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Somewhat of a tangent, but another (and somewhat more disappointing) trend are "only high margin item stores". There's a lot of this in DIY, where it's easy to

Somewhat of a tangent, but another (and somewhat more disappointing) trend are "only high margin item stores". There's a lot of this in DIY, where it's easy to find a new drill but hard to find a new drill chuck, easy to find big boxes of screws but never that one particular length and size you're looking for, easy to buy a pump but not 3m of whatever kind of tubing it takes. Stores used to be able to use those big ticket sales to subsidize unprofitable sales of small items and replacement parts, but the internet has made that an impossible business model.

VBprogrammer 5y ago
I hate this too. But it's worse than not carrying these things. I went into 3 small DIY stores looking for 1/4" 20 machine screws for a router fixture I was making. Britain has been metric for quite some time, although we still hang onto some imperial measures (mph, pints, etc). The fact that they didn't carry them wasn't really that surprising, but the fact that no one working in those shops knew what one was, or indeed showed no understanding of the fact that imperial bolts existed is sad.
- MrsPeaches 5y ago
  If you happen to be in London, I’ve found some very odd sized screws at Clerkenwell Screws on Clerkenwell Road. No website I’m afraid but easy to find on your chosen map provider.
  - VBprogrammer 5y ago
    Nice! That's pretty close to the office so might come in handy if I ever have another weird one to source.
tonyedgecombe 5y ago
I've noticed this with cookware. Several shops I used to visit have been bought out and they now seem to hold a fraction of the original range.
opportune 5y ago
These items are hard to get on Amazon too unless you buy them in bulk. I guess because to list them on Prime they need to be profitable to ship by themselves, they can’t list single bolts for $0.30 each. Fortunately hardware stores are still good sources of these It’s also a problem with cheap plastic crap. Either you pay $9 for something that actually only costs $0.80 each off Alibaba or you buy a pack of 3 for $12. Amazon really needs to come back with a way to buy really cheap stuff if you’re also making some minimum margin/amount purchase on other things in the same order

VBprogrammer 5y ago

I hate this too. But it's worse than not carrying these things. I went into 3 small DIY stores looking for 1/4" 20 machine screws for a router fixture I was making. Britain has been metric for quite some time, although we still hang onto some imperial measures (mph, pints, etc). The fact that they didn't carry them wasn't really that surprising, but the fact that no one working in those shops knew what one was, or indeed showed no understanding of the fact that imperial bolts existed is sad.

MrsPeaches 5y ago
If you happen to be in London, I’ve found some very odd sized screws at Clerkenwell Screws on Clerkenwell Road. No website I’m afraid but easy to find on your chosen map provider.
- VBprogrammer 5y ago
  Nice! That's pretty close to the office so might come in handy if I ever have another weird one to source.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago

I've noticed this with cookware. Several shops I used to visit have been bought out and they now seem to hold a fraction of the original range.

opportune 5y ago

These items are hard to get on Amazon too unless you buy them in bulk. I guess because to list them on Prime they need to be profitable to ship by themselves, they can’t list single bolts for $0.30 each. Fortunately hardware stores are still good sources of these It’s also a problem with cheap plastic crap. Either you pay $9 for something that actually only costs $0.80 each off Alibaba or you buy a pack of 3 for $12. Amazon really needs to come back with a way to buy really cheap stuff if you’re also making some minimum margin/amount purchase on other things in the same order