[dontbenebby]

I'd focus on finding something extremely simple, paired with making sure he learns to solder so you don't have to buy marked up components he could have made himeself.

(I never bought into a space where it'd be safe to generate those fumes, so I stuck to... cyber stuff.)

Try finding a shop that sells them locally.

Don't buy any of it online.

Be sure to use cash or a gift card paid for in cash to frustrate the people who turned Radio Shack into what felt like the part of a casino where you can enter a raffle for a car.

[fckthisguy]

Honestly, finding a brick-and-mortar store is getting harder these days. You might be lucky in a big city but I personally don't know anywhere with a good ramge and comparable pricing to online. Prices for microcontrollers is really good online.