Harley Benton HBMA-50E Mandoline BK

Like most Harley Benton products, you get what you pay for. Not necessarily a bad thing when the product is on the cheaper end of the line. this is reassuring to know you are not getting ripped off.

To be fair i didn't expect too much buying this Mandolin, so it comes as a pleasant surprise that it sounds quite good, both plugged into the amp as well as acoustically.

The sound you get is way above what you pay for. So sound-wise, this is a ace purchase.

then down-side of it, is the mandolins play-ability. it surely doesn't feel as comfortable playing around the fret-board. This is more noticeable especially if this is not your first mandolin, and you have tried higher end mandolins.

To wrap it up, it is a matter of budget really. And if shopping on a budget KNOWING what to expect from a product of this price-range, then this baby is a lottery its price.

you get what you paid for, which is an average instrument.
the workmanship, the paint job and the bindings are all "acceptable", but that's it. this instrument is neither good for a professional, since it doesn't meet the criteria, nor is it good for a beginner, since it needs a lot of setting up to be suitable for playing.
the signal from the single coil pickup is weak and noisy and very "VERY" prone to noise from any magnetic source. in time you most probably will end up replacing it for a better one anyway.
so in my opinion you'll be doing yourself a favour (and avoiding much hassle) if you invest a bit more and buy yourself a higher quality instrument.