My mom used them and I use them. The down side is taking care no to lose that wonderful black finish that takes so long to achieve as well as not being able to put them in the dishwasher. You cannot beat them for stove top steak cooking. I don't really fry anymore but I use one for cornbread only and have a big 12" for cooking two steaks on stovetop.
If I needed to buy one now I might consider buying an old one at a thrift store. I'm not generally into thrift stores and used items.
I normally wash out with plain hot water and a green scrubbing pad. Detergents can remove the oils. If it seem like I'm losing oils, I may coat it with some oil before storage. If it gets too bad, I will then scrub out with detergent, dry and re-season. As you can probably tell, I am very attached to my iron skillet. You can't make a nice blackened fish or steak without one. Although the last time I did that, I set off the smoke alarm.
Thriftymaid 