My tips for finding bargains and rares:

1. Go to the general Starbazaar. Some items show up here that never show up using the search tools. I scan the entire page at once and quickly move on. Only when I see an item that is in my mental "wish list" do I pause to check the price.

2. Try suite hopping. Start with your freinds. Check each superstar's bazaar. Go back to her suite and then hop to the suite of one of her recent visitors. This helps ensure you are visiting people who are more likely to have items for sale.

3. Jump on the broadcast. Check out advertiser's bazaars. And then visit their visitors. You can quickly expand your circle of contacts while making sure you are visiting currently active members.

Be realistic about how much you want to spend. If you love something enough to pay up to 600 stardollars for it, just buy it. You can spend money, or you can spend time. When you pass up buying a desirable item you risk not getting the item at all.

If you want to sell something, try to figure out what the going rate would be. The price a person would pay at first click to get it. Too many users price an item for 600 SD just because they need money. That only works if the item is highly desirable. Otherwise, you are just wasting your valuable selling space trying to move overpriced inventory.

It is part of the game to invest in something so you can sell it for more later on. If you buy it for 600 SD, you cannot sell it at a profit (well, not without breaking the rules.) Finding items you can later sell for more is a much more sensible approach. So is shopping the Starplaza first, since some items only increase in value once they are no longer available. 

Play safe and have fun.