[cityofdelusion]

The bargain bin is fine, you just need to know what you're buying, and most people have no idea. For the engineering types here, you just need to remember one thing -- complexity scales fast. A bargain bin cast single piece wrench has no moving parts and only one failure point, the accuracy of that cast. If the price is low, its probably worth grabbing.

The bargain bin table saw on the other hand has multiple dimensions of accuracy, many joints that have to line up, many engineered materials with various degrees of quality (polycarbonate? ABS? cast aluminum?) along multiple interference angles. Not a good idea to throw that $129 special in your cart.

Remember that accuracy isn't cheap. Quality tool steel, dies, machining, QA -- it all costs money and is reflected in that price you're paying. Adjustable wrenches as show in the article are notorious for this problem. Backlash is one of those things that your average consumer doesn't think about. The engineer can do some quick thinking when shopping, "can I really manufacture XYZ part at scale and sell it (at retail!) for $1.00 and expect any degree of accuracy in that worm gear, on which this part relies on entirely for its usefulness?"