For the price the OP paid for a new but basic TT/arm he could have bought into much better kit buying s/h. For example an LP12 that included a simple arm would have been within budget and perform way ahead of what he now has.
Its been a long time so I may misquote but I thought that the major aim of pfm (after Tony's livelihood) was "to get the best sounding HiFi for the lowest outlay". Thats why many on pfm go the s/h and often classic route. In my own case everything I have except the speakers (and that was a special case) was bought s/h. The dealer gave me a better price for my old speakers than I would have got from selling them myself so in a way those new speakers were heavily discounted.
Cheers,
DV