FAQ's
Can you add SparkFun product [...] to your catalogue?
Absolutely! If we don't have it already, contact us and let us know. It's probably that the chief ninja got slack and hasn't updated our catalogue with new stuff from SparkFun. Make sure you poke and prod the chief ninja while you're at it.
If it's a non-SparkFun product, let us know and we'll check it out. We're always looking for new stuff to stock.
If it's a non-SparkFun product, let us know and we'll check it out. We're always looking for new stuff to stock.
Can you help me build my project?
Yes and No.
We love building stuff but as MindKits has grown, so have the number of projects. We just don't have the capacity to build peoples projects anymore.
However! All hope is not lost as we have a small but skilled set of 'makers' who we regularly dish work out to. We've become experts at knowing which projects suit which persons skills and generally we make people happy with their consultant. These people do paid work and often it doesn't cost as much as you'd think.
So, if you're willing to pay these helpful tinkerers with great skills, contact us on this page and we'll put you in touch.
We love building stuff but as MindKits has grown, so have the number of projects. We just don't have the capacity to build peoples projects anymore.
However! All hope is not lost as we have a small but skilled set of 'makers' who we regularly dish work out to. We've become experts at knowing which projects suit which persons skills and generally we make people happy with their consultant. These people do paid work and often it doesn't cost as much as you'd think.
So, if you're willing to pay these helpful tinkerers with great skills, contact us on this page and we'll put you in touch.
Help! My order has been lost.
Bugger! ...or maybe not.
In three years we've had only one package genuinely get lost and have to be paid out by insurance.
Have you checked your order status by logging into MindKits? Your order status is displayed beside the order in question.
In three years we've had only one package genuinely get lost and have to be paid out by insurance.
Have you checked your order status by logging into MindKits? Your order status is displayed beside the order in question.
- If your order says 'Order-On-Demand' you probably ordered a non stocked item so we're waiting on stock. See the FAQ question on our Order-On-Demand service.
- If your order says 'Goods Dispatched', click on the order and see the tracking number at the top of the page. You can track your item on the CourierPost website.
- If it's dispatched and hasn't shown up then the quickest route is to call CourierPost (0800 COURIER or 0800 268 743) with your tracking number and see what's going on.
Generally it's either missed delivery, gone to your neighbours or at the depot because the driver couldn't find the address or get access. - If you do need to make a claim because the courier company couldn't find it, we've found the quickest route is to talk directly to CourierPost rather than to go through us. Make sure you contact us and CC us on any emails too so we can be involved and help keep things moving smoothly for you.
- If you're getting nowhere with the courier company, contact us and we're happy to help.
How Can I Track My Order?
Easy!
1) Log into MindKits by selecting 'Account Login' at the top.
2) Once logged in, click on the order in question.At the top of the screen you'll see "Your Tracking Number:" and either a link to click or a tracking number which you can copy and past into the CourierPost website.
How do I get started with Arduino? What's the best kit to begin with?
It can seem a daunting task to get all the parts of the puzzle together in order to get started but its really quite easy. We're also happy to help.
There are a couple of options that I'd recommend and they depend on where you're coming from:
If you're a complete beginner:
The Arduino Inventors Kits are brilliant. What makes them excellent is the 32 page step by step manual which will help you work through the learning curve and get you ready for the next great thing you want to build.
If you're computer savvy or have some past experience:
We have some of the best Arduino tutorials I've seen. They'll take you through from installing the Arduino environment all the way to GPS, RFID and GPRS. We have 10 of them that build upon the knowledge in the previous one and you only need to buy as many as you'd like.
There are a couple of options that I'd recommend and they depend on where you're coming from:
If you're a complete beginner:
The Arduino Inventors Kits are brilliant. What makes them excellent is the 32 page step by step manual which will help you work through the learning curve and get you ready for the next great thing you want to build.
If you're computer savvy or have some past experience:
We have some of the best Arduino tutorials I've seen. They'll take you through from installing the Arduino environment all the way to GPS, RFID and GPRS. We have 10 of them that build upon the knowledge in the previous one and you only need to buy as many as you'd like.
How long does it take to get my order?
We ship using CourierPost and they are generally brilliant at getting your kit into your hands quickly.
In general, if we receive your order before noon, it'll ship the same day.
Otherwise it ships the following day and 90% of the time our friends at CourierPost will have it with you within a day.
If you ordered 'Order-On-Demand' parts (see Order-on-demand elsewhere in the FAQ) then your order could take between four days and a few weeks to get to you because we bring stock in from the USA for you.
If you think your package has been lost, check out the FAQ question on tracking your order and contacting the courier company.
In general, if we receive your order before noon, it'll ship the same day.
Otherwise it ships the following day and 90% of the time our friends at CourierPost will have it with you within a day.
If you ordered 'Order-On-Demand' parts (see Order-on-demand elsewhere in the FAQ) then your order could take between four days and a few weeks to get to you because we bring stock in from the USA for you.
