LFirth:
I have purchased several hard to find / out of production kits via E-Bay, and considering E-Bay has a system of weeding out dead-beat sellers, if you do get ripped, you will get a refund.
I've been using them for a couple years, purchasing 121 items, and have yet to encounter any problems, thanks to E-Bay's enforcement of their guidelines.
Some examples of the kits I've purchased on E-Bay:
AMT 1/48 Beechcraft G17.... $6.79
Monogram 1/24 UH-1B........$7.25
Modelcraft 1/48 Cessna 172.... $4.85
Revell 1/72 CH-54A...............$3.95
Aurora 1/48 AH-1G.............. $.99
... just to name a few.
You can find kits there, that you can't find in the stores.
Kind regards,
Frank