i would still use ebay despite the issues you mentioned. price can be remedied by being persistent and frequently looking for the thing you want. to get an idea about what you should pay, find the item you want and sort by "sold". that will give you a good high to low range. shipping can be a pain. nothing to be done about it. but you have to factor in the fraud protections you're gonna get shopping with ebay. imo it's the absolute best option.