If you think your package has been lost, check out the FAQ question on tracking your order and contacting the courier company.
How many of [...] do you have left?
You can get a rough estimate of stock remaining when looking at the product details page.
It will show:
Plenty Left
Not Many Left
We're All Out
Order-on-demand
Contact us if you'd like to know exact numbers or have a request for a bulk order.
Just note that items showing 'We're All Out' can't be ordered-on-demand. It's likely they're not from SparkFun and we only OOD SparkFun products right now.
What is Order-On-Demand? See the question in the FAQ about our OOD system.
It will show:
Plenty Left
Not Many Left
We're All Out
Order-on-demand
Contact us if you'd like to know exact numbers or have a request for a bulk order.
Just note that items showing 'We're All Out' can't be ordered-on-demand. It's likely they're not from SparkFun and we only OOD SparkFun products right now.
What is Order-On-Demand? See the question in the FAQ about our OOD system.
I have a faulty products, who should I contact?
From time to time we get products that just never had the spark of life or it dies out long before it should have. Of course we're happy to arrange for a replacement or credit however if the problem arose from those 'learning experiences' that go hand in hand with robotics you'll have to chalk that one up as something you'll only do once (we've all had the magic smoke fall out of equipment before that spells its end).
We have a great bunch of customers and a huge amount of trust in the community but we ask for your honesty here.
If you do have a faulty product, contact us with the form on this page with some answers from the questions below:
-Product SKU
-Order number (4 digit number from your order confirmation email)
-Description of what's not happening that you expect to happen.
-Did it ever work? If so, how long was it working for?
-Would you like a refund or replacement (please note that it's at our discretion which we do but we aim to please)
-Any other trouble shooting you've done. Eg checked voltage levels, compared to other resources that say it should work as it is.
Please don't be offended with the questions. Often we can find a fix without having to wait for a replacement and we find this makes for happy customers.
We have a great bunch of customers and a huge amount of trust in the community but we ask for your honesty here.
If you do have a faulty product, contact us with the form on this page with some answers from the questions below:
-Product SKU
-Order number (4 digit number from your order confirmation email)
-Description of what's not happening that you expect to happen.
-Did it ever work? If so, how long was it working for?
-Would you like a refund or replacement (please note that it's at our discretion which we do but we aim to please)
-Any other trouble shooting you've done. Eg checked voltage levels, compared to other resources that say it should work as it is.
Please don't be offended with the questions. Often we can find a fix without having to wait for a replacement and we find this makes for happy customers.
What is Order-On-Demand
Order-on-demand is our system to bring SparkFun.com products closer to NZ without you having to pay nasty US/NZ shipping.
We've brought the entire SparkFun catalogue into MindKits and twice
a month our system will bring kit in for you if we don't stock it
already.
Learn more about Order-On-Demand here
Where's My Order? It's been days!
If it's been more than a few days, chances are that you ordered parts that were order-on-demand.
We're bringing SparkFun in the USA a little closer to New Zealand using something called Order-On-Demand. You can order anything from SparkFun.com via MindKits and our system will auto queue them and bring them in for you twice a month. This means you don't have to pay the horrid USA/NZ shipping and we handle all the tricky stuff. It just means that the kit is ordered from the USA twice a month so there is a delay of days to weeks depending where we are in the ordering cycle.
The items you ordered would have said "delivery via Order-on-demand (not stocked)" and 'order on demand' above the add to cart button but it can be easy to miss with the excitement of shopping for electronics kit on MindKits :)
You can check out more details here: http://www.mindkits.co.nz/
We're bringing SparkFun in the USA a little closer to New Zealand using something called Order-On-Demand. You can order anything from SparkFun.com via MindKits and our system will auto queue them and bring them in for you twice a month. This means you don't have to pay the horrid USA/NZ shipping and we handle all the tricky stuff. It just means that the kit is ordered from the USA twice a month so there is a delay of days to weeks depending where we are in the ordering cycle.
The items you ordered would have said "delivery via Order-on-demand (not stocked)" and 'order on demand' above the add to cart button but it can be easy to miss with the excitement of shopping for electronics kit on MindKits :)
You can check out more details here: http://www.mindkits.co.nz/
Why are some items showing how many are left and some just say Order-On-Demand (not stocked)?
Order-on-demand is our system to bring SparkFun.com products closer to NZ without you having to pay nasty US/NZ shipping.
We also stock 900+ parts and these ones show first on the page and have an indicator showing if we have 'plenty left' or 'not many left'.
We've also brought the entire SparkFun catalogue into MindKits and twice a month our system will bring kit in for you if we don't stock it already.
You can learn more about order on demand here
We also stock 900+ parts and these ones show first on the page and have an indicator showing if we have 'plenty left' or 'not many left'.
We've also brought the entire SparkFun catalogue into MindKits and twice a month our system will bring kit in for you if we don't stock it already.
You can learn more about order on demand here