Yeah, I understand a DB9 solder cup is a niche product for a local Radio Shack and they have to pay for store space and employees, but there was just no way I was going to pay $6 per connector when I could order them for $0.30 each from Digikey and have it in two days. It wasn't just that part. Every part was like that. $2 for a single capacitor. $15 for a pack of 100 resistors. Etc. And good luck finding the exact one you wanted. Those parts shelves were only stocked every 5+ years ... I could easily see four generations of packaging for the same part in those things.

It's really a shame because it was great to have that "I can get this part in ten minutes" feeling when I was in the middle of a project and I ran out of something I needed, or realized I was missing a part.