Perhaps a corollary for the phrase (at least as I heard it) would be
"Buy Cheap, Pay twice". Try to get a good deal on a known brand of puller, like Parks, Lifu, Pedro's, etc. You could also buy a "house branded" version from Nashbar or Performance. If you run into a problem with quality or longevity, you will have some recourse.
I enjoy buying Cheap tools when they aren't specialized extraction or specialty tools- too much risk! I especially like buying cheap tools when I must modify or customize a tool for a specific situation. I needed to thin out a 13 mm cone wrench to adjust the cones on Huret derailleur pulleys (they use loose ball bearings in them!). In a situation like that, buying cheap makes sense