FAQ: List of Home Automation Retailers

Devices & Integrations Deals
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Auction and second source sites

Sure, you can just look on eBay or BuyDig, but personally I prefer to buy from a place with a decent returns policy and a fair reputation. Too many reports of people buying from eBay and getting a different model than what they ordered (sometimes in the wrong box). Also note that some manufacturers (Aeotech is one) believe that everything sold on eBay is used and will not honor warranties for items purchased through this channel.

You can buy Chinese made items from AliBaba express. I myself don’t use this as a source – – too many issues with the product description, or even counterfeits. But a lot of people do.

Remember that for Zigbee, you want devices which are certified for Zigbee Home Automation 1.2 (ZHA 1.2). There are many Chinese zigbee devices which use other profiles and will not work with SmartThings.

Reputable Vendors

The following vendors all sell a lot of home automation equipment, and have decent reputations. Return policies and shipping fee policies vary, so read those carefully.

In the US, 15% is a typical restocking fee for electronics products that have been opened and are not defective. UK restocking fees vary much more. Always read returns policies carefully before purchasing.

Listed alphabetically.

Aartech (Canada) https://www.aartech.ca/zwave . Good selection of zwave products. Offers warranty service which can be difficult for Canadians to get otherwise. Read the returns policy carefully.

Amazon. www.amazon.com (US) or www.amazon.co.uk (UK) or www.amazon.ca (Canada)

Best Buy (US). www.bestbuy.com

Crutchfield. www.crutchfield.com

Curry’s (UK) www.currys.co.uk

Data wise (UK). http://www.datawize-smarthomes.com

Energy Avenue. (US) Barebones warehouse site, often with very good prices and selection on Lutron items.
https://www.energyavenue.com/

Frys (US) (also has electronic components). http://www.frys.com/

GearBest (UK, US, many other countries–ships from China). http://www.gearbest.com (Carries Orvibo and many other brands. Better returns policy than most of the other Chinese warehouse companies, but read it carefully. Only order items marked in stock – – the others can be delayed for months. Gets generally good consumer reviews, but you may have to get your credit card Company involved if you have a dispute.)

Home Controls, Inc.(US) www.homecontrols.com (authorized Fibaro distributor)

Home Depot (US and CA). www.homedepot.com

Homeseer. http://store.homeseer.com/store/

Insteon (carries many other brands as well). www.smarthome.com

Jet. www.jet.com

Lowe’s (US) . www.lowes.com

Maplin (UK). http://www.maplin.co.uk/

Monoprice (often has “no logo” white box versions at very low prices). www.monoprice.com

Sears (US and CA). www.sears.com

ShopHomeTechSolution (CA). Sells many Z wave products in Canada, and has partnered with The Smartest House to sell the Zooz line there. Read the returns policy carefully, it’s a little complicated.

https://shophometechsolution.org/

SmartenIT (zigbee). www.smartenit.com

SmartHome Australia (Zwave on the Australian frequency, SmartThings brand zigbee devices). No relation to SmartHome.com in the US.
SmartHome - SmartThings Australia

SmartThings. SmartThings (US)
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/smartthings/kit/kit/F-STR-KIT-UK (UK, on the Samsung UK site)

Staples (US). www.staples.com

Target (US). www.target.com

The Smartest House. (Small business, excellent customer support, participates in this forum. Authorized dealer for Aeotec, Fibaro, Sensative, and Zooz, among others) www.thesmartesthouse.com

UK Automation (UK) I am uncomfortable with their returns policy, but see the discussion in the posts below.) http://www.uk-automation.co.uk

Vesternet (UK and US). www.vesternet.com (excellent selection, outstanding tech support and returns policy. Offers quantity discounts on several popular items.)

