You have to learn the key Chinese words to put in search to find things. Once you do this it becomes easier. I think I have increased my finding to 1 in 5 attempt instead of 1 in 50 now
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I'm learning, auction master!

I took your tips to heart on Ebay.de and Ebay.it, working on some killer deals (to me, anyway) as we speak. Of course, knowing that you're on those sites as well, if I see more than two bids on something, I spare myself the embarrassment and decline to place a bid.

)
I would say that I've found just as much cool stuff on the US Ebay site as anywhere across the world, and now I'm branching out to check specialty equipment reseller pages. Fantastic selection of weird stuff at audio-visual online stores, for example. And I found out that the ham radio association (
http://www.arrl.org) holds regional swap meets where all kinds of stuff show up, a regular Chiba City flea market.
Sourcing via relatives is also a way to build the collection. My brother works near a military base in California, and all sorts of exotic junk shows up in his local recycling place. He sent me pictures of his latest acquisition, a Curta calculator, practically mint in a wooden case.