Sold by the one.

Bushel & Bin is a general store north of Kansas City. The case is already open. Almost everything in the building can be bought one at a time, out of the drawer, cut off the reel, or counted into a paper sack.

Call the counter, (816) 555-0142

Someone answers it. If you know the size, we will tell you the price for one.

A wall of small wooden bin drawers with brass label holders running the length of the store, with open metal trays of loose hardware set along the floor in front of it.

The whole difference

A big store's smallest package is the smallest package its supplier ships. Ours is one.

That is not a small thing on a small job. If a gate latch needs four bolts, the nearest big store sells you fifty, and forty six of them go in a coffee can on a shelf for eleven years. You paid for all fifty and you carried all fifty home.

So this page is a unit price list. Every line gives what one costs here, the smallest quantity the same item is sold in elsewhere, and the count you are not taking home. The prices are per item, per foot, or per pound.

The tally

Pack prices in the third column are the smallest quantity the same item is commonly sold in at a big box store. Every figure on this page is a placeholder.

What it is	One of them	Smallest pack elsewhere	What you do not buy
Out of the drawer · scoop it yourself, we count it at the counter
3/8 in. x 4 in. carriage bolt	44¢	Box of 50, $19.40	49 bolts
3/8 in. hex nut	9¢	Box of 100, $8.25	99 nuts
5/16 in. flat washer	6¢	Box of 100, $6.95	99 washers
#8 x 1-1/4 in. wood screw	12¢	Box of 100, $11.75	99 screws
16d galvanized nail	11¢	5 lb box, $13.20	About 145 nails
1-1/4 in. roofing nail	7¢	1 lb box, $7.40	About 130 nails
Off the reel · cut to the inch, no minimum, no cutting charge
2/0 twist link zinc chain	$1.85 a ft	20 ft precut, $36.00	The 14 feet you did not need
3/8 in. sisal rope	68¢ a ft	50 ft coil, $31.00	46 feet
14/2 with ground building wire	89¢ a ft	25 ft roll, $28.50	19 feet
3/16 in. galvanized cable	$1.10 a ft	50 ft spool, $63.00	44 feet
One at a time · the package is opened before it reaches the shelf
AA alkaline battery	$1.05	Pack of 16, $14.99	14 batteries
60 watt soft white bulb	$1.40	Pack of 4, $7.98	3 bulbs
15 amp blade fuse	85¢	Pack of 5, $6.19	4 fuses
Regular mouth canning lid	30¢	Pack of 12, $3.79	11 lids
120 grit sandpaper sheet	80¢	Pack of 25, $17.20	24 sheets
1/2 to 1-1/4 in. hose clamp	$1.15	Pack of 10, $9.99	9 clamps
#1157 trailer bulb	$1.60	Pack of 2, $5.40	1 bulb
Counted into a sack · weighed or counted at the register
Egg, from the flat	45¢	Dozen, $4.29	11 eggs
Pinto beans	$1.15 a lb	4 lb bag, $6.60	3 pounds
Active dry yeast, scooped	35¢ a tbsp	3 strip packets, $2.85	2 packets
Dog biscuit	25¢	4 lb box, $11.99	About 90 biscuits
The odd one · things that are only ever sold in pairs or sets
Cotton work glove, either hand	$2.25	Pair, $4.50	The glove you still have
Boot lace, 54 in.	$1.80	Pair, $3.60	One lace
1/4 in. twist drill bit	$2.95	13 piece index, $24.00	12 bits
Sink washer, by size	55¢	Assortment of 60, $7.49	59 you sort through

Cut to length

Eight chain reels bolted to a steel rail on the wall above the counter, each carrying a different link size hanging loose, with a bench vise mounted below for cutting. — Eight reels on the rail. The cutter is under them.

Six inches of chain is a sale.

Chain, rope, cable, wire, tubing and weatherstrip are on reels and are cut where you ask. There is no minimum length and nothing is added for the cut. If you want three feet and four inches of 2/0, that is what goes in the bag and that is what you pay for.

Bring the broken piece if you have it. Matching a link size by eye across a counter is faster than describing it, and it is the reason people drive out here for one part instead of ordering three.

Grocery shelves stocked deep with canned and boxed goods down the length of the aisle, with a curved wooden produce rack running along the other side.

When the box is cheaper

A brass balance scale on the wooden counter with an open paper sack of dry beans resting on the weighing pan, a row of filled and folded paper sacks stacked beside it, and stocked shelves behind.

The unit price is a convenience. It is not a discount.

Buying one of something you need forty of costs more, every time. Here is where the pack wins, so nobody finds it out at the register.

Drywall screws. Past about 120 screws the 5 lb box beats the drawer, and one ceiling is closer to 400. We stock the box and we will point at it.
AA and AAA batteries. Past eight cells the 16 pack is cheaper each. If you are doing every smoke detector in the house, buy the pack.
Canning lids in season. Over about five dozen jars, a case of twelve dozen works out near 22¢ a lid against our 30¢.
Softener salt, dog food, paper goods. We do not break these open at all. The bag or the pack is the price, here and everywhere.
Anything you will use all of. If the job takes the whole box, buy the whole box. Splitting it costs you money and we will say so.

At the counter

An open wooden bin of galvanized nails with a brass scoop lying in it, a brown paper sack tucked against one side, and a small white card in a wire holder clipped to the front rail. — The scoop stays in the bin. The sacks are on the rail.

How it actually works.

Bins are open. Take a sack off the rail, fill it, and it is counted or weighed at the register.
Every drawer card carries both numbers, the price for one and the price for the box, in that order.
If you do not know the size, bring the part. There is a thread gauge and a caliper on the counter and neither one costs anything to use.
We will hold a cut order under your name for a week if you need to go measure again.

The other side of the store

A flat of thirty brown and white eggs open on the store counter, with a stack of empty grey pulp cartons and a folded paper sack beside it. — The flat is open. Cartons are on the shelf under it.

Groceries break the same way.

The egg flat is open and eggs are 45¢ each, so four eggs is four eggs. Beans, rice, oats, flour, yeast and the whole spice rack are scooped and weighed. Take a carton from under the flat if you want one, or bring the empty one back and we will fill it.

Produce is loose and priced each or by the pound. There is no bagged-only tomato in the building.

Getting here

Open six days. The cutter runs until closing.

Hours

Monday to Friday 7:30 to 6
Saturday 7:30 to 4
Sunday Closed

Where

123 Main Street
Plattsburg, Missouri 64477
Parking and the loading door are behind the building.

Phone

(816) 555-0142
Call with a size and we will price it for one before you drive out.