Westside Wholesale (US) (carries more color choices than most zwave vendors. Also carries many Lutron devices in both white and black. ) www.westsidewholesale.com

Wal-mart (US). www.walmart.com

Zwaveproducts.com (ships internationally, but generally only carries US frequency. Good selection, including refurbished items.) www.zwaveproducts.com

Zwave-products.co.uk (UK) (smaller selection than Vesternet and doesn’t match their technical support, but a good source for some value brands like Philio) http://zwave-products.co.uk

Reliable Parts Distributors

These distributors primarily carry electronics parts. So you won’t find Aeotec sensors or Hue bulbs or GE switches. But you may find radio chips, cabling, pressure mats, pumps, actuators, etc Several are also good places to buy batteries.

Arrow Electronics (also good for batteries): https://www.arrow.com

Control by Web. http://www.controlbyweb.com

Digi-key ( also good for batteries): https://www.digikey.com

Electronic Goldmine (good kit and part selection): http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com

Jameco Electronics (good selection of Arduino-compatible items, some Zigbee chips, general electronics components). http://www.jameco.com

Mouser. http://www.mouser.com

HA Vendors with weak returns policies

Sometimes you want to try a product even though you can’t find it at a vendor with a decent returns policy. The following vendors have been successfully used by some community members, but be aware it may be very difficult to return even a defective item unless you get your credit card company involved and refuse to pay for it. And even then you’ll probably have to pay return shipping.

BangGood. (Sells to many countries) (Chinese seller with a wide selection of products at low prices, including Orvibo zigbee sensors. Products are often misdescribed in the headers, so read details carefully. In particular, pretty much everything is titled as “Wi-Fi” even if it is really zigbee or Z wave. Shipping may be delayed by a month or more. Returns policy is limited to three days and requires that you take pictures of object to be returned. Some UK community members have had good luck buying Orvibo sensors from them; others have reported receiving defective devices.) www.banggood.com

Shop WiFi. (Good source for Taiwanese products like zigbee sensors not available elsewhere)
http://www.shop-wifi.com/wireless-sensors/

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Can you add Monoprice to the list?

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Great list. I hope you can keep adding to this…

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Make some suggestions! :sunglasses:

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http://www.mouser.com

http://www.controlbyweb.com

Control By Web makes industrial quality web enabled relays and sensors. I’ve used these for years, and had custom software using them in websites. Good stuff for hard core automations. In my case it was control of hydronic and humidifier systems, which aren’t really something you’d want to do with ST.

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Now all we need is one of the smart guys around here to make a web crawler to search those sites and report out of the ordinary prices.

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I would think twice from purchasing products from www.tigerdirect.com. Ever since they were sold to PCM, the quality of service has really dropped. Just check out all the complaints online. Below is an excerpt of their return policy copied directly from their site. It doesn’t sound very consumer friendly to me.

Defective/ Dead On Arrival Non-Software Products. Certain products (excluding Apple and the product manufacturers listed above) may be approved for return by our technical support division if reported to us within the first 15 days after receipt of shipment, and only after support from the original manufacturer has been received. The return must be 100% complete, in original and resalable condition, with all original packaging, manuals, registration card(s) and software. Original shipping, packaging, handling and related charges are not refundable. Shipping charges on returned products are the responsibility of the customer. We will match the shipping method and pay for shipping charges to you on replacement or exchange products. All late, non-defective, and/or incomplete returns are subject to minimum 15% restocking fee…

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Good for batteries:

https://www.digikey.com/

https://www.arrow.com/

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I stay as far away from them as I possibly can. I bought some computer equipment from them back in the 90s, paid for their " no hassle warranty" , which turned out to be nothing but a hassle when I had a problem. Then they bought the rights to Circuit City’s name and a few B&M locations through bankruptcy court when they went down and it just got worse since people mistakenly thought Circuit City had risen from the ashes.

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One for us this side of the pond:

www.uk-automation.co.uk

Also:

www.datawize-smarthomes.com

I’ve had good experiences with both.

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Thanks for the suggestion. In the US, store selling electronics frequently charge a 15% restocking fee if a device is returned which is not defective but has been opened. That’s understandable, as these generally have various packing materials from cable ties to plastic bags which will have been opened or discarded.

i’m concerned about the restocking fee for UK automation, however. They indicate they may charge up to 100% as a restocking fee, and of course if one has already paid the shipping to send it back in and is then told there will be no refund it can end up being very frustrating.

