Component ordering by Internet:

Relative newcomers to the noble art of electronics may find it hard to believe that it was once possible to obtain a wide range of electronic parts from a local shop. Alas, the inroads mail order business have made into the electronic component trade have caused the virtual disappearance of whole clusters of small but well-stocked electronics shops from the highstreet. Where once there were countless electronic component suppliers along London’s Edgware Road, the diversity is gone for good. Today there are only half a dozen or so ‘broadrange’ suppliers left, while much smaller specialist suppliers successfully serve the remaining niche markets. Recently, all and sundry in the mail order business have discovered the Internet to sell components and take orders.