content: "Just do the best you can" I could design a board using nothing but transistors and passives. I have lots of little options to choose between, and need to decide what offers the best trade offs for those who wish to copy my work. What transistors I use offers value in that it is a well researched design decision, but I could also lower costs by buying packages that include other people's designs. Mentioned above, 555s and LM350s would be easy things to include because they are fairly simply to build from public knowledge and will always be readily available. My circuit board becomes significantly smaller and easier to assemble with their inclusion. I think it's a matter of giving power to the customer, as long as there is a wide selection of similar ICs from competitors, it's a good purchase. I think I should do research into which companies copy the designs of others, and buy those products that have been copied.