2nd hand strings - worth a punt?

[SICbass]

I'm on a budget and have seen a set of Rotosound Double Bass strings (which I would like to try out) on Ebay Small Ads, going for a good price.

 

The seller is very open about the A-String being a bit dodgy - "The E, D, and G strings are in very good condition; only the Monel winding on the A string is broken in several places. You can still play it and everything sounds normal, but it's not optimal for your hand and fingerboard."

 

I asked him for a clearer picture of the "breaks" and he sent them promptly.

 

"Hi Paul, I don't know if you can tell anything from the photos. It's playable, but the sheathing is broken there – unfortunately, that seems to be "normal," but the strings are rough, and you can feel it on your fingers and the fretboard."

 

What do reckon, worth a punt? €119,- as opposed to a new price of €269,-

 

OR is the A-String unplayable? Unfortunately Thomann don't offer the strings as singles.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:59 by SICbass
Update

[Burns-bass]

Personally, I’d avoid it. I know double bass strings are expensive but you don’t want it to break on you.

 

Why not stick a wanted add here? Strings would attract no import duty in the EU and postage won’t be much…

[simonlittle]

That would be a hard no from me too…

Not worth potentially damaging your fingerboard or your fingers. 
Not sure why they’d even try selling strings once they’ve got to that stage to be honest 

[SICbass]

Just now, simonlittle said:
Not sure why they’d even try selling strings once they’ve got to that stage to be honest 

According to the seller, the strings have only ca. 50 hours of use and weren’t really his thing (possibly because of the problem with the A string). The E, D and G strings are all fine.

[petebassist]

Unless those were exactly what I was looking for and I couldn't get any other similar used strings, I'd probably avoid as well.

[SICbass]

Just now, petebassist said:

Unless those were exactly what I was looking for and I couldn't get any other similar used strings, I'd probably avoid as well.

I am interested in trying Rotosounds out, but as @Burns-bass pointed out, I’d probably be better off posting a wanted ad here.

[simonlittle]

30 minutes ago, SICbass said:

According to the seller, the strings have only ca. 50 hours of use and weren’t really his thing (possibly because of the problem with the A string). The E, D and G strings are all fine.

Even 50 hours of use shouldn’t result in the string coming apart like that. Either they were duff when they bought them (in which case they should have sent them straight back) or they were seriously mistreated on the instrument. 
Definitely worth trying a wanted ad on here, as @Burns-bass said. Not sure how common those strings are but someone might be able to help you out with a set 

[SICbass]

Wanted ad posted. Thanks for your attention and advice guys.

Edited 22 hours ago by SICbass

[Burns-bass]

2 hours ago, SICbass said:

Wanted ad posted. Thanks for your attention and advice guys.

Good luck!

 

There were a set of new Spirocores on here for £100. That’s amazing value.