I few years ago I started riding to work on a Brompton. This piqued a coworker's interested, and she started asking me about folding bikes. I knew she wasn't going to drop the cash for anything high end, so based on stuff I saw here on the forum, I suggested she check out an Origami. She ordered one for a bit under $400. I think it has served her well. She's ridden it to work regularly over the last two or three years, and she seems happy with it. Just as the high end Brompton opened a whole new world of transportation and cycling pleasure for me (though I got it for a good price second hand), the low end Origami did the same for her. She even went on to drop a lot more money on a cargo bike to transport her kids.
So, this friend not only let a friend buy a cheap folding bike, he encouraged her to, and I think it worked out quite well. It got her onto a bicycle, which wouldn't have happened if she had to drop a lot more money just to get started, and she's still riding it. I really don't think she cares about gear ratios or weight for her relatively short and flat commute, or the quality of the wheels and tires, as long as they get her from here to there. I am the sort who does care about some of those things, and has the cash to spend on it, but not everybody is, or needs to be. I think the OP's bike snobbery is a bit misguided, and could keep some people from riding bicycles who otherwise might.