[kens]

Thanks for the comments. I bought the parts off eBay for several reasons. First, I wanted the less common metal TO-3 package so I could open the chip with a hacksaw rather than nitric acid. Second, eBay parts are amazingly cheap: you can get 10 7805s for $1.33 from Hong Kong, shipping included. (Does anyone know how they can ship something that cheap?) Finally, since I'm cutting the chip open, I'm not exactly looking for quality :-)

[diogenescynic]

Most Chinese sellers use a service called Epacket to send small items to the US. Epacket is a trilateral agreement between USPS, eBay and China Post that allows Chinese sellers to send items to the US in bulk at a low rate. Even without Epacket, Chinese postage is a lot lower than in the US.

[Scoundreller]

I think there's more to it than that since the shipping is usually free worldwide, not just the US. I think most countries in the world have an agreement through the International Postal Union to pay by total weight for international packages, and the rate is low. In China/HK and some other places, they pass that low cost to the consumer, unlike the US.

[dewitt]

Thanks for the fast reply, kens! Those reasons make a lot of sense.

And thanks again for the article itself. Very much enjoyed it.