Fair price for a pre-loved or ex-demo NAC552DR?

12 to 14 k would be an excellent deal

40% off the retail price would be a good deal for an ex-demo...

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

JAPTIMSCARLET, do you mean 12-14k for 1-2 year old ex-demo, 3-5 year pre loved or would the price apply for both categories?

Adam, 40% off the retail price wouldn’t that be a really good deal for an ex-demo unit? The ones I have found so far seems to be 20% off for 1,5 year old units. I thought that was a bit too much but 40% off, is that really possible…?

/Marcus

dave marshall posted:

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

You did well there, Dave 

MarcusM posted:

Adam, 40% off the retail price wouldn’t that be a really good deal for an ex-demo unit? The ones I have found so far seems to be 20% off for 1,5 year old units. I thought that was a bit too much but 40% off, is that really possible…?

/Marcus

Depends on your negotiating skills  

dave marshall posted:

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

Hello Dave!

If I lived in the UK I would have done that. That’s how I have done so far with all my current gear. Several stores in Sweden have up to NAC252/NAP300 level gear.

The problem in Sweden is that only one dealer have a NAC552 as demo. On the second hand market a NAC552 shows up every second year and disappears as fast as it appears.

I could off course buy a new one from a dealer in Sweden but that would be too expensive. A new NAC552 will cost approx. 23k GBP here in Sweden. As trade value I will get payed 6-7k GBP at best. I would have to pay something lite 16-17k GBP to trade in my NAC252/SC DR for a new NAC552, maybe a little less if I’m really lucky. This is too expensive for me…

The only option as I see possible is to buy a pre-loved or ex-demo unit from a UK-dealer and try to sell my NAC252/SC DR here in Sweden. With a little luck it will cost me 6-7k GBP to upgrade in this way instead of 16-17k.

Sure, I will not get a new NAC552 DR but still a nice one I hope…

“My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.” sounds very interesting!

Was this done recently or several years ago? It seems like a really good deal!

I would definitely be interested in a new NAC552 DR if I could pay 10k GBP + my NAC252/SCDR.

/Marcus

Remember if you are buying a 2 year old demo model work from the price 2 years ago. This is where you might be able to get 40% of current price. 

I was going through my Naim receipts lately and trade in plus ex dem can make the seemingly unaffordable more attainable. 

.sjb

MDS posted:

dave marshall posted:

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

You did well there, Dave 

I have mentioned on here before that my dealer seems to have a more constructive way of keeping his customers happy than most.

At it's simplest, he was happy that he'd already made a tidy profit on both the 252 and Supercap, both bought new by me from him, and so was happy to cut his margin on the 552 to the bone, and compensate for this by selling on my traded in items.

Down the years, I've spent a small fortune there, but each time, I've come away feeling happy that I've had a more than fair deal.

Adam Zielinski posted:

MarcusM posted:

Adam, 40% off the retail price wouldn’t that be a really good deal for an ex-demo unit? The ones I have found so far seems to be 20% off for 1,5 year old units. I thought that was a bit too much but 40% off, is that really possible…?

/Marcus

Depends on your negotiating skills  

Yes, I guess that you are right. As a Swede asking to get it shipped to Sweden I also guess that I start with a little bit of “uphill” . Easier if from UK and visiting your trusted dealer!

My trusted dealer in Sweden where I bought all my Naim stuff do not sell Naim anymore, unfortunately. I have to “start over” with a new dealer so I can’t hope for a big discount with my first purchase at a new dealer…

dave marshall posted:

MDS posted:

dave marshall posted:

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

You did well there, Dave 

I have mentioned on here before that my dealer seems to have a more constructive way of keeping his customers happy than most.

At it's simplest, he was happy that he'd already made a tidy profit on both the 252 and Supercap, both bought new by me from him, and so was happy to cut his margin on the 552 to the bone, and compensate for this by selling on my traded in items.

Down the years, I've spent a small fortune there, but each time, I've come away feeling happy that I've had a more than fair deal.

...and no doubt why you are prepared to go back to him with new business. A win-win.

I was referring to Poland - perhaps it’s easier to get a great deal down here.

dave marshall posted:

MDS posted:

dave marshall posted:

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

You did well there, Dave 

I have mentioned on here before that my dealer seems to have a more constructive way of keeping his customers happy than most.

At it's simplest, he was happy that he'd already made a tidy profit on both the 252 and Supercap, both bought new by me from him, and so was happy to cut his margin on the 552 to the bone, and compensate for this by selling on my traded in items.

