I guess I see it from a different point of view.
I see this as a hobby that's generally associated with playing poker. I would think a singles collector already knows about the costs and would fall into a different category. Many started with some plastic slug chips and if that was good enough, they probably wouldn't be here. Now that they are here, read some threads, ask some questions and when you get it down to what you really think you want, get some samples and play around with them. If the consideration is between a used casino set say for $500 or a nicer set that's $750 but is in nearly new condition with more visual appeal, I'm suggesting they really consider if the benefits are worthwhile. Don't have buyers remorse if you bought the more reasonable set but you really wanted something more.
Agreed. There are probably a lot of users who come on, buy a set or maybe two and then are satisfied and off the scene (or perhaps exit it later). Then there's others who are here for a longer haul buying new sets, selling old sets and upgrading over time. My advice comes from my personal experience. I've bought sets I thought were good enough, played with them for a while and then decided no, I'm going to go buy that nicer set I wanted instead. It's up to the end user to determine which piece of advice applies to them.