[time-nuts] Efratom SLCR-101 rubidium - what have I just bought?

[Dr. David Kirkby]

On 26 December 2013 11:01, Philip Pemberton <lists at philpem.me.uk> wrote:
> Then there's the customs charge (20% VAT plus a £10 handling fee). So in
> most cases, buying from China is a bit of a false economy:
>
>   $75 US at ~$1.5 to £1 = £50
>   £50 + 20% VAT = £60
>   Plus the £10 handling fee = £70
>
> So not far off the £75 plus postage (£84 total) I just paid.


And there was me thinking virtually everything from China was valued
at $10 - that has been my experience anyway.

> They've absolutely rocketed. One of two things is happening -- either
> the supply is drying up, or the sellers are capitalising on the fact
> that a few prominent Youtube video producers have mentioned rubidium
> oscillators. It's quite possible that both things are happening at the
> same time... though how anyone expects to sell a heavily used rubidium
> standard for $555 US is beyond me.

I've got a couple here I bought a couple of years ago. So far I've not
connected them up.

> I'd point out how quite a few ebay sellers are trying to peddle junk
> like oscilloscope probes with cut leads for premium prices, but I think
> everyone's noticed that by now. I don't even bother with "best offer",
> the sellers I've had experience with won't take more than $10 off the
> price.

The trick that sometimes works is to put lots of 8's in the offer.
That is seen as a lucky number by many Asian sellers!

There is one from Singapore who has had a cal kit on eBay for well over a year

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Agilent-85050C-Precision-Mechanical-Calibration-Kit-DC-to-18-GHz-7-mm-/321263641082

He is totally unwilling to negotiate

> US/UK sellers (in my experience at least) seem to be more willing
> to haggle :)

Its also worth contacting them outside eBay, where you tend to get a
better price. In many cases it is possible to work out who they are.

Dave