a cheap mandolin bought for a friend to learn on - delivered, the action was terribly high, the bridge a cm from intonation, the truss rod needed to be slackened, the frets (which were blackened) polished and the nut slots widened,. luckily, I can do these but someone without the knowledge and skill to do a full set up would have an unplayable instrument which is unacceptable even at this price - after set-up, a
perfectly playable mando with a bright chirpy sound and low action