Cheap online may not allways be the best way to go. Where was the money saved, probably by having a machine build. Apparrently there may be severe problems w/machine builts if the spokes are not tensioned/stress relieved (by hand). If you buy cheap sets, take them to a skilled craftsman to have them checked out.

If there is a problem (ex. out of round), you may be SOL. Make sure there is some type of decent support (return etc).

Now for wheels w/a guarantee, I recommend Peter White, but that's in the same ball park your trying to avoid---