This is off topic a bit, and for that matter I like to build wheels so I usually build my own and I build some for customers in my shop (although the demand for custom built wheels in a bike shop isn't what it was years ago). But one thing I've seen from some fairly large companies who advertise their wheels as "handbuilt" is that the builder puts their name or initials on the wheels, the date built, etc. One wheelset that we've sold quite a bit is a "factory" wheelset, the Ritchey WCS Zeta. A very nice, light, trouble-free wheelset I've used quite a lot myself, and it comes with the builder's first name on a card, and the spoke tension range of like spokes (front wheel, DS rear, NDS rear). It's a nice touch, and it does show an attention to detail. Another company that puts the builder's initials and the date built on the wheels is Velocity, on their handbuilt wheels.

I like this practice, it at least give some credibility to the term "handbuilt." Granted, these wheels are at a different pricepoint than what the OP is referring to, but it's another example of getting what you pay for. I've seen some wheels advertised as "handbuilt" and when I went through them I realized that if they were indeed "handbuilt" they were either built by someone who didn't know how to build a good wheel, or they were built by someone whose quota was so high there was no way they were able to build quality wheels and meet it. Or both.