I feel the same way, OP.
Everyone always told me SKS rifles were cheap, commie junk. “Surely worth 79.99 for a gun and 1000 rounds like I paid back in 1988, but no way are they worth $250, let alone the $400 they go for these days!”
I sprang for one recently when Classic had them for $299. Sure glad I did. Mine is a well-designed, accurate, VERY fun to shoot, and relatively cheap to feed rifle that feels quality in the metalwork and has enough character that I won’t feel bad taking it out into the woods. It’s a great gun and would be a bargain at $500, if it didn’t have the stigma of originally being sold for so little. I also think that you have to be a fan of iron sights, because scoping them is not straightforward. And the guys who love irons tend to be the same guys who remember when they cost $79.99. So that really limits the appeal when you could, until recently, buy an AR-15 for $500 that promises easy scoping, endless modularity, and the fantasy of being some kind of “operator,” vs. the fantasy of being a loyal peasant-conscript of the Party.