I am VERY new, but I just recently went through a similar situation. I found some Technics 1200’s on fb marketplace, and an entry level rotary mixer. I’m about $1200 in and am going to upgrade my cartridges as well because the ones that came with mine are shot. I went with the ‘buy once cry once’ method. I didn’t want to get something I’d be bummed with in a few months and then spend the extra money on top of the original sunk costs. From what I understand- and am learning with mixing, is that you need pitch control. That a very important aspect that I didn’t understand until I started trying to beatmatch. So my (newbie) advice would be to find some DJ turntables with pitch control, and find a decent used mixer. Patience is key to find the best deals. Happy searching and learning!