cheap geared tuners?

Thought that I would post this where people discuss parts a lot. I have a low/mid-range quality dulcimer that I play often (for a beginner). It is a TK O'Brien (I would like to move up, but that is what I have.) Some parts have begun to fail although I have only had it less than a year. The dulcimer nut fell out when I broke a melody string, but I sought advice here regarding glueing it back. The biggest problem seems to be the tuners--even before the strings started breaking (through normal use), 2 of the 3 tuners (I don't play with a double melody course) have become really loose--so the strings will not stay in tune on those pegs more than a milli-second. Is it me or are there such things as really cheap geared tuners? I believe that I am stringing correctly. I have searched the archives but have not found an answer that I was searching for. I certainly appreciate any help.