New switch recommendations to replace 7450-48p

[hmw]

I must be in the wrong corner of the world. These things cost 20k here new, 15k refurbished. If I look across the world on ebay, I can find some for 3k, but "just for spares", i.e. not working, from UAE. Working ones on ebay appear to be around 8k.

You just need to wait patiently. Folks like Provantage etc will occasionally offer really good deals on Netgear. And Dedicated does awesome deals on refurb Brocades. It's just a matter of waiting and watching