Well it depends on which lower priced one for a starter, I have seen some CVA for instance that had excellant barrels and shot well the material and the quality of the maching is not usually very comparable, on the other hand I bought a TC Omega Z 5for $150 and its an excellant weapon with a fine trigger and shoot sub 1 inch groups just like it came out of the box.
ITS NOT WHAT YOU PAY BUT WHAT YOU GET FOR YOUR MONEY. Lee