CCNA Lab Question

Hi All,
Recently i've decided to start my journey towards my CCNA. I got my books a couple days ago and have since dove in head first and must say im really enjoying what im reading. I will probably end up taking the 2 test route since im in school and have other subjects to study for. After reading some threads i've seen people have good and bad reviews about buying items off of Ebay and some kits ive seen seem ridiculous in price, but then again i dont know what ridiculous is.

Amazon.com: Cisco CCNA 3 Router & 3 Switch Lab Kit!: Computers & Accessories

This kit for example is 500$, just not gonna happen lol. Even without the flash cards and binary bit games and extra crap, it would still probably be around 300$ for the stuff you actually need im assuming. After searching for switches and routers and things separately I found much better prices, but how much can you trust used items even from places like Amazon, there seems to be a big drop in price from new to used??

Also at what price would you guys stop and say,"Woah your spending wayyy too much".
Thanks for the replies.

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

jdballinger

eBay and Craigslist will always be your best sources. If something says it's a kit, don't buy it, you are about to be ripped off.

As far as trusting the used equipment, it's not that hard. If the listing for an item says that it is working, and you get the device and it isn't, then the seller needs to refund your money. That's not just good business, that's in the terms of service for sites like that.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure you can get a screenshot or copy/paste of a SHOW VERSION command from the seller, as this will tell you that 1) the device is functional and boots and 2) the amount of RAM and Flash memory in the device. Also it lets you know what version of IOS it is running, so you know if you will need to upgrade or not.

There are dozens of great threads on this board about home labs, I encourage you to sift through them when making your choices. Above all, don't be afraid to ask questions before you spend money on something. We're all here to help each other, and we've all been there at one time or another!