I had the opposite experience with one of my old electronics teachers. The place was was replacing a bunch (40-50 or so) of 100Mbps rackmount switches with giga

I had the opposite experience with one of my old electronics teachers. The place was was replacing a bunch (40-50 or so) of 100Mbps rackmount switches with gigabit versions (this was mid-2000s, so 100Mbps was still more than adequate for home use). I can't remember the exact scenario, but they were either selling the old ones as scrap or had to pay for them to be recycled. My teacher said I could skim whatever I wanted off the top, providing I didn't make it too public (I don't think he asked permission, just knew they wouldn't be missed). A 48-port switch (Netgear FS750T or something very similar), as well as a couple of 16-port versions and a hub that had somehow still been in use, was probably overkill for home use, but I wasn't complaining.