Unlike a lot of other materials there's not that much difference between high and low quality carbon steel pans. Even the good ones don't hold much heat and tend to warp, it's just part of how they are.

They're pricey because they're out of mainstream favor and are kind of an online cooking fad niche thing right now. The main producers are venerable european ones with their own particular markets.

But if you have a local dollar store type thing catering to an immigrant community from like west africa, southeast asia, south america, you can probably snag a carbon steel pan for like $12. It may be a wok or comal or some other slightly unfamiliar format but it'll work fine.