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Need advice/guidance on purchasing a bass from Ukraine

GretschWretch

GretschWretch

Supporting Member
Dec 27, 2013
12,451
25,121
East Central Alabama
#1
For a long time I have been looking to buy an Orfeus bass guitar. Not just any Orfeus bass guitar, but the one(s) whose pickups are inscribed with both "Orfeus" and "Plovdiv" in Cyrillic script. No others will do. There are a couple on eBay right now which would meet my standard. Cost plus shipping would run close to $400, but this is a foolish purchase I am willing to make. A couple of caveats:

1) I see from the listing that the bass might not reach me until well up in April. That I can live with; it's the not being sure it will ever arrive at all that concerns me. And I have not ever bought from Ukraine and don't know if such a purchase would be dicey. Am I likely to get scammed? Does anybody have experience with purchasing from Ukraine? Any red flags?

2) Normally with eBay purchases I pay via credit card. Would this be risky with an international transaction? (I'm worried about identity theft.) Should I do this transaction with PayPal? Would that be more secure?

I am going to have to contact the seller to see what "operating condition" means.

I'm just looking for advice and counsel from those who have purchased from Ukraine to be confident I would not be making a terrible mistake.

TIA.
 
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#3
The seller only sees the information you voluntarily give them, which is usually only your name and address and the amount of money you're paying. Your credit card information is only exposed to PayPal.

Identity theft scams usually occur when the seller has convinced the buyer to pay through some other means, or to use a URL they provide that they claim is PayPal or etc.

As long as you stick to the services you know and know are safe, and are willing to walk away the moment things look shady, your information security shouldn't be affected.

As far as "operating condition" -- maybe it refers to the condition of the bass? Meaning it works okay?
 
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#7
ardgedee said:
The seller only sees the information you voluntarily give them, which is usually only your name and address and the amount of money you're paying. Your credit card information is only exposed to PayPal.

Identity theft scams usually occur when the seller has convinced the buyer to pay through some other means, or to use a URL they provide that they claim is PayPal or etc.

As long as you stick to the services you know and know are safe, and are willing to walk away the moment things look shady, your information security shouldn't be affected.

As far as "operating condition" -- maybe it refers to the condition of the bass? Meaning it works okay?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the confidence builder. I expect I will go through with the transaction. I'm hoping "operating condition" refers to the condition of the bass; I would hate for it to have to be worked on once it is stateside.

FWIW, this is intended to be a gift bass, and there are reasons it must be one of these basses; not even a different Orfeus will do.
 
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#9
Eli_Kyiv said:
I agree with @ardgedee.
As for shipping, I didn't sell anything overseas yet, but in Summer 2023 I've bought on eBay a bass from USA, and it came to me in a week or so via Ukrainian NP Shopping service.
I've checked eBay for the basses that suffice your criteria. Sellers seem legit.
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Thank you, Eli, for doing my detective work for me. I expect I will go through with the transaction and quickly, as @DJ Bebop suggests.
 
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#10
I ordered an Orfeus bass in ‘playable’ condition from Etsy and received it a few weeks ago. If it’s an old one, their definition of playable differs greatly from mine. First off, it came disassembled - not a big deal but not what I was expecting. It has only two strings, which could be roughly compared to barb wire. To be fair, that’s what the picture showed. It does make sound though.

Currently it is completely disassembled while I decide how to best deal with the brushed-on paint on the neck and fretboard. Happily the truss rod works. There is no way I could play it as-is. But I bought it for a restoration/modification adventure and it will be that in spades.

Good luck with it if you decide to order it.

Here’s my thread about it when I got it: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/nobbd-new-old-bulgarian-bass-day.1667346/#post-28921626
 
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#11
CoryB said:
I ordered an Orfeus bass in ‘playable’ condition from Etsy and received it a few weeks ago. If it’s an old one, their definition of playable differs greatly from mine. First off, it came disassembled - not a big deal but not what I was expecting. It has only two strings, which could be roughly compared to barb wire. To be fair, that’s what the picture showed. It does make sound though.

Currently it is completely disassembled while I decide how to best deal with the brushed-on paint on the neck and fretboard. Happily the truss rod works. There is no way I could play it as-is. But I bought it for a restoration/modification adventure and it will be that in spades.

Good luck with it if you decide to order it.

Here’s my thread about it when I got it: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/nobbd-new-old-bulgarian-bass-day.1667346/#post-28921626
Click to expand...
I remember this thread. I actually posted to it. My post #7 provides the backstory for me wanting this bass.
 
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#12
BTW there are two identical 1969 Orfeus basses for sale on the local market here, in a city 300 km from Kyiv. Seller claims 10/10 original state. But the price is ridiculously high, $1000 apiece.
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Here's the original ad.
 
