ESP8266 Community Forum

I'm working on a project to try and bring a simple product to market using the ESP-12E module.

The contract manufacturers I've contacted for quotes are having a hard time sourcing the ESP-12E at wholesale quantities, at reasonable prices. Adafruit and digikey retail the units for $5-6, but I'd like to get that price lower so that I can keep my price down. I can find much cheaper prices on sites like Alibaba, Ebay, and Amazon, but the contract shops are afraid to work with these sites, because they've heard a lot of counterfeiting horror stories, and things would work more smoothly if they could use a more traditional electronic components supplier.

Does anyone know of a more traditional electronics supplier who carries the ESP-12E in wholesale quantities for something closer to the $3 price point?

This would seem like a necessary step if the 8266 it going to make the leap from darling of the maker community to actually empowering low cost, open source ioT products?

Am totally agree with you, I need to buy 50-100ud now and I can't find a supplier with good prices

Regards

Ken McLoud wrote:Does anyone know of a more traditional electronics supplier who carries the ESP-12E in wholesale quantities for something closer to the $3 price point?

It is unlikely that you'll find a price that low among the "traditional" suppliers. My advice would be to get a quote on the quantity you want from one or more of the suppliers on AliExpress and then buy a few units to test. If they meet your approval then you can feel a little more confident in purchasing a larger quantity. AliExpress may offer an escrow service that will allow you to confirm that the large quantity meets your approval before releasing payment to the supplier. Some of the sellers on AliExpress offer "Buyer Protection" - you'll want to investigate exactly what that means. In any case, I suspect that you'll need to purchase the parts, check them, and then send them on to your assembly house.

I have purchased several of the "lot of 4 ESP8266-12E" from the supplier HiRobot on AliExpress with good results. The price is $9.95 for the lot of 4 so already the price is below your target but you might be able to get it lower with higher quantities. Unfortunately, that particular product is no longer available but I do see a lot of 10 for $27.28.