I believe the ONLY times you'll see people pointed toward "cheaper goods" (which is a fairly subjective term) are:

1) when someone isn't sure that they'll enjoy wearing the kilt, or are VERY fearful of it's reception by others

2) will be using it for an activity which might cause significant wear/destruction.

The advice is quite fair because even 'cheap' highland wear retains some of it's value and can be sold for a fair percentage of it's original cost. Look at the For Sale pages. Most people selling even decently made acrylic kilts and such get a very good portion of their cost back.

Why would you advise someone who ISN'T sure that kilting will work for them to lay out $1000 US on a custom fitted kilt, high end sporran, hand knit hose, etc? Not only would the delay often chase people away (6-14 weeks for some people's work), but I'm sure many would balk at the steep 'entry fee'.

I don't think you'll see too many people here advising those who KNOW that they're going to be wearing a kilt often (or even once for really a big occasion) to buy a $30 acrylic kilt, $10 sporran, and $3 white nylon hose.