Nikon to stop selling Parts, Petition

<p>Hi Shun,</p>

<p>Roughly 1977-1982 or there abouts.</p>

<p>Gray market existed then but nobody paid much attention to it.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

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<p>Roughly 1977-1982 or there abouts</p>

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<p>That was 30 years ago. Thank you.</p>

<p>Somehow it doesn't make much sense [to me] to send late model high tech camera gear of any kind worth thousands and in many cases many thousands of dollars to a mom and pop repair facility.</p>

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<p>Mark (the OP) has been a client and a friend. He is a highly skilled technician and the owner of a small repair shop. Shops like his service professionals from around the country. I know his clients include some famous institutions, NFL team photogs, and countless other groups of professionals and amateurs. I believe the promise of a business like his is personalized service, generally lower pricing than Nikon for repair, and fast turnaround. Now, this may sound like an advertisement for Mark but it isn't intended to be - it's just the basis of his business.</p>

<p>I think it is important be aware that small repair shops offer a unique product to professional photographers - they can save time and money and offer great service.</p>

<p>I don't have a horse in this race - except that I am a professional photographer so having a local shop like Mark's is very important to me. Of course I'm a Canon shooter so this doesn't hurt me... yet. I shoot Nikon film though.</p>

<p>The shop where I worked in DC was one of several that repaired Nikon equipment.</p>

<p>We serviced probably 80% of the serious pros in the metropolitan area because<br>

we provided the highest quality service and did it with short turn-around times.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

<p>Nippon Photo Clinic in NYC is exactly this kind of business - a mom and pop shop of about 5 Japanese guys who have been repairing camera equipment in NYC since the 1970s. Look them up...: http://www.yelp.com/biz/nippon-photo-clinic-service-new-york</p>

 

<p>I'm wondering how - if at all - this may affect specialty shops offering IR conversions for older Nikon dSLRs? I haven't really kept up with comments from other independent techs. Any indication from them about whether they'll be affected at all?</p>

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<p>Nikon has absolutely no right to refuse parts sales to any customer.</p>

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<p>Total nonsense. </p>

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<p>They're just trying to create a monopoly to which they have no right in the first place.</p>

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<p>Nikon is not doing anything restraining the trade of any of its competitors so, this too, is nonsense.</p>

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<p>What would happen if auto makes refused to sell body parts to independent body shops?</p>

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<p>They would lose money Since its own shops can't perform that volume of repairs. Nikon has the capacity to make more repairs, per capita. So yes, more nonsense,</p>

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<p>It's my camera, and I have the exclusive right to determine what quality of workmanship and<br /> parts I wish to rely on for its repair.</p>

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<p>That's nice. Of course, your choice is limited to those that can meet your criteria. IOW, You have a right to seek it, but not the right to get it.</p>

<p>We all have the right..... but by Nikon's choice, we have no choice, what-so-ever..... :-(</p>

<blockquote>Shops like his service professionals from around the country. I know his clients include some famous institutions, NFL team photogs, and countless other groups of professionals and amateurs. I believe the promise of a business like his is personalized service, generally lower pricing than Nikon for repair, and fast turnaround.</blockquote>

<p>Agreed on all fronts...these guys are really good. I've done a bunch of business with them this past year, and will probably be sending in a Nikon lens next week. While it's too cost prohibitive for me to switch entirely to Canon all at once, I really don't think I'll be buying any more Nikon bodies or lenses after this. One issue is that I still have older bodies. If the manufacturer refuses to work on older bodies after a certain period of time, and parts aren't sold to independents, then where do we turn to get these things repaired? Might you be forced to throw out your F5 when it breaks down, for instance? There are only so many film bodies out there, and this number will decrease if we can't repair them.</p>

<p>And lot of people think they will still be able to buy rubber grips, battery doors, and terminal caps from Nikon as SLR users. They don't understand what this policy is about. If Nikon isn't going to sell to repair shops, they won't sell to SLR customers, either. Also, people don't understand that it costs like hundreds of thousands of dollars or more to be an authorized repair center...and Nikon may not even want any more of those regardless, even if somoene like Mark were willing to pay for it.</p>

