I'm fairly new to spider-rigging but here is my take. If you buy cheap rods and then really get hooked on the technique, you will be upgrading soon to quality stuff so you'll be spending money twice. If you go ahead and buy quality rods and find out you don't like the technique, you can always sell the rods. (quality rods WILL sell but cheap has a much smaller market of buyers)
I'm biased because I live close to Ed Duke and have had the opportunity to spend time with him at his shop. I started with 14ft Southern Crappie rods and I never plan on changing unless they become unavailable. Good luck and enjoy the ride. I'm totally hooked on spider-rigging after just a few trips.
Give Ed a call and see what you think. southerncrappierods.com