I'm a big fan of those companies too... here are a few things I do:
1. I go on ebay and search for "clear stamp lot" under the general craft category. I sort it by "most expensive first." (Sounds counter-intuitive I know...) A lot of times people will bunch together different brands and sell the "lot" for such an insanely affordable price. There may be a few sets included you don't love in the lot, but you still get the ones you wanted for less than you would have paid elsewhere. This is especially true for Hero Arts clear stamp sets. They have cute sets too. For example... I just sold an 8 clear sets lot on Ebay for $25 which had stamps from Unity Stamps, Verve Stamps, Basic Gray, Hero Arts, etc. Some people don't want to spend the time or money to list things separately and just want to sell them as fast as possible so they price them well.
2. Joann.com now sells Mama Elephant, Avery Elle, and Lawn Fawn - those companies have cute stamps too. Basically every month all their stamps go on sale for 40% off. This is when I stock up. The just started to carry Mama Elephant stamp sets and they have an adorable Panda set, a critters set with Balloons, and a Puppy set. Although Lawn Fawn doesn't go on sale (I don't know why) - I use coupons when joann.com does the $10 off a $30 purchase and variations of that sale... and buy them then.
3. This one works the best for me for sure... I check the Buy/Sell forums every single day - sometimes twice a day. You are right - some sets go very fast - so you have to be sure to check it regularly. It only takes a few minutes and it does pay off with the savings. I find some great My Favorite Things sets and Papertrey Ink sets. I do use the ISO forum but that tends to help me find SU items mainly.
Those are my tips! I hope they help
Where to Buy Used Stamps
