Dropped $340 on a managed switch I didn't need, and the cable tester humbled me
I bought a Netgear 24 port managed switch for $340 to fix "random drops" in my office network, but the whole problem was one bad patch cable behind the printer that a $60 tester found in two minutes. The vendor wouldn't take the switch back after 30 days, so now it's a very expensive doorstop and I'm out $340 plus the $60 tester I should have bought first. What's the dumbest money you've dropped on gear before you actually found the real problem?