I'm with you. my position is I only need it to stop a few. if I'm in a hail of gunfire...than I've already lost the game and most likely just trying to cause a ruckus on my way out. I might take the risk with a used plate for that reason. I already have soft armor to back it up.
if the plate is rated for multiple hits, than some micro cracks probably wont render it useless, just less effective. was just throwing out something to think about.