Hot, Used, Fake,Stolen, And Broken Hardware? OK
Nearly 46% of respondents to our survey say they occasionally buy secondhand equipment; 14% do so regularly. They buy used products mainly to save money. Preowned gear can be had for as much as 90% off list price, a tantalizing discount for budget-strapped IT departments, which often see an opportunity to get more features or processing power than they could otherwise afford.
Vendors of secondhand equipment cite two other perks: speed of delivery and availability of spare parts. Sheldon says he can get his hands on just about any piece of Cisco hardware he could want in 48 hours.
As for how much less expensive certified refurbished equipment is compared with brand-new gear, that's up for debate. Cisco says its certified refurbished equipment is generally sold at 25% to 30% off list price for current products and 35% to 70% off list for end-of-life gear, equipment that's no longer being manufactured or supported.
