Do you need 1 X 16? As mixos has published, 2X16 displays are fairly cheap. Also 4x20 display prices are not bad.
One thing that makes a big difference is which Continent you live on. You do not want to pay some of the high International shipping charges. Depending upon where you ship to, I have seen these get pretty ridiculous.
Earth LCD has a large selection. This is a US based company. You can find their prices at
http://store.earthlcd.comAs an example, they have "Vikay 2035TNLD 2X16 Character Display for $7.00 each; Hantronix HDM20416L-1-L30F 4X20 Character Display for $25.00 each; Very popular Sharp LM24022 240X160 Graphic Display for $39.00 each.
Note: I am not affiliated with this company. Just a customer.
Also, if you can use a US based company,
www.allelectronics.com has some of the best prices on LCDs in the world. 1X24 is $1.85, 240X64 at $11.00 each, etc.
Again, I must warn that these prices are pretty good as long as you don't add big shipping charges to them. Always calculate shipping charges when you are shopping around for an item.
MP