As in, what's the point? On all of the dumpster-bikes I've seen the headsets, even the cheapest ones, are still perfectly functional, even when other bearing parts like hubs are shot.

More expensive ones sometimes look better, are supposed to last longer, and allegedly run smoother, but if I don't care if it's anodized to match my other aluminum parts a la Chris King and I don't care how smoothly it runs (I've ridden headsets that have had their bearing races sandblasted by an inattentive sandblaster), and I have no problem replacing it every couple of years if it does in fact wear quickly, then why should I shell out over $20 for a headset? I guess this thread comes from my purchasing a $9 headset for a >$1000 build.

Should I have gotten something better? I say no, but that's why I'm asking.. there's got to be a reason I'm missing.