Akiba is still the place to go for all those parts, there are just fewer stores and you have to know where to look. I worked at a startup that constantly needed

Akiba is still the place to go for all those parts, there are just fewer stores and you have to know where to look. I worked at a startup that constantly needed parts for the hardware component and the engineer would go to Akiba, and only Akiba, atleast a few times a month for components for a device that was connected to a vending machine. You're not going to get a deal on common consumer electronics like a camera or video games, but even still its pretty rare that there is a place where you can go and see nearly any consumer electronic you could possibly want in person.