Yeah, we're all part of the blame. Not just on auto parts, but most of what we use in life. We (as Americans) spend so much time "price checking" instead of "quality checking". We should compare pricing on the same quality of part...
I agree, we're all part of the blame but the difference in pricing is perhaps cheap labour in china making the same thing in big volume, not necessarily difference in quality but of course, it could be...
In the end It's your choice what to buy, and if you buy the cheapest part and expected it's top quality you can be disappointed, or be satisfied if it is, that's up to you.