I just came back from Shanghai, and came across a building by chance while there, choc-a-block with stalls and selling pretty much everything electronic/security/electro-mechanical/hand tools-related that you could imagine, part-wise, and all new.
This place was big. I mean big. Imagine a K-mart sized floor area, split over 4 levels, with independent stalls averaging about 3m x 3m each, with barely enough walk-way space to fit two people side by side. And cheap! A few examples (in $A, subtract about 15% for $US):
Omron mini-DIN timers $5 (counterfeit, but work great)
Omron 4m range retro-reflective PE switches $11 (ditto)
Omron MY-series relays + DIN rail bases $3 (ditto)
Fluke 1000A clamp-on ammeters/voltmeters $85 (genuine too!)
Hioki probe-type DMM $47 (also genuine)
Fuseholders/pots/pot knobs/piezo beepers 10-15c each
ABS gasketed enclosures of various sizes from 100mmx100mm to 300x200 $2-$12 each
2 channel RF remote control units + fobs $8
12 channel RF remote control units + fobs $25
22mm industrial style selector switches/push buttons/cluster LED bezel indicators (Chinese brands but quite good quality) $1 - $1.50
Trouble is I went overboard and got whacked with excess baggage coming back
Anyhoo, if anyone happens to visit the city be sure to check out the brown building, with SEG letters on the front, on the corner of Zhejiang Lu (Lu=street) and Beijing Lu. In the 6-odd visits I made I only saw one other big-nose, so I'm guessing it's not widely known outside the PRC.
This place was big. I mean big. Imagine a K-mart sized floor area, split over 4 levels, with independent stalls averaging about 3m x 3m each, with barely enough walk-way space to fit two people side by side. And cheap! A few examples (in $A, subtract about 15% for $US):
Omron mini-DIN timers $5 (counterfeit, but work great)
Omron 4m range retro-reflective PE switches $11 (ditto)
Omron MY-series relays + DIN rail bases $3 (ditto)
Fluke 1000A clamp-on ammeters/voltmeters $85 (genuine too!)
Hioki probe-type DMM $47 (also genuine)
Fuseholders/pots/pot knobs/piezo beepers 10-15c each
ABS gasketed enclosures of various sizes from 100mmx100mm to 300x200 $2-$12 each
2 channel RF remote control units + fobs $8
12 channel RF remote control units + fobs $25
22mm industrial style selector switches/push buttons/cluster LED bezel indicators (Chinese brands but quite good quality) $1 - $1.50
Trouble is I went overboard and got whacked with excess baggage coming back
Anyhoo, if anyone happens to visit the city be sure to check out the brown building, with SEG letters on the front, on the corner of Zhejiang Lu (Lu=street) and Beijing Lu. In the 6-odd visits I made I only saw one other big-nose, so I'm guessing it's not widely known outside the PRC.