I think that in general, the bad rap on Belgian guns comes from really old ones, when a lot of American "hardware store" guns were made in Belgium. And sometimes given catchy names which bore close resemblance to famous makers. Others may have different experiences, but I can't think of any Belgian guns I've seen with modern (post-1924) proofmarks that I'd describe as junk, based on original quality. They run the gamut from very basic to very fancy (as do Brit guns, for that matter), but they all seem to be pretty solid.
As far as buying the name goes, there is some advantage to that. You'll pay more for something that says Francotte or Lebeau-Courally or Le Forgeron, but you know that you have not only a quality gun, but that it also came from a first class maker. And if you sell or trade it, that name will be worth something. You can look at a no-name Belgian gun, and it may indeed be every bit as good as a Francotte or a Lebeau of similar grade. But you also need to pay a lot less because it lacks what Rocketman, in his price estimating scale, calls "brand value". No brand = no brand value. The no namers can be very good buys in terms of "gun for the money", but they have to be--because all you're getting is the gun. And the fact is, they'll be worth less than a Brit gun of similar grade and condition with a name on it--even if the gun was in fact "made in the trade" (otherwise a guild gun) by outworkers in Birmingham, and the name only belongs to the company that sold it.
