XC skiis

Used to work in a shop (back when skiis were long)
The XC equipment we sold was trash. Total cheapo.

Well now I want my first set.
Will it matter to me if I buy cheap crap? Entry level?
Im not looking to skate, just sweat on the local trail if we get snow.

Cheap may be OK, unless you get a lousy non-wax base that doesn't grip. Or if you get to a point where you want to go fast and the skis have no spring to them. But get good boots that'll be comfortable because you will want them on the next pair of skis.

While I am a diehard fan of wax skis, I recommend waxless for the Hudson Valley. It warms up too often here and conditions turn to crap typically in a few days. A waxable ski glides easiest for sure, but it can be miserable when the conditions are wet/warm/icy/alternating/glazed. In other words, our typical XC surface.

Yes, I agree with Mike. If that's all you want to do - sweat on local trails - and you don't want to deal with waxing - then get waxless. But don't buy anything too cheap, get good stuff it's worth it and it won't even cost that much more and you'll have lots more fun.
I recommend Peltonens or Madshus. Atomic and Fischer are the upper end stuff. I've got Peltonens for skating and classical - great entry level performance stuff - and now I am looking to upgrade to Atomic/Fischer - but only because I want to get more serious about it. The skis I have are still great - eventually they will become my "rock skis"

Cheers

As most tech gear, do some research and get the most you can afford ( w/in reason)

I have a pair of waxless rossignol, they are really good basic all rouind ski's.

You might be able to get a good pair, used, at a local ski shop when they have a gear swap, or online