They usually all have cheap looking shellac jobs on the stocks, often covering some of the rifle's metal parts. My guess is that Ivan was putting in some long hours at the arsenal and hitting the vodka at the same time while slinging the shellac.
One way to tell if its been rearsenaled is by checking the bolt. An all black finish including the bolt usually means its been redone. Another way is the square stamp with the line in it as seen here.
I got this rifle from Carl at Four Seasons. It was on consignment and marked down to $200 or $250, can't remember but I know it was cheap. Oddly enough I met the original seller while standing in line one day waiting for a gun show to open.
The Russian ones are more money because they are rarer and Russian. Mine is probably the least accurate of my SKS rifles with my Yugos and Norincos out shooting it, although not by much. If its not been re-arsenalled and is trully mint, i'd say it'd go for around $350 to $400, maybe higher. But if its been redone and is in great shape, it should still be worth at least $250 to $300.
Its the Albanian ones out there that fetch top dollar, sometimes $500 depending on condition. Those are hard to come by, then theres the elusive East German SKS. I don't even think a picture of one exists let alone anyone owning one.
If you want an accurate shooter rather than a collector's peice, i'd go with a Yugo. You can still get brand new unissued ones for under $200. The one i'm selling Jay can print 10 shots in a 5 inch circle at 100 yards with open sites. That was my best outing with that rifle and very good for a cheap semi auto milsurp.