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<p>I really don't think I'll be buying any more Nikon bodies or lenses after this.</p>

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<p>It is defiantly on the mind of many who know about this move from Nikon. It’s a shame that a good camera corporation has let greed dictate its future. Instead of building a better customer service its going to give that part away. (Its sure not having a hard time handing over that part.) A move like this will certainly cause a loss in sales. How much who knows. A big corporation like Nikon is not going to care if a few sales are lost and that is what there banking on, a few. So they are going to play hard ball. But Canons not playing this game and they have got to be loving this brain storm of an idea from the Nikon competition.</p>

<p>I had a good experience with Nikon Canada. Of course, I drove 500km (300mi) and dropped my lens off, but that wasn't the purpose of my trip. The repair was done relatively quickly ;-)<br>

Nikon is probably following the 'locked down' Apple model. Nikon isn't Apple. The Moms and Pops are entrepreneurs who will figure this out. Wrecking yards provide lots of car parts. If you have expensive Nikon stuff, it may be a good time to re-evaluate your theft insurance. Sometimes both Mom and Pop have tattoos.<br>

Like all good boy scouts, have 2 bodies/lenses and be prepared. Redundancy is great, although expensive. If my livelihood depended on it, I'd always have plan B (Canon?).</p>

 

<p> I just went to BHPhoto and looked at Canon camera's. All of their models are in stock, and Nikon camera's from the D90 up are not in stock (backordered). </p>

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<p>We all have the right..... but by Nikon's choice, we have no choice, what-so-ever....</p>

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<p>I certainly have the right to stop using Nikon and start using Canon,<br>

which I definitely will do if this policy is actually implemented.</p>

<p>That's a pity, since I've been a strong supporter of Nikon for many decades.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

<p>I was under the impression that "Under Fair Trade Practices" such denial of spares and parts would be illegal. Times change and it's possible this no longer is a law. Considering the way Financial houses and banks can flaunt the law and be rewarded by bail-outs, Nikon's poor attitude to after service, is possibly an outcome.<br>

The truth though, as I have experience with service in another trade/profession, that repairing a modern DSLR never mind a solid-state-one-piece throw away point and shoot, are NOT made to repair. I think they are adjustable. Larger repairs entail massive "units" being replaced. An outside workshop would have prohibitive costs in these units. The asking price making service and repairs impossible.<br>

Nikon destroyed all the parts for the original Nikon-F (in my country) including the meter head parts, soon after the introduction of the F3. The original "F" however except for the meter bits still work perfectly well..<br>

This is not a happy thought for more sales! I have a system with 10+lenses all original Nikkor, that cannot be used on the NEW DSLR systems.<br>

Simple answer, I still shoot film. I support outside technicians. Nikon is going down a bad road, too many new models, too many things abandoned in quest for profit. Customer loyalty is not being rewarded.<br>

Consumers are regarded as suckers.<br>

My answer is use film and where i use digital, it's cheap throw aways.. The quality on prints up to 11 x14 certainly up there with the "top of line". I have printed an 8 x 10 book. A lot of images were from 640 x 480 image size!<br>

My pro-work is for internet. I have not needed hi-resolution. If I do, there are hi-resolution scans. Only a little more cost than a usual scan at local stores.<br>

Nikon answer is the service center runs at loss. Of course! So many new cameras have problems, not being thoroughly tested before manufactured. The customer therefor is to blame.</p>

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<p>Its a moron act.<br>

Here in Sydney, Nikon outsource their warranty and other repairs to the very same three Nikon repair businesses that they claim they will not supply parts to now. Local management are ignoring the edict.<br>

Here local dealers do not do repairs anyway. If you left your camera or lens with them, it just got shipped to Nikon and then it was on shipped to the repair shops, who incidentally held repair parts inventory on consignment for Nikon.<br>

If you drove out to Nikon's facility here you would find some offices and a warehouse full of stock. Its just a wholesaling operation. There may be more to the issue than what we know. It also may be for just the USA which seems to do things differently than the rest of the world.</p>