Tips for Buying Lab Gear on eBay

Over the weekend there was a short thread on Networking-Forum.com about acquiring lab gear via eBay (or similar public auction sites). I thought it might be helpful to condense some of the advice offered in the thread as well as some of my own tips into a quick blog article.

As an example, let's pretend we want to pick up a Cisco 1841 router for a home lab. Here are some tips to help make sure you're getting a good deal.

Check Completed Auctions First

The first thing we want to do is get a feel for the market. eBay has a great tool for this built-in: a search for completed auctions. Note that you'll need to sign into eBay to perform this type of search (I honestly don't know why).

So, the first step in our search for a good deal on an 1841 is to see what other people have been paying lately. Search on eBay for "cisco 1841" and from the results page select "Completed listings" under the "Show only" heading at left.

You may be prompted to sign in, and then you'll be presented with a lengthy list of auctions which have already ended. The color of the price at right reflects whether the item was sold. While we're primarily interested in auctions with green prices (items which were sold), it can sometimes be informative to look into why certain items did not sell, especially if their asking price was at or below the going rate.

Start browsing through the successfully completed auctions to get an idea of the going rate for this item. Don't just take an average of the green prices: not all auctions are alike. Here's a sample list of the last ten successful auctions which came up in our search and their corresponding closing prices.

From the auction titles alone, we can immediately throw out auctions 3 and 5, which are for 1841-compatible WICs, not actual routers. We can also see that some auctions were for only a router whereas others included perks like a WIC module or Compact Flash card. Though these aren't terribly valuable inclusions, they can improve the appeal of an auction for some bidders and should be taken into account when factoring a going rate for the item in question.

From the remaining eight auctions in our initial list, we see a range of $199.99 to $305 with an average cost of $245.87 per auction. This is the number to beat: Ideally, we want to be paying below average for our 1841.

Depending upon how common the item you're looking for is and how quickly you need to acquire it, you may want to go back through several weeks' worth of completed auctions to find a more accurate average cost. It can also be worthwhile to more closely inspect closed auctions, especially those with abnormally low or high prices. Bulk sales and auctions of non-functioning gear (sold for parts) can artificially swing our target average.

Now that we have a target price range in mind, clear the completed listings filter from the search results to return to active auctions.

Look for bulk sales

One of my favorite strategies for finding cheap gear, especially if I'm looking for multiple devices of the same make and model, is to append the keyword "lot" to my search. This should turn up any auctions for two or more of the same item. While lot auctions often sell at a bulk discount, the drawback is that you might not be able to find a lot size which matches what you actually want to buy. For example, if you want to buy two 1841 routers, an auction for three or four isn't of any help (unless you manage to snag it for what you'd be willing to pay for just two, which doesn't happen often).

Another type of bulk sale is a fixed-price ("buy it now") auction arranged so that a buyer can purchase as many of the individual items as a seller has available. You can filter for these auctions in an advanced search by specifying a range for multiple item listings:

These can be more convenient than lot auctions but tend to offer less of a discount.

Avoid Lab Packages

There is one particular class of bulk auction to avoid: lab kits. These are collections of network gear marketed as being ideal for certification study. I've written before about these overpriced bundles of end-of-life devices. Stay away. While you might occasionally come across a good deal from a seller simply looking to get rid of his home lab, the majority of these types of auctions are commercial scams which prey on newbie networkers who don't know any better.

An example can be found in our search for an 1841: "CISCO CCNA LAB TO CCNP 3x 1841 ROUTER 2950 WIC-2T NP1c." This particular package includes three 1841s, two Catalyst 2950-12 switches, four serial WICs, and miscellaneous cables all for the low, low price of just $1999.95!

Seriously? Assuming an average rate of around $300 per 1841 and $50 per 2950-12 (which is being very generous), this lab kit has us paying a thousand dollars for 4 WICs and a handful of cables. Doesn't seem like a good deal to me.

Oh, and this brings up another rule of thumb: Don't bid on auctions where the leading picture is heavy-chested cartoon woman.

Learn to Scrutinize Potential Scams

And by "potential scams" I mean every single auction you come across. Every one of them. We've just seen how lab packages are put together by unscrupulous sellers to inflate perceived value, but that's far from the only trick out there. To help protect yourself, always pay attention to details:

Seller rating and feedback. Obviously, we all prefer to buy from seller with an excellent track record. Be sure to check the seller's reputation and recent feedback. It's been known to happen that a seller with a positive feedback score in the thousands decides to "cash out;" that is, to post a few dozen auctions for high-price items, collect payment in the tens of thousands, and simply disappear. It's rare, but worth taking a few seconds to check for. A recent rash of negative feedback from people who haven't received their items is a telltale sign.

Shipping cost. One incredibly irritating tactic taken by many sellers especially on buy-it-now auctions is to list an unusually cheap price for an item and make up the difference by charging a grossly inflated shipping charge, which bidders don't always catch until it's too late. Don't be one of those bidders.

Shipping origin and delivery estimate. Always check where an item is to be shipped from before bidding. Many very cheap items are being sourced from Hong Kong or other far-away lands and mailed out by boat. This is less of a scam warning than it is an indicator that it will take several weeks for your item to arrive, and you don't get a tracking number. Be especially wary of sellers who don't disclose their location at all.

Photos. It can pay to scrutinize photos of gear posted by sellers. For example, will this WIC work in our new 1841?

Well, that depends whether it's a WIC-1DSU-T1 or a WIC-1DSU-T1-V2. Can you tell from the photo? When in doubt, ask the seller to clarify. If you suspect false advertising, move right along to the next auction.

Read the entire description. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Some auctions have lots of great photos and pages of copy describing the item for sale, but end with a tiny line to the effect that the item is being sold "as-is," "in undetermined condition," or "for parts." These should be a deal-breaker if you're in the market for something you expect to work when it arrives. (That said, you can sometimes find a deal on a device which just needs a new power supply.)

What Else?

What other tips and tricks have you picked up in your lab gear-acquiring experiences? Leave a comment and share!