My sons plane is on the highperformance end but is stock and was only $140. That doesnt include the transmiter though. The basic flyers dont have the performance but offer more stable flight performance. Two planes that I am familiar with are the Parkzone Cub and Champ. We actually have a champ and I have also flown the cub both are good stable planes (for their size) and are very durable and can also be flown in a light breeze. If you have access to a large indoor structure the Vapor is a great plane. Almost anyone can fly this thing indoors the first time, it flies very slow 3-5 mph but wont handle a breeze outside. I hope this has been helpfull and I intend on bringing a plane or two to the gap so you will be able to check them out !
Where do you think Parkzone and Eflite are made? 
(Parkzone is a great company)