Parts Delivery Times for Teachers
This page helps you plan when to order parts for a class, a coding club, or a kit build. It shows how long parts usually take to arrive from common stores. It also shows which parts are used by the most kits in this book.
Why Lead Time Matters
Lead time is the number of days between placing an order and holding the part in your hand. The cheapest parts often ship from overseas, and they can take two weeks or more. If a part arrives late, students may sit with a half-built kit. A missing microcontroller can stop a whole class.
Good planning lets you buy low-cost parts and still be ready on day one. The Sourcing Parts page has more advice on where to buy each part.
These times are approximate
The measured times come from one buyer's orders, all shipped to Minnesota. Your times may be different. Shipping is often slower around holidays, such as late November through early January and Lunar New Year.
Vendor Summary
Each time below counts the days from order to arrival. "Measured" means the range comes from real orders. "Estimate" means it is a typical range, not measured.
| Vendor | Typical Days | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Center | Same day (in store) | Estimate |
| DigiKey | 1–3 | Measured (2 orders) |
| Amazon | 2–5 | Estimate |
| eBay (US sellers) | 3–6 | Estimate |
| Adafruit | 3–7 | Estimate |
| SparkFun | 3–7 | Estimate |
| AliExpress | 8–12 (median 9) | Measured (8 orders in 2026) |
| eBay (China sellers) | 8–15 (median 9) | Measured (64 orders, 2023–2026) |
Overseas orders usually arrive in about 9 days. But they are not always on time. About 1 in 10 eBay orders from China took 15 days or more. The slowest one took 43 days, which is about six weeks.
Parts Used by Many Kits
The table below lists the 36 parts that appear in two or more kits. They are sorted by how many kits use each part. The parts at the top are the ones most worth keeping in stock.
"Fastest option" is the quickest store listed for that part. "Overseas only" means we only list overseas sellers for that part, so plan ahead. The budget overseas option is the same for every part: AliExpress or eBay sellers in China.
| Part | Kits Using It | Fastest Option | Budget Overseas Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 | 62 | Micro Center (same day, in store) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| WS2812B NeoPixels | 31 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Momentary Push Buttons | 18 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| 10K Potentiometer | 16 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Piezo Buzzer / Speaker | 15 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Raspberry Pi Pico W / Pico 2 W | 14 | Micro Center (same day, in store) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| SSD1306 128×64 OLED | 14 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 | 9 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| GC9A01 Round TFT | 9 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| SG90 Micro Servo | 7 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| GC9B72 Smartwatch Display | 6 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| VL53L0X Time-of-Flight Sensor | 6 | Adafruit (3–7 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor | 5 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| LDR Photoresistor | 5 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| TT DC Gear Motors | 5 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| ESP32 Boards | 4 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| HMC5883L / QMC5883L Compass | 4 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| KY-040 Rotary Encoder | 4 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| 74HC595 Shift Register | 3 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| DS3231 RTC | 3 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| MAX98357A I2S Amplifier | 3 | Adafruit (3–7 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| ADXL345 | 2 | Adafruit or SparkFun (3–7 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Cytron Maker Pi Pico and Nano | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| HC-SR501 PIR | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| L298N / L293D Motor Driver | 2 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| LCD1602 I2C Character LCD | 2 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| LIS3DH | 2 | Adafruit (3–7 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| MPU6050 | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| MX1508 Motor Driver | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| SHT40 | 2 | Adafruit (3–7 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| ST7735 1.8" TFT | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| ST7789 TFT | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Single-Color and RGB LEDs | 2 | Amazon (2–5 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| TM1637 4-Digit LED | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| TM1650 4-Digit LED | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
| Waveshare SSD1680 E-Paper | 2 | Overseas only (8–12 days) | AliExpress (8–12 days) or eBay China (8–15 days) |
Planning Advice
- Order overseas parts at least three weeks ahead. Most orders arrive in about 9 days, but some take 15 days or longer. Three weeks covers most late orders and gives you time to test parts.
- Allow six weeks for anything you cannot replace locally. The slowest order took 43 days. This matters most for the parts marked "Overseas only," such as the Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 and the GC9A01 round display.
- Buy a few spares. Parts break, get lost, or arrive dead. Extra Picos, NeoPixels, and push buttons are the most useful spares, because so many kits use them.
- Use fast stores for last-minute Picos. The Raspberry Pi Pico is in more kits than any other part. If you are short on class day, Micro Center (same day, in store), Amazon (2–5 days), or DigiKey (1–3 days) can fill the gap.
- Split big orders. Order the cheap, common parts from overseas early. Then buy any missing or broken parts from a faster store close to the class date.
- Avoid the holidays. Order well before late November, and check for delays near Lunar New Year.
See Sourcing Parts for recommended parts and stores.