Personally I think that $30 tents are likely to be junk and very expensive ones are likely to be overbuilt 4 season affairs that are more rugged than required for 3 season camping. As a result some of them will be heavier than needed. Often something in the $80-120 is really a pretty nice compromise.
Lots of different compromises are possible, but remember no matter what you spent it will still be a compromise.
Personally the really high dollar ones seem like overkill. I don't need a tent to last until my grand children are grown, in fact there is some benefit to replacing them every several years.
In a more general sense... It is nice to be able to afford to replace all of your gear without too much pain in the case of theft or loss. As a result I tend to not ride expensive bikes or use expensive gear. In some items I actually like the cheaper stuff better any way. This is especially true where the more expensive stuff is overbuilt and as a result heavier some of it much heavier (Surly Nice Racks and Arkel Panniers come to mind as examples of overbuilt gear, that I personally avoid).