Wow 500 bucks! That's more than my entire crop growing budget for 3 years equipment included.
I've smoked weed off and on since the 60's. The stuff we're growing now is so potent in no time you build up a tolerance, that is the real issue.
After not smoking for several years we tried a pre-roll in Colorado. 3 small tokes and I was so wasted it was all I could do to drive a couple of blocks to our hotel. Now I would probably smoke 2 of those cones back to back to get as high.
Bottom line the market is flooded with top notch pot, seeds, concentrates, Et al. It comes down to perspective. If you've been smoking concentrates and taking edibles then you probably won't be impressed with many strains of weed.
Me, I just broke open one of my homegrown buds and the smell reminded me of lebanese blonde hash. 2 dollar seed, good yielder and minimal trimming. The results of decades of breeding. Is it "Fire"? Probably not. I don't have optimal drying conditions quite the opposite so the taste and smell are so so. A novice would probably green out if they took more than 1 toke though. So it depends on who's smoking it and what their tolerance is.