I recall going around a chaps house, asked him for a drink, and he refused to give me a whisky. His Tandy system wasn’t up to much, and he didn’t understand why his B&Q extension lead was not HiFi grade. After a couple of hours I just had to leave.
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Always make sure It’s boxed (and the serials match) usually a good sign is the manual is still in the polythene cover… And steer clear of people saying ‘they’re selling for someone else’
And if you can pick it up and hear it working… even better!
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Now that is funny !! Total tongue in cheek … superb … Hats sir, hats.
I’ve never auditioned any of the used Naim kit I’ve purchased over the years. None of it was local, and it was purchased from either dealers or individuals that I vetted and trusted to sell me what they said they were selling me.
I absolutely believe that buying “gently used” Naim kit is a great way to find great value.
I have a pair of 110 pounds each speakers to sell now and I’ve let my local dealer sell them for me. They will take their cut of course, but it saves me a lot of hassle.
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That may be for the Classic stuff. Olive is £400 a go
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Thanks for all the advice. Everything checks out and I have decided to make the deal happen.
Great advice as always.
Over the years, I have happily purchased selected items 2nd hand, notably a Naim CD555 ( thank you Simon), a 500Power Amp, (thanks Audio T) and sold very many more items eg 252/300/DVD5 ( salute Massimo)
To me Naim is a kind of collective. If you like the sound, then you trust other buyers to behave as responsible sellers.
It really as as simple as that.
Or maybe I am just a naive lucky individual, who trusts people to behave as I would.
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The few times people have had to collect from me (i.e. large speakers without boxes), I always want them to briefly hear them playing first. That way they know they were working fine when they left my property and didn’t get damaged in transit. I would have thought your seller would feel the same way and won’t mind you hearing the item/s first.
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I concurr. This is also the way that I interact with buyers/sellers in the pre-owned market.
I haven’t had any terrible experiences over the last 7 years. A few minor annoyances, but nothing that cost me any money.
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Buying second hand can be tricky, however, if you go through a reputable dealer you should be OK. My recent second hand purchased have been a Supercap DR (2018)from Signals for my Superline, wonderful condition, and, a Supernait 1 from Moorgate Acoustics 2007 vintage, not been serviced yet but is in fantastic condition and the remote, instructions still sealed in bag. Currently doing duty in the lounge with a recently serviced HiCap DR on it.
Purchasing a streamer may be more tricky, I’ve seen a few NDS’ but most may need a good service by now and/or new screen.
Tim
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I’d certainly be very wary of buying any kit (especially non-UK) off e-bay.
Acoustica’s sales photos for things like 500s and 552s are being re-used on an alarming basis i.e. lifted & shifted on to listings.
And e-bay’s reporting protocols for phony listings appear to be very slow/ineffective.
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You may… But my experience of buying Naim kit on eBay UK, has been problem free… 
YMMV, etc… 
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That’s good to hear. I picked up a few things from ebay, one of which was a perfect High-line for one-fifth of the retail price. That was just a fortunate bid situation that went my way.
I think the thing to keep in mind is: if it sounds too good to be true, it generally is …
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Wary, in the sense of do your homework and DD, and I’ve found contact with the vendor direct is essential (to establish we both belong to the Guild of Naim-nuts!).
But e-bay’s policy isn’t to allow direct contact, other than via their comm’s system…less said the better on this.
I’ve bought and sold lots of Naim gear on e-bay over ~25 years and it’s all been good but some of the listings I’m now seeing are very sus.
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“Buy the seller not the item” has been sound advice for a long time. Vet the seller. Which is harder in the ebay process than other ways.
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Yes, it’s not really the done thing.
I know know for a fact, Acoustica sold a Ndac, a few weeks later sold another Ndac and used photos of the first Ndac in the auction listing. (apart from the photo showing the serial number). 
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That is understandable. What isn’t is others listing with scant detail (a major red flag in itself) and using A’s pictures, especially of a 552.
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You could ask the seller if they use the Naim Forum. If they do you can check out their posts. Of course they may lie
I always check what they are selling themselves, and what they have sold, to get an idea if they are an everyday person, or a business of selling anything they get their hands on.
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I’ve bought used kit from Signals, Tom-Tom, Robert Ritchie, The Audio Room, HifiCinema and others. All trusted dealers.
By phoning around dealers and keeping an eye on websites, and Hifi Shark, I’ve managed to find everything I’ve ever needed either lightly used or ex demo and all with decent warranties.
Recent nDAC purchase was via eBay but had been listed by Robert Ritchie so I knew it would be ok. Still serviced it though, since it’s a 2011 serial.
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