered it: UNACCEPTABLE. New eta: the 24th.. we will see... UPDATE: parts came. I explained the situation and asked for a refund. Got it no questions asked. yay. changing rating from 2 to 4. read more

Jameco is a great local alternative to DigiKey, Mouser, etc. They offer will-call (I can usually get parts ~1hr after ordering). Very easy and friendly to work with. read more

Great source for spot purchases when I or my associates travell to the States ! They deliver promptly to hotels whithout problems, so this makes the difference for International customers. Good prices and nearly everything you need in stock. My choice for over 10 years ! read more