"Does someone know HOW to get single Rx2's at REASONABLE price??? "
Ask the local philips representative for samples. I got 4 of each 2 different packages. Of course you have to sell your soul to get them.

Farnell is related to Newark, so there is a problem there. Do not believe anything is obsolete because they say so.

Who has AT89S8252 ? Digikey (will ship International), JDR.com, arrow (good luck).

The AT89S53 has ISP like the 8252 but 12K code eeprom (no data eeprom). I don't see any price difference.