When is a "little" better than a "lot"?

A few days ago I went to one of the big lumber/hardware/appliance stores in the area for a heavy guage wire to make some croquet wickets. I only needed three wickets or about six feet. Once upon a time you could get the amount you needed without having to buy a hundred unit box of something. I couldn't get the wire I needed from the first store I went to. I went to another, same story except one of the customer helper folks pointed out that I could buy a roll of wire of the correct guage... The roll was for 100 feet. Sheesh! What in the world do I need 94 more feet than I wanted for? I then went to one of the more local lumber stores and they promptly provided the item that I wanted and in the quantity that I wanted for a ridiculously low price. Amazing!!! I got three pieces of insulation wire for $.06 plus $.01 in sales tax (a sore subject that I find it difficult to discuss without turning red in the face and nearly screaming in frustration about) and probably spent well over a dollar in gas (ANOTHER sore subject due to this state's insistance that we pay the highest prices for) BUT I got my wire. There are reasons to buy large quantities of TP or paper towels or any number of things, one of which is simply so you don't have to go out to buy more for a time. I miss the local lumber/hardware store sometimes, I don't miss the higher prices maybe but the ability to buy just a "little" rather than a "lot" sometimes helps alleviate the pain of higher prices. By the way, the box of insullation wire that I would have had to purchase at the big store was over $10 for 200 pieces and the roll of wire was over $8. I asked if they had smaller quantities of what I needed and it was a negative answer. So when I found what I wanted at the local and paid for it I was thinking that I will go more to the local and less to the bigs. I wonder if the bigs will start to feel the customer's complaints if the customer starts using the locals again or if some of the locals treat people like individuals with small AND large needs...