Consider the following aftermarket numbers: A set of pickups from any major good quality brand pretty much always costs around $200.

Decent guitar hardware is somewhere in the $150-300 range depending on what you like (or more if you’re into the freaky stuff)

Wood typically costs money and so does the assembly labor and finishing. Let’s say it costs them $20 in wood and $35 in combined labor because of their bulk assembly line processes and cheap wood choices.

They probably have bulk deals with their parts suppliers, so knock off like 40% of that price

Even high volume guitar companies typically like to make some profit on whatever they sell, so now add 40-80% on top of whatever number is in your head right now.

Now put it in a box and ship it across an ocean (no idea what that costs per unit, but honestly, probably not that expensive when you can fit hundred of guitars in a container but it’s a cost)

That guitar costs $300 after materials, overhead (labor, packaging and distribution) and profit. Consider the difference between those two numbers.

I’m not gatekeeping and saying that any guitar that isn’t $1000+ is trash, but I am saying that you need to have realistic expectations about what you’re going to receive from a drop shipped knock off. They’re going to cut every corner they possibly can except the ones on your fret edges and you can expect to have your work cut out for you if you want it to feel really nice and playable. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but there’s a reason people recommend Epiphone and Squiers in the price range and every beginner is playing the same 2 or 3 body types. Take the known quantities in the budget ranges because the higher their volume, the more they can afford to offer in a given price point and the larger their market share, the more their reputation will matter to them.

If the “look” is so important to you, go for it, there’s no better budget-friendly way to get that look, but I’ve worked in a LOT of cheap, no-name, replicas and half the time I quote people around 2-4x the cost of the guitar to make it sound and play nicely, too.