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Given the high price and middling quality of the GW stuff - I'm willing to consider recommendations for alternatives.

So what are the best generally available black and white primers and semi-gloss seals?

Well theres Armory or something. Its the spray can with Steve Jackson illustrations.
It works great for me.

I use a combination of Future Floor Finish (yes, really!) and Dullcote for sealers. The Future Floor Finish might be called something different in Canada, in the UK I think it's called Glo? Basically it is clear acryilic floor finisher and (whatever brand) should be easily obtainable at your local grocery store/supermarket. As the description suggest, this is nothing more than liquid acrylic medium, and given it's self leveling properties (as Hans called it elsewhere), it's great at sealing your figs. You can also add Tamiya Flat Base to it to act as a brush on (or even airbrush on) matte finish.

Future is pretty versatile stuff, in addition to being a great sealant, it acts as a great flow aid to both regular paint and inks. I generally use a 50/50 mix Future/Water as a base for doing ink washes, though some increase the water to a 5:1 ratio or so. Just add ink to color (obviously the more ink, the darker the wash). Varying the saturation of the ink, and increasing the amount of future, it also makes a great glaze medium. Best of all, the stuff is cheap, cheap, cheap. I bought a bottle three years ago and I've barely put a dent in it.

As I mentioned, I also use Testors Dullcote (and Glosscote), which have never failed me. For priming, I can't say enough good things about Gunze Sanyo's Mr. Primer. It's fan-freaking-tastic. It is also really hard to get in the states, since it is mostly available only in Japan, and being an aerosol spray, must be shipped by sea & land. They have a brush on primer that is mighty fine too, called Mr. Surfacer, and which is specifically formulated for plastics. It can be blown through an airbrush too, but you better have a ventilation chamber and wear a spraymask if ya do. I've also found Krylon Ultra Flat Black spray, and Krylon Flat White sprays are decent spray primers. Ditto with Testor's various colors (which I've used on my FoW figs).

The key thing with sprays: FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! If it's too cold, or too hot, or too humid, or if you spray too close or too far, it can and will royaly fubar your figs. From big globs of paint, bubbles, paint glopping up in the recesses, but not sticking to the outer edges, etc.. Lots of pain and misery can be averted by making sure ya follows the directions!

Also, major thing to do before spraying your figs (especially with resin): Wash 'em. Yep, give those mini's a bath. From the oils in the mold release to the natural oils your fingers are secreting right now, they all conspire to prevent paint from sticking. So get a couple bowls filled with warm water, one with a touch of soap, take that old gnarly toothbrush out from under the sink, and gently give 'em a bath. That second bowl is to rinse 'em off, and beside that I place an old towel to let the minis dry on.