My advise is to stay away from steel. The cheap sets are usually steel and you will have rust problems. Cast Aluminum is the way to go. Costco sells chairs and loungers under their Costco Kirkland brand that are very well made and a great value. Both Costco and Sams sell some good sets at store on on their websites. Wicker is also good alternative.

I build some odds and ends- but also get end of season specials!
My grill (60,000 BTU, 5 burner + side burner, cooks 3 chickens!) was only like 250...
Patio set is about 8-9 yrs old, painted twice I think- my wife changes colors every couple years- and it has moved with us 4 times! (military does move alot!)

Sears sells some nice items online.

I found that most outdoor furniture that has to be assembled is not going to last as long as the higher end welded furniture.
I purchased a great set from Sears with a couch, two chairs and a coffee table. Free shipping. Completely welded frames heavy gauge ALuminum that appears to be e-coated not painted. It has a 5 year warranty as well.

$10K tells me you were at some upscale designer store!!!!!!!!!!

There are tons of bargains to be had as the other member pointed out. Especially off season!!!! Good Luck!

Off-season and used through Craigslist seems to be the way to go! We've had good luck cruising estate sales etc on lazy Saturday mornings as well.
That said, we took a risk and bought a few cast-iron chairs from Lowes 5yrs back, $50/ea, they ahev held up remarkably well. Not int he diret sun, but outside under the patio. Zero corrosion despite having wet towels and life jackets hung on them all summer !

I purchased mine from Suncoast about 15 or 16 years ago and still going strong. I have the sling chairs and love them with the pool as if you weren't swimming you aren't going to get wet when you sit.

We fell in love with a patio set at Armini's in the St. Louis area, but thought it was too expensive. Then everything else I looked at paled by comparison. I finally found the same set on-line at Max Furniture (Dallas) even with shipping we saved $$$. And I got what I wanted.

About 10 years ago, I was out riding my bike and noticed four really nice heavy gauge aluminum chairs sitting on the side of the rode. I asked the home owner if he was throwing them out and he said yes. I got home and quickly took our box van back to pick them up. I trashed the cushions and bought new ones from Sears. To this day, they have held up very good sitting outside in all kinds of weather. I keep the cushions in a deck box when they aren't being used.
I agree with the post above, check out your local Craigslist. I see great deals in there all the time.