Hey there, welcome.
Shamisen Rakuya is based near where I live. I buy most of my accessories from them, and would generally trust their recommendations on instruments.
On the page you linked is a video with a demonstration of the instrument. It sounds about as nice as one might expect. While the artificial skin holds back the overall warmth and resonance, it isn’t bad at all.
It’s a bit difficult to compare to the beginner’s shamisen here, since the Bachido offering is a hosozao. The tone is, fundamentally speaking, going to be different. A futozao is always going to have a thumpier growl to it.
Nevertheless, you can hear a sample of the beginner’s shamisen on the store page here and compare them. To me, the beginner’s shamisen sounds better - but a part of that is the recording. Additionally, the Rakuya offering is skinned with a fairly standard artificial skin. I am not certain what skinning is being shown off in the Bachido video.
Cost is another question. While the beginner’s shamisen on bachido is notably cheaper (even with Hibiki) it doesn’t come with everything you need. The accessory set, which adds on another $134 will handle you there - but that really makes the prices comparable. ($684.90 vs $634 [Hibiki skinned]). Freight costs could make the difference utterly negligible.
Either option is going to be good, I think. With the beginner’s shamisen you’ll miss out on the real “futozao” sound, but you’ll probably have a better starting quality. With the rakuya option, you’ll get something closer to the “real” thing, but you’ll be held back by the quality of the skin.
