There are a variety of products that do not fit into any specific category of device and end up being referred to as Miscellaneous. Any electronics supplier or manufacturer focusing on products and systems will have parts that are needed, but not considered special enough to focus on. They can also be assortments of electronic or mechanical parts used by hobbyists and developers that have lots of different sizes and values in a single collection. Unfortunately, the Miscellaneous category all to frequently contains devices that should be in a defined category but the person who defined the list did not understand what the part does.

Packs of miscellaneous leaded resistor values are available. They are usually a cost-effective way for hobbyists to obtain a wide variety of marked values but do require sifting through to find the right device. Packs of leaded capacitors are also available. Bags of pin headers are also available in random assortments, as are items like heat shrink tubing and LEDs.

There are many small mechanical items that tend to fall in the Miscellaneous category. Additional nuts and washers are typical items that may be thrown in to a products box just in case a customer loses them. In many cases, these are inventory items so low cost that the manufacturer includes them without bothering to track them. It may even be about a collection of items used to maintain equipment that uses a variety of parts—for example, miscellaneous soldering iron tips.

On occasion, there are bulk buying opportunities for parts like CMOS logic devices that a distributor will wish to shift on, or devices left at the end of a manufacturing run that may be up for a bulk purchase. These can also be referred to as Miscellaneous items.