but the Maplin store near me only stocks 2 of the MAX232 chips at a time and wont get anymore in till Jan
Tell me you're not seriously paying Maplin (prices from their website) £2.28 (or even £5.27 - hey that's US$11) !!!!!!!!

If I sold them at 50p each I'd be making 250%... time you looked around for a better components supplier...