Seem a bit of cheap fruit! (6)

I believe the answer is:
appear
'seem a bit' is the definition.
'appear' can be an answer for 'seem' (synonyms). I'm unsure of the 'a bit' bit.
'cheap fruit' is the wordplay.
'cheap' becomes 'ap' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'fruit' becomes 'pear' (pear is a kind of fruit).
'ap'+'pear'='APPEAR'
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for appear that I've seen before include "Seem - come into view" , "Become visible as ghost might" , "Seem or materialise" , "Become visible like ghost" , "Look - materialise" .)
