i started on the opposite side of that...only bought the expensive name brand smokes that were more often than not "supposed" to be good. Som eof them were, some of them werent'. Then i started buying cheaper smokes that were made by the same people that madde the expensive ones that i liked and it turns out, i liked the cheap ones too. And then i started, adn still do, smoke a wide vriety of stuff to find what i like. I've rpetty much narrowed down the flavors i like in cigars, and will research various cigars and read reviews to see if they might match my flavor profile preferences. if they do, i give em a shot. And i'm most certainly looking for bargains as most of the sticks with the profiles i like are in the $6 - $15 range. The wife doesn't like those numbers too well, so i'm always looking for cheaper smokes.
But the key for me is exploration and research. And for me, cheaper means $2-5 a stick. I'm of the opinion that there are very few good cigars that cost less than $2 each. I know of a couple, but that price only comes from cbad and auction sites. retial for those sticks is around $3.
Regardless, enjoy your new sticks and flavors.