electronics test equipment

refurbished? not 100% sure but i think you can get some decent ex lab equipment from pawn shops and e-waste facilities.. you could even try your luck with craigslist or ebay. despite what people think ebay can actually be a great resource for used equipment.

 

Try your local college - they tend to have an annual clear out of old equipment that has (usually) been well maintained but their budgets require them to purchase new equipment on a regular basis.
They are more sympathetic towards 'genuine' users in need as they do find resellers plaguing them on the make.

Personally, apart from a 'scope and meter, I started out building my own basic test equipment and with the cheap'n'cheerful modules available via the usual Chinese retailers this is quite easily achieved.

In fact I STILL build test equipment and will post some in-construction pictures shortly.

 

Since you live in America, it should be very easy to find used lab equipment. Ebay has countless sellers of that sort for an example. I recommend buying relatively modern oscilloscope since the development in this field has been very fast when it comes to hobby grade equipment.

Rigol scopes do have very good price and build quality, DS1052 or 1054 are pretty good scopes.