cr0sh:
As always, you need to price before you buy; as you mentioned, I've seen prices for some things surplus that could be gotten much cheaper from China. Best thing on Ebay is to find a good Chinese vendor and stick with 'em (Tayda is one I have used in the past, who had good communication, etc - which is why I posted the link). As long as you are willing to wait (when I make these kinds of purchases, I try to purchase bulk or multiple components from the Ebay store, just because of the long "lead time" to receipt).
I agree. Sometimes browsing their ebay stores, you'll see something really cheap you wouldn't thought to buy. Most of the components I buy are from Tayda, but I don't even realize it until I get an email. Most of the other things I get on eBay(microscopes, DMM, other "built" things) are from TomTop. They seem to have many different accounts, but I'm not sure. You can usually tell from the picture when something is from a certain seller. I think Tayda has purple borders and TomTop has orange, but I'm not sure.