Those distributors don't really compete on the same mfg's products because they don't carry the same mfg's. The mfg's don't compete because their "similar" products are, in fact, different.

Now, I've not had the sorts of problems with Mouser or DigiKey that I've had with the four you mention. Each of them has repeatedly bungled orders in terms or content and in term of timing, often shipping after the purported arrival date, confusing packages or technology, and so on ... Both Newark and Arrow have shipped me rejects from the enormous company up north, and all but Future have diverted my small (<100 pieces) orders for the benefit of one or another "big player". One of these, though I can't recall which, has repeatedly shipped me programmed OTP's, which, though I got them replaced, messed up demo's and pushed me out beyond contracted completion dates, and another, and another has twice shipped me defective components that didn't pass someone else's incoming inspection and were clearly marked as such, and sent 'em my long-time scheduled order. That's why I don't order from Newark, Arrow, or Avnet any longer.

I've found eBay to be more timely and dependable in the past decade or so, and eBay doesn't gossip about what's going on in my lab.

RE