Newbie equipment and a Thank You

[Weaselblighter]

Starting out as an (at the time) level 8 bard, I had some money saved from Qeynos quests and made the journey to the EC tunnel to look for some entry level gear.

I have found there are some very helpful and generous players on p1999. As I auctioned for a weapon, I had a high-level Enchanter just give me a Crystalline Spider Fang! Going form a cracked staff to that was a world of difference and enabled me to move to operation Wisp Murder in Q. Hills.

His character name was Arcayne (or some variation thereof) so if you are out there, thank you again!

My question is this, though: have others out there found the cheaper newbie gear tough to find? I have taken a look at Ravager's 1k Twink Guide on the wiki and done some looking for the items on there, but they seem sparse in EC. I saw Golden Jaded Bracelets on sale one time and wish I'd been able to snatch them up, because I haven't seen one since. I also struck out completely on banded armor until I happened across some on a merchant in Fireprides; someone had obviously been smithing and selling it to the vendor.

Is it just a matter of checking periodically? Or are most folks more focused on higher level gear due to the age of the server?