I'm not a fan of perfboard either. But if I've only got 10-20 components and just need a 1-off, it's a lot faster and easier than waiting for a PCB.
Yep, faster than waiting, and I haven't found sending out to a board house cost effective enough for a 1-off - my budget is too tight.
I sort of got interrupted and left off part of my post. I was actually going to argue for home etching. Even for simple stuff, it seems easier to deal with toner transfer and acid/peroxide etching than to deal with perfboard. I was doing a simple power supply (LM317, 2 caps, 2 resistors) and wished I had time to etch a board instead of dealing with the stripboard (I managed to goof up the first one). I route the boards so that they're single sided, or quite nearly single sided (a few traces on side 2, all of them straight lines if I can manage). I also use the press-n-peel paper, rather than screw around with photo paper. I'm beginning to like SMT parts, too (SOIC and 1206 size please) just so I don't have to drill holes in the PCB. Drilling is the worst part of the home etching process, IMO.
-j