In praise of ye olde corner bike shoppe - this afternoon, on realising that I needed some 1/8" bearings for my latest project, I phoned a local bike shop which has been in business for over 60 years. My opening line was "this may be a strange request, but I need some loose 1/8" bearings!" The chap at the other end said "we have loose bearings in all sorts of sizes at a dime a piece - and why is that a strange request?" My response was that I have become accustomed to higher end shops being more inclined to stock sealed units or bearings in clips. Moreover, I didn't really think that anyone would be doing repairs with smaller bearings these days.
The shop is a couple of blocks from my daughter's school and I have only been in a couple of times before. It is a "family" oriented place which specialises in children's bikes, repro cruisers, etc. There is nothing in the way of high end or race-related bikes or parts. But they did have loose bearings (and it turns out another size of bearing which I had sent away for!). During my visit, I talked to the owners and it appears that they also still stock a range of tyre and tube sizes - including 26 x 1-1/4" tyres!! And I had sent away for those too! One owner suggested that they have quite the stock of unusual things which they pick up from clearances and other types of sales. On leaving he said to me, with a slight smile, "you don't have to order everything online you know!"
I never thought to ask locally and I guess several expressions come into play here - don't judge a book by its cover, it always pays to ask and don't assume anything! I will be going back there again - even with several higher end stores nearby.