Our sister site RiverboatMusic.com has posted a page about shopping for mandolins. "Buyers' Guide" is a little misleading, since they provide a lot of information and a few examples to help you get started on our search.
The big surprise is how much the quality of mid-range mandolins has increased over the last several years. Yes, you always have shipping damage and quality control issues with imports, but at least they're moving in the right direction.
Here's the link to the page:
http://riverboatmusic.com/mandolin/mandolin.htm
