The hand crafted items are not always the best in the game, because some items have properties that increase the value. For instance, sturdy, or hardened, or whatever. The hand crafted items will be there when you need them, though. The random items are random and you don't know if a dealer is going to carry anything good. Some hand crafted items are unique and well worth the money i.e. Black Armor and Dutch Pistols.
Unfortunately, there is not WFaS Wiki to look at.