Doing a quick search I see several other people on this board like buying from Tayda Electronics. I bought some IC sockets from them a few years ago when I was working on repairing some Commodore 64s, and I remembered that what they sold was a good price and decent quality, so I went back for this stuff because I'm trying to teach myself electronics and needed some parts. I'm quite impressed at how much stuff I got for not much money, and also impressed that everything can be purchased in single-unit quantities while still having such cheap prices (only rule is a $5 minimum on the total order). I also like how everything is in its own ziplock baggie and custom labeled with exactly the quantity I ordered. I went with the slowest shipping option, which was only a couple more bucks, and it arrived in 9 days. [Note: it was addressed from Colorado.] Here's a breakdown of stuff here:
NE555 IC 555 Timer DIP-8 10 $1.30 (13¢ each)
NE556 General Purpose Dual Bipolar Timer ic 1 $0.25
TL494CN TL494 PWM Power Supply Controllers IC 2 $0.76 (38¢ each)
Red Binding Post 4 $1.00 (25¢ each)
4mm Stackable Type Banana Plug Black 4 $0.84 (21¢ each)
4mm Stackable Type Banana Plug Red 4 $0.84 (21¢ each)
Prototyping Board 142x74mm 4 $5.40 ($1.35 each)
Small StripBoard 94x53mm (Copper) 4 $2.64 (66¢ each)
9V 9-Volt Battery Clip / Connector Snap 5 $0.50 (10¢ each)
2 x AA Battery Holder 2 $0.32 (16¢ each)
3 x AA Battery Holder 2 $0.52 (26¢ each)
4 x AA Battery Holder 2 $0.72 (36¢ each)
The ICs are all Texas Instruments branded, not some no-name crap. And apparently I forgot to buy black binding posts along with the red ones. Oh well. Back when we had Radio Shack around here, the 555 timers alone would have cost me over $15. Now the question is, what do I build? (And when do I find the time to tinker in the lab?)
[Correction: The N556 dual timer is by STMicroelectronics, not TI.]
Edit: I have one gripe with the binding posts in that they have no through-holes in the shafts for sticking wires through and binding them down. I'll have to drill them out myself.