RE: cheapest reliable mail order.
Tower, or their alter ego, Omni, are good choices. Tower's advantage is they've always got some sort of discount going on. Omni offers free shipping on orders over $100, but only occasionally has a discount. If you think you'll be buying often, and over $150 on most orders, Tower's super saver club might be worth joining. The three main values are free shipping on orders over $150, frequent freebies in their coupon book, and first dibs on scratch and dent items.