AHH.. Good advice Dave.. I wouldn't have thought to ask that..
I'm not in the market yet,but I will be someday in the not to distant future..
I just tied up some money for some 'vintage' number 4 smoothing planes.. I got my hands on a dandy old Stanley and it slices, dices and does the dishes..
Ok, maybe not all that, but it's sweet to be able to plane down a piece of wood without the chatter or tear out.. I just realized it can open a few doors to having the right thickness without having to go try to buy it pre-planed.. I'll never go back to any planes made after 1970..