Pictured above: New affordable and excellent Chinese Madake shakuhachi at Mujitsu.com, 1.8 to 2.2
and on eBay here are a couple of items and sellers you can trust:
http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTHENTIC-EDO-PERIOD-JAPANESE-SHAKUHACHI-BAMBOO-FLUTE-/140413284668
2.1 CHIKUSING SHAKUHACHI BAMBOO FLUTE by PERRY YUNG relisted
EXCELLENT older 3.0 Jinashi shakuhachi
1.8 SHAKUHACHI TAI HEI MONTY LEVENSON
About "antique" shakuhachi sellers from Japan on eBay: There is a lot of misleading crap on eBay trying to pass for real shakuhachi. About the only "antique" seller on eBay from Japan I've ever had good luck with is koro-koro1. He actually will take a return if needed (he has a stated return policy) and he's been the source of some interesting and workable fixer-upper instruments for the DIY crowd. But even there, be discerning. Have a good idea about what you're buying.
Stay away from sellers like temjin55 (he frequently uses the term "old music") who knows nothing about shakuhachi, sells some really awful bug-ridden flutes and has a no-return policy (which I cracked, but that's another story). Very few of these "antique" dealers from Japan know squat about their national instruments. It's saddening and maddening.
About "bargain" new flutes from American-garage makers on eBay: Stay away from the American-garage "shakuhachi" makers from Texas and Southern California who shouldn't be advertising their wares as shakuhachi at all. They have great prices, lousy instruments that cannot play through the octaves in tune and are a terrific waste of money and time. Great prices, though! They also have "no returns" policies.
Never, ever buy a shakuhachi from a person with a "no returns" policy. Just say NOH!
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