My first guitar was a Jay Turser stratocaster copy. Got it for around $200 back in 2001. Kept it for about 10 years, never had any issues with it, it was a quality instrument that sounded great through my Champion 30 amp, and I think it was a great deal in that price range. The craftsmanship and finish were very nice, the guy at the music store was enthusiastic about their rather large collection of Jay Tursers, and a friend of mine had gotten one and recommended it. I never had any setup done but right off the shelf the strings were nice and low so it was a great learner electric guitar. It was lots of fun to play, and I remember it feeling lighter than a real stratocaster or telecaster - yet it didn't feel or look cheap. I've never played live, just a home hobbyist and it suited my needs just fine. It did what it was supposed to do and sounded great to my ears.
At some point I ended up trading it in at Guitar center. Despite a few dings they gave me probably around $50 for it (can't remember exactly but it wasn't too shabby). There was nothing wrong with it, there were just too many other guitars that I wanted and the accumulation in my den started getting to be too much.
The single coil pickups I'm sure were some cheapies, but even if you get a cheap guitar you always upgrade the pickups. I did so recently on an entry-level Jaguar and the difference was surprisingly big. I personally think it's better to buy cheaper guitars and then invest the extra money to soup them up, than it is to buy a really expensive guitar.
Hope this helps - I know mine was from a while back, but I had no regrets in purchasing it.
