Old dudes still use Craigslist too - I got a killer deal on both Squier Vintage Modified 70’s Jazz Bass ($275) and Squier VM Precision 60’s P-bass (with upgraded pickups) for $100 - still can’t believe my luck on that one. Actually first bass was a killer deal from Craigslist as well: gorgeous Schecter neck-through HH with Roland Cube amp, gig bag, tons of extras like cables, tuners, repair kit, etc for ~400. Deals are out there!
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Maybe unpopular opinion but… beginners have no idea what feels good. It all just feels new. And as I recall being new, even playing different basses although you can feel a difference, you don’t necessarily know if A is better than B - it’s just different.
It takes time/experience - and as a total beginner you just don’t know what you don’t know. Pick something with a good reputation, that from reading, etc seems like it might fit the bill - then learn to play - get all the way through B2B and then learn a dozen songs. I think right about then is when you have enough experience to start to feel what you prefer.
I was CONVINCED I was a jazz bass guy - and had a good full scale and short scale version - played for a year almost exclusively, and used it for all of B2B. Got a steal of deal on a Precision so I figured why not, and it was a huge game changer for me. Never would have been able to feel/hear those differences as a newbie 3 years ago.
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Change that to a pizza oven.
It was a super weird situation. Seller was a guitar player, not a bassist - and he owned a pizza restaurant that occasionally had live entertainment - and something about a bar bill that was unpaid and took the bass instead? Had it hanging on the wall for a few years - then when I bought it from him, he had sold the restaurant and was clearing out stuff. Right time at the right place.
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I don’t agree with this.
Even a beginner can pick up a Fender P-bass, and an Ibanez Soundgear, for instance, and recognize the differences between them and have an opinion as to which feels better in their hands and slung around their body. You don’t need a bunch of experience to sit down with a B.C. Rich Widow, for instance, and know that it doesn’t feel good on your lap (personal opinion, not saying that there aren’t some people who think it does feel good in their lap).
Certainly, opinions can (and do) change with experience but starting with something that feels good is just as important as anything else.
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That’s a fair rebuttal. You’re right - you can feel the differences and have an opinion on what feels good as a total beginner. I guess I just meant that what feels good when you don’t know how to play and have no experience, vs what feels good when you’ve learned to play might be very different. As an example - as a newbie you might be thinking, “this is light, that’s nice” and “this glossy neck feels slick and fast” - but after a year of playing you might pick up the same bass and think “wow, light but unbalanced with neck dive” and “this gloss finish is gonna be sticky if I start to sweat - satin would be better for me”.
And of course this inevitable progression as a player and in preferences for your instrument are probably at least half of what’s driving GAS. The other half is mostly, “ooooh, that’s cool. Must have.” 
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Being a beginner is not very fun, lol. Everything feels strange and foreign, even your own body feels weird and it’s difficult to control your dexterity.
It usually takes a while to develop preference(s) and pet peeve(s) then to find out that while you like the width and string spacing of a p bass, you may also “love the deliciously fast and narrow jazz neck profile and/ or the following weeks have a life long love affair with the spacious generosity of music man stingray or wider profile.
You may like and appreciate the light weight instruments but also develop “some” appreciation for a heavier and more solidly feel instrument. There are alphabets soup of neck profiles like C, D, U, V, Asymmetrical, Twisted, and straight sided like Strandberg Boden. Not to mention the fast and smooth satin finished or grippy and precise of the glossy neck finish.
Too much to learn? Learning curve to steep? You bet. Your preferences comes from the lack of something not the addition, so the only way to gain appreciation is to spend time playing a type of bass then switch to another then rinse and repeat, 
Once you get pretty good at identifying what you like bone stock then you can open the next can of worm, the parts and upgrades, ain’t life grand.
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Oh yeah. Absolutely.
My internal rationalization machine is powerful and strong.
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I want to thank everyone for their insight and opinions! While my bass journey is only beginning, I look forward to the path I will be taking! With all the research and comments that I have read, I am pretty sure that I want to get to a Fender/Squire but I am still torn between Precision or Jazz. I will continue my research and visit some local music stores to get a “feel” for the instruments and try not to rush into a purchase to quell Gas Guy!
Oh, and the Yamaha TRBX304 is not completely out of the picture yet. I will try to get a feel for that instrument as well!
Thank you again to everyone!
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That’s the easiest easiest decision to make! And you know that it is, lol.
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Get both?
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This is the way.
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