I tend to agree with the idea that the most important thing about a first mandolin is to buy it!
There exists the argument that a cheap instrument makes you less likely to persist in learning to play because it's frustrating. That hasn't been my experience. My cheap mandolins have been a brilliant risk-free way to learn, and I've been playing for 9 years now. My first mandolin was a £66 Stagg, which I now keep at my mum's house for when I visit. I'll always be grateful to it for letting me learn where the notes are, how hammer-ons work, how chords are fingered, what happens when you lower the action...
Coming from guitar, your taste may be more discerning. But it also means that a cheap mandolin that doesn't play well would make you want to buy a different model rather than pack in altogether. Playing at the shop before you buy is a good principle, but can create unwelcome pressures to buy something just because it's available. And in the good-value second hand market, playing before buying is often not possible. There's always a risk, and buying cheap reduces it. Once you have an instrument and started learning, you still have plenty of time to do the research about upgrades.
The Kentucky models have a good reputation around here, as do the Eastmans. I've played a Gretsch New Yorker at the shop and liked it. There's never any guarantee about the best mandolin for you, and I suspect that the ones you're considering will give you roughly equally good starting points for your journey.
I'd like to make clear as a caveat that I'm a mediocre player. The other respondents on this thread are very likely to know more about mandolins than I do. But I do think that it's possible to over-think the first mandolin purchase, and the most important thing to my mind is to start playing.
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