K-Mart sale in your area?
I stopped in to my local K-mart on a whim today. I've been thinking of picking up a couple of low cost poles to have as loaners or extra's. I had read about the Berkely Cherrywood series somewhere else on this forum and they had some at $19.99 so I picked one up. At the checkout it rang up as $9.99. I held my tongue and took it out to the van. Thought about it a bit and went back in and picked up another, slightly different version; same sticker price, same sale price.
I didn't notice any signage regarding a fishing tackle sale but it might be worth a look if you have a store near you.
I don't know how good these will be or how long they will last but as spares or beginner rods, it might be worth a try. As always, your mileage may vary.