Most the ARFs I buy are around $500, you can't build that well. I've had a few cheapo ARFs, they where straighter and lighter than anything you can build, I'm assuming you not Dave Platt if you're doing ARFs. I've never seen one with hot glue, they use a industrial epoxy which looks like hot glue but is not. I try to re-glue any joints I can get to, but I've found that if they glued it it usually stays together, the problems comes when they use very little lite ply or forget to glue the parts. I had a set of landing gear rip out on take off, turns out the only thing holding them in the plane was the covering.

The really cheap knock offs save money usually around the engine bay, no fairing in, just an open engine bay. They are worth the money, when I was learning to fly you had to learn to build too, so you where always trying to learn on a crooked plane that was weak and heavy, count your blessings.