to expect a $100 stock to be just as nice as a $250 one when you pull it out of the box is little more than wishful thinking.
Agreed, and that would be why I would not expect it and never said I did. I would also not expect it to take a custom stock-maker to machine a barrel channel in a blank correctly, and to not drill a hole where it doesn't belong, especially since they have been cranking these things out for years...which is a definite production advantage over custom work.