Good question Adam. I'd have to say both. Half and half. Reputable resellers can get you some rare items but for a price. Some rares take quite a while to find and wait for on ebay but I guess you can say sometimes auctions are much cheaper.  So it comes down to getting the item quickly for a good sum from a reseller or waiting for it to show up on auction and getting it possibly cheaper.  I should also note that many people prefer resellers over ebay/auctions as you don't know if the person you bought it from is reputable or not. With a reseller you know who your buying it from and know that it will arrive in the condition stated. With ebay and all, sometimes people misrepresent there items and grade there items much higher than it actually is.