This message both 'pitches a  bitch' and asks if anyone has found a good
answer.
First, the problem and one I think many have encountered when trying to find
obscure parts, tools, supplies, devices etc.  You need a 'widget' or maybe a
couple of them. Also you would like to buy local if possible  So, you Google
'widgets'.  And then you pick through the responses you get and actually
find. sometimes after changing your search to narrow it down, the exact or
close enough model of widget that you are looking for.  Then you encounter
the Internet Buyers Dillema in two parts.  First (and my biggest complaint)
is when I find exactly what I want at the manufactures Website BUT they
don't sell to individuals.  So you search the site for a list of retailers
but all you find, maybe, is a list of regional distributors.  So you go to
the distributors Website and search for a list of retailers that you might
buy the product from.  But the distributor has no such info.  Hell, they
handle 1,000 different makers of 10,000 products plus they don't give a darn
if anyone can find the retailers.  And so you try to email either the  maker
of the product or the distributor but you either have to 'join' to send them
email or you get no response.  And you are back to sqaure one, trying to
find a local retailer that sells widgets.  And as the neighborhood hardware
stores an privately owned specialty stores dissapear this gets even harder.

So, what have other people found in the way of a search engine or Website
that either deals with this problem or gets around it?  And please don't
suggest the online Yellow Pages, they are worse than Google.  And the local
printed Yellow Pages have gotten to a point that they don't help much
either.

BTW, would you believe that the only place I found that I could buy small
quantities of the item I was looking for (Riv Nuts) was eBay?

Sorry for the long rant but this has become a really frustrating problem at
least for me and I was wondering if anyone else has found a solution.

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