eBay can be an especially tricky channel to navigate safely and may put valuable IT budget dollars in jeopardy. However, there are other alternatives to save money on networking equipment that don’t require you to sacrifice quality assurance, warranty and support. Network Hardware Resale is one of many legitimate secondary market resellers of pre-owned and refurbished Cisco equipment. The secondary market provides immediate availability of current and previous generation equipment -- for network build outs, sparing, and disaster recovery – at up to 95% off list. All NHR products are authenticated, fully tested and backed with a one-year advanced replacement warranty. We are a member of the United Network Equipment Dealer Association (UNEDA), an organization that requires members to follow strict ethical standards and counterfeit abatement rules that keep the channel a safe alternative for IT pros. So while buying “new” equipment from a seller on eBay is extremely risky, businesses do have viable alternatives to keep the network up and running on a limited budget.

Aside from avoiding ebay all together, it's just extremely hard to make a purchase without running the risk of buying counterfeit gear. Those of us that are familiar with the industry "players" know whose reliable and who isn't. Most of the legitimate resellers have ebay accounts/stores, and take their ebay sales just as seriously as they do their offline sales, but what about the average joe much like the example in this post? If they have never dealt with a quality company, then they may be inclined to chase after the cheaper deal, which always leads to the famous caveat..."buyer beware".

Whether it's a used cisco firewall or router, or any other piece of equipment for that matter, it's important to do a little research first. There are a bunch of reputable companies on ebay, that might not have the lowest prices, but you can guaranteed they'll be the real deal.