I'm constantly torn between spending for the "higher end" brand tool or the harbor fright style. My general thought is if i'm going to use it regularly spend for the better one, and if its a once in a while I can get away with less.
Last night my Skil orbital sander crapped out. I bought it on the clearance table at Rocky's in 2010 and have used it pretty regularly so i think i got my money's worth. My plan was to upgrade and get a dewalt or bosch, but the question really is if I got 8 years out of a sander i paid maybe $30 for, what am I really gaining with a $70+ version?