I love these'cheapo' mandolins and have two of them - a sunburst and a natural. Yes, stringing is a pain but using a capo and taking your time works fine.The other tip is to load the string in from the 'wrong' end - ie from the bridge pass the loop end under the tailpiece, then loop over the hooks, hold it down with the capo on the neck as above. This avoids making the 90 degree bend referred to above.
I think at their price they are great sounding and well made instruments and have played the sunburst one hard for several years. The natural one is all mahogany and to my ears sounds a little sweeter but doesn't have strap pins so is less versatile.
Strings ? Good old Ernie Ball...