I needed two #4 x 1/2” slotted flat head brass wood screws.  Home Depot had a
pack of 7 available online only.  $1.28 +.08 tax for a total of a $1.36 and free
shipping???.  I received (some of) them today. They were shipped UPS in a thin
plastic envelope which had a large hole abraded through it. The small plastic
bag holding the original 7 screws was also shredded.  One screw remained in what
is left of the original package, three more were loose in what remained of the
shipping envelope so needing two and getting four of anything for well under two
bucks is a qualified win but I’ll leave it to the reader to decide if this is a
warning or a recommendation. At any rate it is a weird way to do business.

By comparison, I made a similar purchase a month or so ago from McMaster — steel
#3 screws.  Again, I needed a small number but had to buy 50 or 100.  Over $10
with shipping.  The quality of the product was sad but the shipping was fast.
McMaster stuff always arrives the next day.

Looking for a 8-32 x 2” slotted flat head machines screw I found it online at
Lowe’s and the site said it’s available at my local store.  I went there, I
couldn’t find it, the sales help couldn’t find it.  I went home.  Back to the
website again and it says 9 packs available.  So I order online for in-store
pick-up.  A few hours later I get an e-mail that my order is ready and is in a
pick-up locker at the front of the store.  I return to the store. A scanner
reads the code from my phone and a door pops open.  In it I find a pack that at
one time was a pack of six but someone poked a hole in it and reduced the number
to four (very common at this store).  And the screws were a hybrid head — both
phillips and slotted. They don’t work for my somewhat antique-y project.  The
part number matched because the manufacturer supplies hybrids and uses the same
number for phillips head and slotted screws.  Gaaahhh!

Cheers from VA where the sunset was beautiful but it was at 4:45, 

Kevin