No seriously... Code is a code.. theres no quality of a code .. .. seriously thats dumb dude..
ORLY? Code is code?
Do you like not being hacked because of exploits in code due to poor or lazy coding? Because maybe spending that extra $25 or $40 an hour upfront will prevent you from needing to hire someone to save your hacked site later on- not to mention a potential stolen database from which you can never really recover.
Coding is worth what someone is willing to pay- the free market system is in effect here. If a coder's prices are too high they will get little to no business. A coder that charges lower rates will often get more business. Assuming equal quality (which isn't usually true) it's up to the coder to find a "sweet spot" on the supply/demand graph. They can charge $100 and get one coding job per week or they can charge $1 and get 100 coding jobs a week- in the end they both make the same money but the guy who charges $100 still comes up ahead because he only used a fraction of the time the other guy did.
Another reality- Coding/programming and other technical things are SKILLED LABOR. Your waiter job or whatever else that is paying you "tips" is NOT skilled labor. Now yes, I know some waiters who are great at their job and I could never do it as good as they do but the fact is they are only bringing food to the table- anyone could do it. Not anyone can code. If you don't like the prices people are charging, then learn coding. If it's that easy start releasing your own mods and build up your own client base offering a flat $4 fee.