Peter, in my UK experience, I have seen things that sound and play well for as little as £45. I think the cheapest new one I saw was an Ozark which maybe had a slightly thick neck but was true and it sounded good.

My mandolin is a Harmony which I bought new for £50 in 1990 and has done me good service - the only drawback with it, is it is a little lacking in volume.

I guess with mandolins, you need to be clear on what you want them for - none of these will produce the sound that the Bluegrass players seem to go for but are perfectly good for anybody wanting to learn mandolin.

I would love to have an old Gibson (round hole - is that an A model?) that somebody I know owns - I love its tone and seems to suit my tastes better than the Bluegrass ones.

Jon