Virtually any product you need today is available on the secondary network equipment market. The secondary network equipment market is an established industry spanning well over a decade. Distribution channels are flush with high-quality, current generation as well as end-of-life equipment.

[edit] Steps

Do your homework on what hardware is available on the market.
Make a decision on the manufacture like Foundry or Cisco.
On the Internet you can locate Used / Refurbished hardware often at up to 90% off the current market value.

[edit] Tips

remember that you are dealing with secondary networking equipment so be sure to haggle.
Call a few and get them to compete on prices.
make sure you get a warranty
It is vitally important to make sure you select a company whose specializes in secondary market product sales to the end user market. This is important because most of the companies in the used and refurbished networking equipment market do not have the capabilities to sell and support the product.
Ask questions like: What is the process and turn around time if I do have a warranty issue? Advance replacement, return and repair, etc. (A company can warranty the product forever; if they can't send you a replacement or repair in a timely manner what good is it.)
Ask questions like: What is their quality process and the standards they follow? Is the company certified in TL9000/ISO standards? Do they have a complete test lab, do they provide standard test documents with they equipment to verify it has in fact been tested. Do they have certified Engineers on staff?