From the perspective of a turner with no money, I would have bitten Aldi's hand off for one of these before I got my first lathe. I was lucky enough to get mine from freecycle. I did buy a cheapo set of chinese tools though, and almost came a cropper because of a combination of the poor quality steel and my lack of skill. It wasn't all the tools. I did however, manage to snap the roughing gouge. I was left with the handle while the business end bounced off'f my face shield.
Since getting my first lathe and subsequently recycling it vis freecycle, I have seen a vast number of these lathes on Gumtree advertised as "hardly used" for around the £50 mark.
I do believe, and stand to be corrected if wrong, that the headstock spindle thread is an odd size and as such getting faceplates/chucks etc. is very difficult. I also believe, under the same caveat, that the banjo/toolrest assembly is of poor quality and liable to movement and/or bending in use.
All that said, if I was back in the absolute beginner stage, would I buy one knowing what I know now? Probably. I think it is a good staging post for those of us with little or no money who have always fancied a go at turning. I would however recommend buying better tools. I noticed a vast improvement in my ability following my upgrade to Axminster and Faithful entry level tools. (My ½" bowl gouge cost more than my first set of tools) I believe this was due to confidence and the tools keeping a half decent edge longer.