Down the years, I've spent a small fortune there, but each time, I've come away feeling happy that I've had a more than fair deal.

Sounds like a good “relationship” . May I ask which dealer you use?

MarcusM posted:

dave marshall posted:

MDS posted:

dave marshall posted:

I assume you would be replacing your present 252 / Supercap with the 552, so would it not be worth discussing trade-in figures with your dealer against the 552, either new or ex-demo?

My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.

You did well there, Dave 

I have mentioned on here before that my dealer seems to have a more constructive way of keeping his customers happy than most.

At it's simplest, he was happy that he'd already made a tidy profit on both the 252 and Supercap, both bought new by me from him, and so was happy to cut his margin on the 552 to the bone, and compensate for this by selling on my traded in items.

Down the years, I've spent a small fortune there, but each time, I've come away feeling happy that I've had a more than fair deal.

Sounds like a good “relationship” . May I ask which dealer you use?

I use Acoustica in Chester, which results in my driving past several Naim dealers much closer to home, but their "out of the box" way of thinking caught my attention early on the the relationship.

Might be worth contacting Geoff via their website ............ who knows, he might well be able to help. 

MDS posted:

dave marshall posted:

MDS posted:

You did well there, Dave 

I have mentioned on here before that my dealer seems to have a more constructive way of keeping his customers happy than most.

At it's simplest, he was happy that he'd already made a tidy profit on both the 252 and Supercap, both bought new by me from him, and so was happy to cut his margin on the 552 to the bone, and compensate for this by selling on my traded in items.

Down the years, I've spent a small fortune there, but each time, I've come away feeling happy that I've had a more than fair deal.

...and no doubt why you are prepared to go back to him with new business. A win-win.

Yes, once I'd latched onto their business philosophy, it would become very difficult to consider going anywhere else.

MarcusM posted:

dave marshall posted:

 

 

“My brand new 552 DR cost me considerably less than £10,000, after my 252 / Supercap trade in.” sounds very interesting!

Was this done recently or several years ago? It seems like a really good deal!

I would definitely be interested in a new NAC552 DR if I could pay 10k GBP + my NAC252/SCDR.

/Marcus

Hi Marcus, 

It was only a couple of years ago.

As I've suggested further down, try contacting Geoff via the Acoustica website, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't come up with something.

In my experience you seem to be able to get 20% off ex-dem models when they are 1 year old, although in some cases the discount is smaller. Trade in values also seem to vary between dealers. In general you seem to get a better deal against purchase of a new unit rather than against a used or ex-dem one. However I have found sometimes that the dealer offers a fixed trade in value whatever you are buying. It certainly pays to ask around for the best deal, especially if dealer loyalty is not an important consideration.

Hi Marcus, 

It was only a couple of years ago.

As I've suggested further down, try contacting Geoff via the Acoustica website, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't come up with something.

Thank you, I will definitely do that! 

Dave, you were correct. Geoff seemed like a really nice guy and he gave me a tempting offer.

In parallel I contacted two other dealers and ended up buying a NAC552 from one of the other two.

It was a tough decision and pretty close that I would have gone for Geoffs offer.

Sure, I could have investigated/monitored the market for a much longer time and maybe found a better deal but I think that I got a fair offer and I pulled the trigger.

The preamp will hopefully be here in a week or so.

I’m really anxious to connect it to my system and start listening to sweet sweet music

I love happy endings! 

dave marshall posted:

I love happy endings! 

Me too

Well done Marcus! Congratulations and do let us know how you get on with your 552.

You're going to be thrilled by that 552, Marcus.  

Adam Zielinski posted:

Well done Marcus! Congratulations and do let us know how you get on with your 552.

Thanks, Adam!

Sure, I will let you know what I think about the 552. I’m on business trip week 8 and 9 so hopefully I will receive the 552 in the end of next week so that I can connect it on Saturday or Sunday before I leave. Then it will be “warmed up” on my return on Friday week 9

I have worked on eliminating week links in my system so I think and hope that it will be well set-up for a NAC552. I’m expecting great thing…

Now I only have a NAC252 + SC DR to sell. Hopefully it will work out in a nice way. In the meantime I will have two preamps to compare and listen to. That will be very interesting

MDS posted:

You're going to be thrilled by that 552, Marcus.  

I sure hope that you are right, MDS.

After all the superlative given on the forum I have high hopes for the NAC552