Eric, great idea looking for used monopod. Thank you.A couple of weeks ago I searched eBay and KEH for monopods. I saw a nice Gitzo CF monopod for around $200 on ebay, and a RRS monopod at KEH. Both were 25-40% below retail of the same item bought new.
Be patient and look for a used monopod. It's one of those items that turns up regularly.