$150 guitars (from the reputable brands) tend to use about the same quality of hardware as the $400 guitars, they just use plywood and synthetic fingerboards and uncool woods which are generally uncool for stupid reasons. Add in a cheap paint job, a thousand fewer turns of copper on the pickup coils maybe made up for with a cheaper stronger magnet and you are getting into the $150 range. Setup and playing wise they tend to be about the same as the $400 guitars.

There are lemons in every price range which no one can detect, it is the nature of wood.