Has anyone ever...

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Nils

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Bought amps (or anything else) second hand from hififorsale.com without first having a demo, or even seeing pics of them.

I'm about to do this with some sugden amps, but the idea of putting a couple of grand into a strangers bank account and hoping they get sent is pretty worrying.

I would collect them, but they're down near London, I'm in Sheffield and I don't have transport.

Any advice?
 
I have bought several bits of equipment through hififorsale but I've always collected them or had a trusted friend collect them on my behalf.

If its a couple of grand then I would collect them, its only a train ride away and you then have total piece of mind

Mr Perceptive
 
Don't buy from hifi for sale,there is no feedback,or paypal to back you up,I was scammed by a D. muir for £200 when he sent me a duff DV17 cart,never again!!!
 
I spent a grand on an amp posted to me with the transaction all done on "trust".

I got the seller to email me photos and other proof of purchase and had a good long talk with them on the phone.
 
I sold my DAC64 on hififorsale to some guy from Spain. Delivered to his parents address in UK. Went very smoothly his money was good (UK bank a/c), so I had a psotove experience, but I was careful and didn't send until cheque had cleared.

I guess its like most places tho, there's good and bad. Just take as many precautions as you can.
 
bob mccluckie said:
For 2 grand I'd collect.

Bob
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yeah, same here - I guess that you'll be making a decent saving on the rrp - then use some of that to go to the buyers gaff and at least get a demo too!
 
I think the fact that it's hififorsale is irelevant, you should exercise the same caution buying something used wherever it's offered for sale. I never hand over more than £50 without collecting the item in person. This doesn't offer complete protection, but I think it helps ward off all but the most brazen con artists.
 
I've got a nightmare buyer off Hifi for sale, he offered silly money, and has now got all offended because I won't sell it to him for that, I keep getting random emails from him calling me names, and it's a bloody good place to get spammed from. On the other hand I've never had a problem before, and I've sold quite a few bits on there.
 
Yeah hififorsale is good, I bought a CDX2 off there, with no problems. Does attract the occasional scammer though, who are best ignored until they go away, which they do I find.

Cheers,

Jon
 
yeah, I had my x-80 on there too (still for sale by thew way folks!) and I got an e-mail from a john baker...whey hey I thought - he was after more info, so I duely replied, then I got this reply back -

DEAR Alan,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS RESPONSE, AND RIGHT NOW I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT MY BEST WAY TO MAKE THE PAYMENT TO YOU IS THRU BANK WIRE TRANSFER WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE SAFETY AND THE FASTEST WAY FOR ME RIGHT NOW COS AM RIGHT IN SCOTLAND AND I WORK FOR WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND AM UNDER HIV AND AIDS CONCERT RIGHT HERE.

I WILL WANT YOU TO KINDLY PROVIDE ME WITH YOUR BANK DETAILS RIGHT NOW SO THAT MY ASSOCIATE CAN MAKE THE WIRE TRANSFER ASAP INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.

YOUR BANK NAME,
YOUR BANK ADDRESS,
YOUR BANK HOLDER'S NAME,
YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER,
YOUR BANK SORT CODE,
YOUR HOUSE ADDRESS.
YOUR PHONE NUMBER.

I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO READ THIS FROM YOU ASAP SO THAT THE PAYMENT CAN BE WIRE INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AND THEN YOU CAN CONFIRMED IT BEFORE MY SHIPPER'S COMES FOR THE PICK UP IN YOUR LOCATION.
HOPEFULLY TO READ FROM YOU ASAP.

BEST REGARDS,

JOHN BAKER JNR.

I senmt a reply back saying paypal would be fine...needless to say I haven;'t heard anything back...!!
 
Always collect and demo or you'll be crying! It's too risky with expensive equipement. Mind you if you're buying things like valve amps it's VERY difficult to be sure they're ok from a quick listen. One of the valves in my £3k ARC was blown and I only found out after doing the biasing a few weeks later (too late!).
 
I've bought and sold many things on hififorsale, never had a problem. But at very least I'd want a home phone no. and address for the seller, and call them on that number.
 
alanbeeb said:
I've bought and sold many things on hififorsale, never had a problem. But at very least I'd want a home phone no. and address for the seller, and call them on that number.
Click to expand...

And then check the 2 against each other as well....personally,I'd never buy unseen without having some reliable comeback/insurance,and other than that,always exchange in person.
 
Nils,

if it's Jeremy in Aylesbury, I'd personally vouch for the guy. I have bought speakers from him in the past and remains a friend. He works for John Lewis so is easy to tack down!
 
Har, found out.

Cheers for the ref. Have managed to sort out transport by twisting a few arms, so will be able to go and have a quick demo as well as collecting. Means that he can get cash too, which I'm sure will be appreciated.

Thanks all for the advice.
 
Right well,

managed to get down there, spoke to the guy and picked up the amps. Am well impressed, I now understand the rantings about soundstaging and depth - it sounds like i've added a few metres to my room. :)

One new question though - I have two sets of outputs from the preamp, one of which is used to connect the poweramp, the other goes to a sub. The power amp's a huge beast which doesn't fit into the frame, so was going to use the American technique of using a long balanced cable and placement next to the speakers. Unfortunately I have to use single-ended connections to the sub, so before I go out and start buying new cables, can you use both single-ended and balanced connections at the same time?

Alternatively, should I connect to the sub using an XLR to RCA lead? :confused:

Thanks.
 
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