Check out this previous post:
Best Value starter guitar???
Basically, stick to the name brands....Made in America will generally have better resale value (Gibson Melody Maker, etc.).....but their are some good value Mexican Fender and Korean ESP models. Epiphone makes decent instruments (Les Pauls, SGs, and Semi-Hallows).
Remember that you will need an amplifier to hear that electric guitar, and you should budget ~$200 for a decent one (a Vox or Line6 seems to be the favored low end brands these days).