In the event that your items are not in their original condition, we reserve the right to charge a re-stocking fee of between 15% and 100% of the original order value of the goods. If we have to charge you a re-stocking fee then we will notify you before we proceed.

I could list them under the “weak returns policy” section. But first is their returns policy typical for UK retailers? Or at least is it something that UK customers would be used to seeing?

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We have statutory rights over here which allow us to return goods (in saleable condition) within 14 days for a full refund (buyer pays return postage). These are called ‘Distance Selling Regulations’, and were recently increased from 7 days. All UK businesses are obliged to comply.

Their own conditions must be in addition, for cases over 14 days or where the packaging is broken, etc. I think that’s not unreasonable, personally.

I don’t usually return something unless it’s faulty, so I’m not sure what restocking fees would normally be seen.

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I Think some restocking fee is reasonable after the 14 days, but a 100% restocking fee that you had no notice of prior to sending the package seems excessive.

The issue with electronics is always that “saleable condition” clause. If when you bought it it had sealed plastic bags and cable ties and everything folded just so, then when you return it it’s quite likely that it’s not actually saleable until they repackage it with new bags and ties. So legally that’s what allows them to charge a restocking fee, and as I said, I don’t think some restocking fee is unreasonable. It was 100% that got my attention.

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On the other hand though, no retailer is under any obligation to take back anything after the packaging has been opened, or even if in original condition after 14 days, unless it’s faulty (where all sorts of other statutory rights come in).

The 100% restocking fee would effectively mean you don’t return the item. UK Automation don’t need to say this, as they’re within their rights to refuse a return in this case. It’s a bit odd that they do say it though, I agree. It’s probably to cover very cheap items which aren’t worth enough to be posting back if they’re returned without notice.

Anyway, as I say, they’ve been very good for me so far. I used them for X10 gear years ago, and I use them for the odd ‘thing’ now.

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Could you add Online Components to the list?

http://www.onlinecomponents.com/

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I’ve had good success with mydigitaldiscount.com – they only have a few items (vivonic door/window sensor, bosch motion sensor and a couple of other things), but they were very helpful and responsive when I got one that wasn’t working.

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The HA world online site appears to be no longer available.

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2019 update:

As @TonyFleisher noted, HA world appears to have gone out of business.

The biggest news in the last six months is that zigbee devices which will work with smartthings are becoming much more widely available, so we don’t need HA world as much. :sunglasses:

The best place to start looking whether you are in the US or the UK is on the Amazon site for your region. Find the product description page for the echo plus or the echo show second generation. Look down that page and in little tiny fine print you will find a link to “simple setup” devices. These will be zigbee Devices, and if they will work with echo, they should also work with smartthings, although custom code may be required.

Because of the size of the Amazon customerbase, we are seeing more and more devices in this category, and the prices are coming down as well. :tada:

This list moves around somewhat, so I don’t want to give a direct link as it will eventually go out of date, but if you start from the echo plus project page you should be able to find it.

US:

UK:

And speaking of lower prices, Ikea’s Tradfri line has many zigbee models that will work with smartthings, and the plug in pocket sockets are good zigbee repeaters. These are just simple on/off devices, but at under $10 in the US and under £10 in the UK, you can’t beat the price. They will say they need their own Gateway, but you can use the smartthings hub instead.

(The initial ratings are low because people were expecting them to also work with HomeKit like most of the tradfri line, and they don’t yet. But evaluated just as zigbee devices, they work fine. )

As of this writing, the handheld remotes at IKEA do not work with SmartThings, but the bulbs, light strips, and plug-in pocket sockets do.

Also, several community members reporting that they are getting the best prices on Lutron equipment from Energy Avenue:

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UK suggestion >> I bought from www.itechome.co.uk, it’s all Zwave Plus kit so even though it is not listed by ST it is compatible. They only have a small range but their light switches seem to be the only ones that work with or without a neutral wire at the switch. I did ask them about ST listing before I bought and they said it is in progress but everything works perfectly anyway so far!

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