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#13
Okay, the deed is done. Thanks to all for their assistance. I sent an e-mail and got an almost immediate answer from the seller which answered all my questions. The auction had a "Make Offer" option, but I went for BIN. I figured folks in Ukraine have enough worries without some American trying to low-ball them. The only snag is I would have gone for the expedited shipping to get the bass here sooner, but that option never showed up in checkout. Wish me well.

Here is the link.


And now *I* have a question which I suspect any East European can answer, but since @Eli_Kyiv is a participant in this thread maybe he will respond.

Why does the first name of almost every East European woman end with the letter A?

Inquiring minds want to know, and this inquiring mind has wanted to know for many years.
 
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#14
Eli_Kyiv said:
BTW there are two identical 1969 Orfeus basses for sale on the local market here, in a city 300 km from Kyiv. Seller claims 10/10 original state. But the price is ridiculously high, $1000 apiece.
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I suspect the markup is due to the scroll headstock and these basses being hollow-body, but they do not have Plovdiv in Cyrillic on the pickup covers, which for me is a deal breaker.
 
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#15
GretschWretch said:
Okay, the deed is done. Thanks to all for their assistance. I sent an e-mail and got an almost immediate answer from the seller which answered all my questions. The auction had a "Make Offer" option, but I went for BIN. I figured folks in Ukraine have enough worries without some American trying to low-ball them. The only snag is I would have gone for the expedited shipping to get the bass here sooner, but that option never showed up in checkout. Wish me well.

Here is the link.


And now *I* have a question which I suspect any East European can answer, but since @Eli_Kyiv is a participant in this thread maybe he will respond.

Why does the first name of almost every East European woman end with the letter A?

Inquiring minds want to know, and this inquiring mind has wanted to know for many years.
Click to expand...
Good thing you posted after you made the deal. That is so dope, I would have snatched it if I had known about it.

Good score 👍
 
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#16
GretschWretch said:
Okay, the deed is done.
Click to expand...
Good luck. I think I've played such bass once or twice around 45 years ago. If memory serves, it was quite heavy.
GretschWretch said:
Why does the first name of almost every East European woman end with the letter A?
Click to expand...
In most Slavic languages nouns have a grammatical gender, which could be male, female, or medium/general. It is defined by suffix. "A" usually is a female suffix. Names, being essentially nouns also fit in this category. Thus there's a male name "Ivan" and it's female counterpart "Ivanna". Not every name has both male and female forms, but female names indeed mostly end with "A".
 
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#17
DJ Bebop said:
Good thing you posted after you made the deal. That is so dope, I would have snatched it if I had known about it.

Good score 👍
Click to expand...
Don't worry, there are at least three another ones from the same seller. ;)
www.ebay.com

Orfeus Orpheus Plovdiv Bass Guitar 4 String Vintage | eBay

Bass Guitar is in working condition. Watch the condition on the photo.
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com

Orfeus Orpheus Plovdiv Bass Guitar 4 String Vintage | eBay

Bass Guitar is in working condition. Watch the condition on the photo.
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com

Orfeus Orpheus Plovdiv Bass Guitar 4 String Vintage | eBay

Bass Guitar is in working condition. Watch the condition on the photo.
www.ebay.com
 
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#18
Eli_Kyiv said:
Good luck. I think I've played such bass once or twice around 45 years ago. If memory serves, it was quite heavy.

In most Slavic languages nouns have a grammatical gender, which could be male, female, or medium/general. It is defined by suffix. "A" usually is a female suffix. Names, being essentially nouns also fit in this category. Thus there's a male name "Ivan" and it's female counterpart "Ivanna". Not every name has both male and female forms, but female names indeed mostly end with "A".
Click to expand...
The weight must be in the electronics. Some years ago I purchased an Orfeus body with an aftermarket add-on neck (body and neck were all I got), and I was astounded by how light the pairing was.

Your explanation for the "A" is perfectly clear. Thanks for taking the trouble. It puts me in mind that for Slavic patronymic names, an "ov**" suffix seems to be added to the middle name, designating who is the father, such as Sergei Ivanovich [last name] or Tatiana Ivanova [last name].
 
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#19
Eli_Kyiv said:
Good luck. I think I've played such bass once or twice around 45 years ago. If memory serves, it was quite heavy.

In most Slavic languages nouns have a grammatical gender, which could be male, female, or medium/general. It is defined by suffix. "A" usually is a female suffix. Names, being essentially nouns also fit in this category. Thus there's a male name "Ivan" and it's female counterpart "Ivanna". Not every name has both male and female forms, but female names indeed mostly end with "A".
Click to expand...
How about Ivana? Asking for a friend.
 

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