[CR]sources for precision bearings?

Hi gang, Jan's question about where to buy really high precision and matched bearings prompted me to do a little looking. My usual source for nifty hardware is McMaster Carr (www.mcmastercarr.com), but they don't appear to sell plain ol' ball bearings. Having done a little work with the NTN bearing company, I popped into their web site. Didn't find a place to buy the stuff (yet), but I did find a nice FAQ and other info on precision bearings and stuff. Good reading for the retro-techno-dweebs in the group! http://www.ntnamerica.com/pages/products.htm Has anyone had any luck by just going down to the local bearing shop (not to be confused with the LBS)? I had the local bearing shop replace the cartridge bearings in a mag trainer, and was disappointed with the results. Where do bike shops buy their bearings? QBP?

hoping that this isn't straying off-topic too much...

Steve Kurt Peoria, IL (home to Caterpillar, the user of *lots* of big bearings!)