With teas I mostly found that I get what I pay for, as opposed for
example to pipe tobaccos where you can get "premium" weed for little
coin and vice versa (not to mention wines).
A noteworthy fact I´d like to mention is that when it comes to -loose-
teas, you generally don´t have to pay for names. Take for example teas
from prestigous estates, like Castleton or Makaibari, bought at the
gardens (or close-by retail outlets) they are not more expensive than
teas of the same "quality" from a less well known estate. Of course
some retailers in the west want you to pay extra $$ for big names (or
their own name, like Harrod´s/London) but that´s rather exception
than rule.
Whenever I sample Darjeelings I try to guess the price the tea is sold
for and I usually get very close, no big deal at all, the relations
between "quality" and prices are well defined over there.

Karsten [N 53°13' - E 7°46'] - 2005 FF Thurbo in cup