I recently purchased a Strunal Model 50/4 laminated bass with ebony fittings as a back-up bass to my German carved top hybrid.
It plays and sounds well for a instrument under $1500 and it seems very durable.
Strunal makes many different models, and for $600 it must be their entry level 50/1 which does not have ebony fittings and a few other differences. Although I never seen it that cheap. Is it used? You should find out.
You can check their website
www.strunal.com for more info.\
Its a decent website.