Well, Fiddlin Andy.. I don't know what make or model you got.

But I bought my violin off Amazon for only a little more ($70 something).  Even "worse" to some folks, it is an electric one. 

I can tell you that I needed to trim the bridge a little to get the strings down low enough to play comfortably.  I ended up replacing the strings with something inexpensive, but better.  And I eventually bought a student grade bow at a music shop where I could actually pick the bows up and see how they felt in my hand. 

But none of that has been expensive, really.  I'm still at only a little over 100$ total.  Most importantly, I like how is plays and have had fun learning to play on it even before those things.  Other than the bridge.  I had to find out how to trim that down because the one they sent with mine was way tall.  But you may have better luck on that.

I would say that my experiences with an inexpensive violin/fiddle from Amazon have been mostly good.  So pull up a chair and dig in.  This is a good website and a forum full of very good people (some who can play amazingly well, and some who are just starting out, like myself).  Welcome aboard.