I don't know that is entirely true. My local Jaycar (regional Australia) is still a good source for smaller bits and bobs, and I buy a lot of stuff there like circuit board varnish that nobody else would bother to stock. even then I don't mind paying a small premium for a USB cable or whatever because having a jaycar locally is fantastic for what I do.

They still have a decent selection of things like soldering irons and other tools and a little selection of Raspberry Pi and Arduino kits, along with hobby cases, switches, plugs, wire, solder, batteries etc.