I once bought an assortment of about 1000 1/4W 1% chinese resistors on ebay. I always test them prior to using and always for low voltage, low tension circuits. What I've found so far is that they're a very good option for hobby purposes and also that they're almost never 1% as stated but mostly in the vicinity of 2% which is good enough for me. I think they are factory 1% rejects and thus the low price. Of course, the thin legs issue is indeed a problem for breadboard use.