Hi Steve,
The answer is, oddly, very easy.
The very next plane I will buy for myself will be more of a jack type plane, and it's going to be a Tsunesaburo 60-70mm "Miki" with a steeper than normal bedding angle, maybe up near 45 degrees.
About as bomb proof as it gets, and within 30 seconds of opening the box, you're planing away, and you'll keep planing for a very, very long time, since the blade should stay usably sharp for longer than anything presently available by a sizable margin. Already adjusted, sharpened and ready to work.
When I get it, I'll video my opening the box and getting it working. No other way to show how 'difficult and troublesome' Japanese planes really are with a 1 minute, real time video...
Seriously though, there are few 'bad' planes out there. Once you commit to parting with about $200, they're almost universally pretty good. Under that price, they're usually good enough to put to work. Under $100, and the quality control drops off but the basics are all there and still quite good.
There is some junk out there though. I try to avoid it, which is why I don't have some of the really cheap stuff kicking around and refuse to ship it off to anyone.
(Says I with a good smoothing plane that cost me $20 new...)
Pick a few and throw them at the folks here. They'll usually shoot you straight.
There is something to be said for getting into a cheap-o plane, just so you won't worry about getting stuck into it. The inevitable tears are cheaper, and you won't need to shed them when you upgrade later on.
Stu.