Jerry - The annoying thing about most UK shops is that they appear to simply hang them on the wall and wait for someone to buy them. Most of them look unplayable and I've even seen some with the plastic foam strip beneath the bridge that the pac-rim factories fit. There are exceptions but these are few and far apart.

As for guitars, the adoption of CNC technology has meant that the big factories are able to produce guitars which, even if they sound awful, can be played in tune - you couldn't say that of some of the rubbish produced in the 70s. I suspect that similar production techniques have yet to filter down to the mandolin producers in any meaningful way.

As for price, once you get, say, over £2000, the old law of diminishing returns kicks in and it's largely down to how much you like the sound of the instrument although I'm convinced that one of my mandolins could strip the head off a banjo if need be!