For example, my switch was normally going for $150-200 at the time I purchased it, but I bought it for $30 shipped. That is more an exception than a rule for me, but you get the idea. I don't buy new hardware because it is extremely expensive.
I have purchased Powerconnect 5224 switches off ebay for around $50 shipped. Keep searching until you find one where they list it as 10/100 instead of gigabit. Those are the ones you can get for cheap