Oh I am sorry Auk but that is not what I meant. My girlfriend is Vietnamese and studying abroad in the Netherlands where I've studied as well. She works in a Vietnamese food truck sometimes because she enjoys cooking and the stuff they sell there for 20 euro can easily be done home for not more than 4-5 euro. Also in an Asian oriented store in Amsterdam I've seen Japanese products maybe 4 times more expensive than in Japan and let's be honest, the shipping costs are not that big. Even in Antwerp, Belgium, they sell "Chinese porcelain plates" manufactured in the Netherlands for as much as 10 euro a piece so that's what I meant by overpricing Asian products

I’m in the US...

If I get a starter plant or a “pre-bonsai”, what will I be dealing with? Something that looks nothing like a bonsai?

bluewaterpig wrote: If I get a starter plant or a “pre-bonsai”, what will I be dealing with? Something that looks nothing like a bonsai?

Short answer: Yes.
But...
If purchased from a reputable bonsai nursery (there are quite a few in the States), a pre-bonsai could be already in training, with good thickness, movement and taper.

bluewaterpig wrote: I’m in the US...

If I get a starter plant or a “pre-bonsai”, what will I be dealing with? Something that looks nothing like a bonsai?

where in the us are you?

If you live in the US you should be able to find all kinds of nursery stock to practice on. Depending on your experience with potted plants in general I would be super wary of buying a fully developed and trained bonsai or even a good piece of material. I'm just speaking from experience of losing expensive plants, far better to have an ugly, healthy tree than a dead, $100< tree. That's not to say that you shouldn't aspire to greatness, just be careful and above all have fun.