Antique stores, estate sales, auctions, ebay, thrift shops can all work at times. It's really just a matter of where you are, timing and getting lucky. Here, it's pretty hard to find anything, but once in awhile, something appears. If you have an off-beat specialty interest (like I collect Caribbean chips and especially Aruba memorabilia of many varieties), then you can find online bulletin boards that target that interest and find people that are not collectors who might have a few of what you are looking for. Over the years, I have purchased and been given a number of things - playing cards, players cards, matchbooks. It may take time to develop trust before anything materializes and it may be a long time between these finds, but I have had some success. I even met a nice guy who is a collector, but doesn't collect Caribbean chips, who came to several Northeast Chipper Gatherings, who had a few chips to sell me, and I found him on a bulletin board. Just shows, you never know. The more things you try, the more success you might have.

Michael Siskin