I'm on the same boat. The only positive features to go with rtx 2080 is driver support and DLSS. I can save $250 Canadian which $200 USD for Gtx 1080ti (brand new) vs 2080... So having tough decision.2080ti on the other hand is out of reach. and the fact the 2080 has 8gb vs 1080ti's 11gb.

Performance being very similar go with the cheapest. I just wouldn't hesitate long NVidia planned the high pricing to push people into buying up the old out of production cards and they likely won't stay cheaper for long.

Ray tracking hardware just got launched at at the time when LTT did their review there were zero games released that supports that feature and even shadow of the tomb raider hasn't released the patch for ray tracing yet either. Knowing game developers they do not want to cut out large percentages of their customer base by limiting the game to only run on hardware a tiny portion of the market even has. Because of that I can't see ray tracing to become really mainstream for a number of years so even if you don't have a ray tracing card now you should be just fine with that for now. Perhaps in 5 or so years it may be different but now it certainly isn't mandatory.

I just picked up a used EVAG 1080ti for $540 off Ebay and loving it. 2080ti is more future proof, but $1200 is a lot to drop for a video card unless you want 4K gaming.