Before Rat Shack closed here in my area, I was going in a couple times per month and buying up all the parts, kits and Arduino shields they were clearing out ($5 switches for $0.50, $40 Arduino shields for $5, etc). Invariably I would end up actually helping other customers find cables and connectors, or fix a problem on their iPhone. It got to be such a regular thing that the manager started giving me an employee discount on my purchases. (Seriously!)
I must have spend $500 over 6 months, however I got nearly $3000 worth of stuff (at the original sale price).
$3000 worth of stuff at the original RadioShaft price but how much would it have cost at SparkFun? And did you buy things which you're unlikely to used because they were cheap? In other words, how much did you really save?
I remember Tandy selling things at very reduced prices, but they were still often more expensive, than the market rate, even in small quantities.
The majority of components I bought during the final few days of the store closing are things I will use. I bought at least 100 packs of fuses (5 fuses to a pack) ranging from 0.25 to 5A in both slow and fast blow, which seem to be the most common values I encounter. I also got a ton of small through hole proto boards and DIP to SMD adapter boards. Also a bunch of switches. And LEDs. And enclosures. Also a lot of 12V transformers in various sizes.
These are all things I use for little projects here and there.
About a year before the stores closed, they were replacing official Arduino stuff with Radio Shack branded shields and in the process clearing the official stuff out at up to an 80% discount. So I got a few motor, ethernet, prototype and other shields to have around and give away. They were also discontinuing Parallax stuff, so I got 5 of the nice 16x2 Serial LCD units for $5 each. Sure, I could have gotten 16x2 LCDs on eBay for like $2 a pop, but I like having LCDs with a serial interface around for when you want to throw a display on something without writing drivers, or pin limited situations. I also got a few Parallax Ping sensors, which I’ve found work a bit more reliably than the off-brand versions (easier to code for as well).
Oh, I forgot about the 3 meter RGB serial LED strips for $2 a pop. Those made nice decorations.
Anyway, all stuff I regularly use for repairs and projects.