Nikon International Warranties

Notice regarding transition from international warranties for interchangeable lenses and accessories

 

The 'important' bit is half way down the page.

 

In addition, some countries and regions may be unable to accept products sold in other countries or regions for repair. Please consult with the repair center, or a retailer or distributor in the applicable country or region.

It is mostly Price politics"i think, a lens or camera of a certain type will cost exatly the same wether manufactured for India or the UK or U.S.A. for that matter, but in India ot is sold for half the price.

 

Companies like NIKON, or others want to make as much money as they can from what they produce obviously, so they do not want you to buy that camera in a cheap market, so they come up with "warranty excuses" ....

If you buy internationally or gray market internally, you need to be prepared to "self-insure" and track down non-OEM repair facilities.

 

Ask yourself if it is worth the savings.

 

Buying off-source from someone like B&H and Adorama will usually get some kind of non-OEM warranty.

It is mostly Price politics"i think, a lens or camera of a certain type will cost exatly the same wether manufactured for India or the UK or U.S.A. for that matter, but in India ot is sold for half the price.

 

Companies like NIKON, or others want to make as much money as they can from what they produce obviously, so they do not want you to buy that camera in a cheap market, so they come up with "warranty excuses" ....

 

Really? Cameras in India are sold for half the price in the USA?

Really? Cameras in India are sold for half the price in the USA?

Well there's certainly price variation that has very little or nothing to do with monetary exchange rates. And these are prices set by Nikon themselves.

Buying off-source from someone like B&H and Adorama will usually get some kind of non-OEM warranty.

Depending on the country you call "home"....

Well there's certainly price variation that has very little or nothing to do with monetary exchange rates. And these are prices set by Nikon themselves.

 

But I haven't found which countries have price lower than the USA.

Depending on the country you call "home"....

Sorry-- of course, there are lots of members who are not within the boundaries of the "insurrectionists' and rioters' state"

 

However, there are non OEM repairers all over- fewer than there used to be, though.

But I haven't found which countries have price lower than the USA.

Some shops in Saigon - I have never purchased any thing in other cities in Vietnam. Some shops have 3 prices for the same product 1. Nikon official 12 months warrant, 2. shops 6 months and 3.no warranty. On proff. cameras I have seen close to $ 1k difference between 1 and 3!!! We are talking about the same camera, so the difference is only the paperwork and payment.

I have never had a Nikon fail - back to '68. Nothing is forever.

I mentioned this a number of times in different threads: in the EU, Nikon can say what they want, you are always entitled to at least (!) 2 years of guarantee. No matter what a manufacturer or shop wants to put in small or big print that says otherwise.

And i have mentioned this before too: you enter into a contract with whoever sold you the goods, so he or she is liable. Not (in this instance) Nikon.

 

Shops can sell extended warrantees (rarely, if ever, necessary), but that may not and does not replace or reduce the 2 years minimum guarantee they are obliged to give by law.

 

2 years minumum, because you can claim warrantee service for any defect that occurs before it would reasonable to expect that such a fault could occur due to wear in normal use. And that often is quite a bit longer than 2 years.

Edited January 10, 2021 by q.g._de_bakker

The important bit is who you bought something from. Unless you bought directly from them, Nikon or any other party can indeed refuse to repair or replace equipment for free. That then is a problem for whomever you bought it from, because they are the ones who have to make good.

 

It is all regulated by law. Statements like the one that started this thread are void if not in compliance with the law.

While the EU sets minimum requirements for warranty, member countries have their own laws which can extend the liability in time and also can include the manufacturer. In practice at least in my country the shop from which the product was bought is usually not involved in warranty repair since it would just mean additional delays due to shipping etc. and customers typically deal with authorized repair shops who then bill Nikon for the work.

 

As for Nikon limiting the warranty to regions, the EU is likely to be one such region or it could include even a wider area (I'd be surprised if Nikon exclude UK from their European warranty area due to brexit, but it could happen). So far I have never had to send an item to the country of purchase (or the shop) to get warranty work done. I don't expect this to change. Under Nikon's European regional warranty you can take the product to your local repair shop within the region and they'll bill Nikon for the repair work. They might not work on products bought overseas on another continent if the parts are not locally available, which is the official reason for this change: Nikon don't want to stock parts that fit to lenses sold in other regions and which can be in some cases different from the corresponding parts in the products sold in the region you live in. So they limit the warranty to regions which have similar regulations and hopefully mostly the same products (including parts).

 

Sending products to different continents for repair could be expensive, so it may not be practical, efficient, or cost-effective.

Edited January 10, 2021 by ilkka_nissila

The shop from which the product is bought, however, is indeed the one responsible. The line doesn't end there, and they can claim warrany from the one (wholesaler or importer) they bought the goods from. And that line goes all the way up to the manufacturer. But the details depend on contracts they might have entered into. When dealing with grey import, the importer will probably be the one who must foot the bill, and the equipment should not be offered to the official importer or the manufacturer, yet you still are entitled to your legal warranty and service free of charge.

So yes, the shop may be bypassed. And perhaps it must first go through the shop.

Shipping products within Europe can take weeks now, so returning a product to the retailer is not practical now (not to mention there are costs to the shipping, packaging etc. that probably are not reimbursed by the reseller). While EU assigns responsibility to the retailer, Nikon are more practical about it and deal with it locally so we don't have to ship it to the reseller. The closest Nikon authorized repair is about 5 km from my home and they've always taken the work no matter where I bought the product in. If Nikon didn't cover it then I suppose sending the product to the original reseller would be the next step but I've never had any difficulty with Nikon in regards to this matter. It is simply not necessary to involve the reseller (except if I've lost the receipt and the warranty coupon was not filled and stamped at the shop). With some other companies it may be the chain to repair goes through the company where the purchase was made, but this has never happened to me). All the products that I've needed repair work on have had similar systems in place where they take the product in directly to the repair shop. In case an item was faulty at the onset I've in a few occasion taken it to the shop who have then replaced the item. E.g. with clothes this is usually the easiest way.

Some shops in Saigon - I have never purchased any thing in other cities in Vietnam. Some shops have 3 prices for the same product 1. Nikon official 12 months warrant, 2. shops 6 months and 3.no warranty. On proff. cameras I have seen close to $ 1k difference between 1 and 3!!! We are talking about the same camera, so the difference is only the paperwork and payment.

Prices in Vietnam are not lower than in the USA. Some of them sold as new are actually used and brought to Vietnam from the USA. So far I have only seen camera prices lower in Japan but only for cameras that are made in Japan.