Originally Posted by: JStewartI went to my local music store and they deal with a brand called Samick. As I am relatively new to electric guitars I am not sure if this is a decent brand or not.

Samick is an excellent brand name. That is a fine choice of guitar. Samick is actually one of the largest musical instrument manufacturers in the world. Unbeknownst to many musicians, for years Samick made many of the low-end (but high quality) guitars for Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc. In the mid-90s they finally went public with their own brand and put their name on the guitars. I remember this being a big deal at a couple trade shows back then. :)

See here for specific and interesting company history:
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Samick-Musical-Instruments-Co-Ltd-Company-History.html

The only problem with that choice is that you are only getting a guitar with that $250 purchase. So, you might consider a package that includes an amp, cable, tuner, etc. to get started. Something like this, most under $250:

http://www.sweetwater.com/c594--Electric_Guitar_Packs

Hope this helps, have fun with it!