My thinking exactly! When I'm in my shop I'm never more than two steps from a block plane; they're all over the place. Most of them are from lawn sales or auctions where I bought a box of tools for $10. I Scary Sharp the blades and flatten the soles and they work great.

If I wanted a bunch of planes in a hurry and at a good price and didn't want them made in Asia, I'd take a drive to the Liberty Tool Company in Liberty Maine.
http://www.jonesport-wood.com/jwabout.htm#libertytool
There you'll find the tools that were in your grandfather's tool chest. If grandpa was a craftsman you'll find some very high quality tools and if he was a hack you'll find his tools too.

So I guess my answer is, I'd rather buy a cheap used plane than a cheap new plane.