I think it may just be an Australian thing, but if you can find a shop that stocks "Birdie" brand toys you can't do much better. I spent $10 and got a 60cm bendy hardwood ladder with dyed bits and peices on it. Similar item from a different brand was $30 and was no where as good! Most of their conure sized toys are $5 and made of thick plastic or wood, in bright colours and most are movable or have bells. Costs me more to make them myself!
Other cheapy toys places are to go to your local $2 store or similar and get baby toys. Teething ones are good! Alex has a set of those interconnected baby teething rings he LOVES. Cost me a whole $3. Can string them up into interesting perches too, which my boy loves to unclip. Other ones he loved (for a whole $1 each) was a key type teething ring, and a plastic clip on rattle. Best of all, 100% non toxic as they are designed for kids.
Household items like bottlecaps, sticks and wooden spoons he loves too. Just be careful with cardboard rolls, I would worry that some of the glue and scent on them may not be birdy safe, though I haven't heard of any issues with them, always be diligent! Shredded newspaper is a good one, if your local news mag uses soy ink like ours anyway. Cat balls (the thick plastic ones, not the thin ones) are also a favourite foot toy!
Spend money wisely on toys too. A pine chewable or preening toy that will be wrecked in a week is probably not worth spending a lot on on. But a hardwood ladder or metal toy that can be removed, disinfected and stores and rotated in and out of the cage and will last months (maybe even a year) while costing a bit more, will be a better investment and last longer in the long run, reducing how much you spend yearly on replacements!
