Cheap or expensive, they aren't worth much unless they are sharpened well. Flatten the backs on them all. If they chip, increase the bevel angle or use another for chopping type work. If they dull quickly, console yourself to honing them more frequently, use them for softer woods, or use them for utility tasks like shaving off glue squeeze out. Flattening the back is a laborious task, but only needs to be done rarely. If you are worried about wasting your new stones, use wet-dry paper on a flat surface to do the majority of the work. The really lousy ones are the ones you loan out, because you don't really care if you get them back, and if the loanee buys a replacement, odds are it will be of equal cheapness.
Sometimes you cannot judge the quality of steel by the price. I buy Buck Bros plane irons because they are cheap. (I also have some more expensive ones). I pay for it in 2 hours of flattening the backs to get rid of the mill marks (nice job for a rainy day where I don't want to think a lot). Once flattened, they hold an edge as well as a Stanley that cost 6 times as much. Because they are inexpensive, I can afford to play around with different bevels as radii without the risk of ruining an expensive item. If you consider my time, no, they are not cheaper, but my time is a variable I can control. Income too often is not..
A tool that is too expensive for me to risk using it is worthless to me. However, I am one of those weird people who enjoy making a tool work well for what it is intended as much as using it on a project. A day in the shop tuning and refining a tool to work well is as pleasing to me as one making a piece of furniture. I do enjoy fine tools, and have some. They are a real pleasure to use. However, the process of choosing that tool to buy included using and tuning lesser tools so that I could recognize good quality (not just expensive price) when I saw it.
JMTCW
Go
PS As for chisels, I have more than 20. I keep them all sharp. Some are used for hogging out a lot of waste as they dull quickly but get the job done. The better quality are used for the final cuts, paring, etc. as they will hold the keen edge I need. I no longer buy cheap ones in a set, but some I bought 30 years ago are still in use. Kind of make me think that what was cheap quality 20 years ago is equal to medium quality now. I do have some standards, tho. Chisels, like drill bits must pass one test. If it bends I throw it out.