ingredient kits

just wondering how many on the forum occasionally use the ingredient kits or do you select each ingredient seperately for the batch?
i myself had been buying the ingredient kits until recently. recently, i went to the local homebrew shop to buy an ingredient kit to make an oktoberfest. however, the brew shop was at the time out of ingredient kits to make an oktoberfest. i know some brews are seasonals, but i was there during the oktoberfest season. i think i'm now at the point of staying away from the ingredient kits and select each ingredient seperately from the local brew shop.

That's all I get. I order different kits from Austin and have been really happy with them. Some day I will get me a Barley Crusher and order grain by the bag but for $25.00 or so a kit, I am happy.

I don't do kits anymore because it's sort of fun to research a recipe, and go and collect your grains and mill them out, and pick out the yeast at the LHBS. Nothing at all wrong with kits, though, they are just providing a tried-and-true recipe and collecting the materials for you ahead of time for a small markup.