I had some wire folding basket panniers -- they're good for cheap cargo space, but they have two problems that lead me to not want them in the future.

1) They rattle around a lot when closed and spontaneously open on big bumps.
2) They're kinda ugly.

The nylon grocery panniers are a lot better on both accounts, it appears, but they cost 2-3x as much.

I'm probably complaining about something that doesn't matter; I should accept that it costs $60 to make a quality set of nylon panniers and move on with my life. But the trailer hitch thing, that's real.