If you've owned a PDA for more than a few days, you may have come to that point where you need a few accessories, or even parts. I would divide the parts you may need to three categories:

1.You need accessories. These are the basic, non essential goodies that are accompanying your PDA, like a nice leather case, a spare battery, a data/recharge cable, a recharge cradle and the like. These can be described a "nice to have items" that many PDA owners like to get for their pocket pc. They are usually cheap items.

2.The second category it for the more expansive items, that expand your PDA's abilities. These can be any memory expansions, memory cards such as an SD card, GPS system addition or a commercial software you want to add and the like. These items call for a more serious attention than the accessories as they cost a lot more and you should dedicate some thought as to choosing the right item for your needs.

3.In the third category I'll include all the absolutely essential parts you need to get if your PDA has a malfunction. This can be a replacement ROM memory, a replacement mother-board, a new screen if yours was broken, etc. These items usually cost quite a bit and there is always the option of declaring the PDA as a total loss and getting another one instead of repairing it.

OK, so now that we covered the 3 different types of parts you may need for your PDA, what can we do to get them for the minimum price and best results? Here are a few valuable tips that were learned by me and others. In many casesthey were learned the hard way.

1.Start with a research first. Always look for a few Internet forums about your PDA and ask around about the item you want to get. People there are passionate about the topic and in many cases will be happy to give you their 2 cents about every item you wish to get. Continue your research at Amazon.com where people submit impartial reviews about almost every item available on Amazon.

2.Find the real "Market Price"look for your item or similar items on ebay.com. The good thing about ebay.com is that you can get a feel fore the market and see how much the items are being sold fornew, used and refurnished. You may not want to actually buy on ebay.com, but you certainly can get your price research done there. You can also ask the merchants any questions you may have and grow your knowledge.

3.Decide where to buy the item. Many people will shop online, and many others prefer to buy off line at a regular store. At a regular store you enjoy the advantage of actually seeing the item before you buy it, and in many cases you get to go home with it, and don't have to wait for it to arrive a few days later. But buying offline in many cases adds to the price. If you want competitive process, and you've done your research, you may want to shop online at eBay, Amazon, or a site like pdaparts.com that specializes in PDA parts and accessories.

Whether you buy online or off, make sure you do your research right, even if it's only a 10 minute research. It can save you money, time and frustration.