I used to love to go down to the real hardware stores, just to look at the wares... San Diego had San Diego Hardware for decades. You could find any nut or bolt, nail or screw and buy it by the pound in their downstairs bins. Then along came the big box stores... almost everything in some form of bubble plastic card and so damn expensive for what you actually get, if they have it... and trying to find it is enough to drive you nuts.

San Diego Hardware closed their downtown store many years ago and opened up a "knob and hinge" store under the same name... it is a total disappointment.

There are some local nut and bolt distributors, but everyone has a "minimum purchase."

There is one place around still in San Diego that has hardware in bins... with a pretty wide variety... so if you happen to be in the area, and need real hardware and don't want to shop WM.... go to Marshalls off of Miramar Road.

http://www.marshallshardware.com/

Nice to hear that at least some places still have the "good ole hardware store."