Foreign tonearms are okay to buy direct. But don't expect any after-purchase help from the U.S.A. importer. You're on your own!
Paying full price for a tonearm is worthwhile if you have a dealer---such as the late Brooks Berdan, or his son Brian (owner of Audio Element in Pasadena, California)---who charges full retail, but for that price includes expert mounting, aligning, adjusting, etc. And when you buy a cartridge from either (bought in the case of Brooks, who passed away years ago), the price includes not just mounting and fully aligning, but running in the cartridge for a number of hours---to relax its suspension---and then aligning again. Well worth paying full price for imo!