I have nothing against starter knives but the quality of cheaper balisongs is suspect at best.
http://www.888knivesrus.com/c=6EYiE...114B-BLACK-BUTTERFLY-CLIP-POINT-5-CLOSED.html
The knife listed above will not be conducive to learning, in my opinion. If you drop a lower quality knife, which you will, then after a few times of that, the knife will break. I have dropped my Benchmade 42 on more than one occassion on my ceramic tile, the hospital's linoleum and other places - It's as tight as it was when I first got it. When you buy a cheap knife for $20-$40 and it breaks, then you have to pony up $100-$130 for a good quality knife, then you have spent nearly $150 to $180. Which is a better value? I have 16 Bali's but will likely sell 5 of them.
There are a few options if you're looking and money is tight, or you just don't want to drop a few hundred dollars per knife, like CDR Glock does every other day (Thanks to some Damn Bird, LOL).
One option is to get a trainer to see if you have the knack for it. If you don't, then nothing is lost.
Bradley Kimura Balisongs are very good for the money. New ones are only costing about $90. Some people have gotten lucky finding used ones for $60 and below. However, don't hold your breath. If something says Balisong on the secondary market, they WILL almost always sell within minutes of posting (unless you don't take Paypal, like someone I know - LOL!).
An underrated website for Bali's is Pinoy Steel. They sell handmade Balisongs from the town where the knives originated. From the photographs, they are well made. Being a Bali-Snob, I wasn't a fan at first until I saw more and more people buying them. The knives run from $99 to $130 (one exception is a $300 Kriss blade). I bought two from the guy and I asked him to snag me two more when he goes to the Philippines in two weeks. He has a lifetime warranty on the knives but the turnaround time can be long since he personally brings the knives to the islands for repair.
Then again, you can always buy one of mine...but they are not cheap. LOL!