Electric Guitar purchase

So, I'm hoping somebody here has some advice for me. My 12 yr old daughter has been taking guitar lessons and has decided she wants an electric guitar for Christmas. I know absolutely nothing about guitars, electric or otherwise. In doing a cursory online search, I see a bunch of inexpensive guitar/amp packages for around $200, with prices going up substantially from there. I assume these cheapest ones are the bottom of the quality rung as well. I am on a budget but still want to get something decent. Any advice on where to start looking or some buying guides you can point me to?

This is what I started with, the $200 set. It sounded absolutely fine, and I never had any problems with it. It had about a year and a half hard use (tossed haphazardly in the backs of cars, left outside overnight, etc.) and it was still working fine when I bought another (cooler) guitar to replace it. Yeah, it's not on anyone's "top ten quality guitars" list, but the amp is solid (I still use mine) and if you're just starting out I guess you just want a guitar that works.