All of my equipment and weights came from CL. There are deals every day. Olympic plates do hold their value, but benches, bars, and machines are dirt-cheap when for sale used. Plates seem to be about 50c/pound, and benches are $50 for a home-quality (would be $200 or so new) to $250 for a heavy gym-quality bench (would be $800 new). If you're in LB and don't mind driving a few miles, look in the Inland Empire craigslist. That's the foreclosure capital of the USA, and there are tons of deals from people moving into smaller places, and no room for weight equipment.
Charles