Nikon USA to stop selling camera parts to independent repair shops

<p><a href="http://www.liquida.com/page/31229999/">Nikon USA to stop selling camera parts to independent repair shops</a><br>

The article originally appeared in the Nikon Rumors site but I cannot link there from here.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

<p>Well that's not very nice of them.</p>

<p>Not nice, perhaps, but pretty darn smart!</p>

<p>Hmm... does anyone know if the Sherman Antitrust Act applies here? After all, what Nikon is doing will cut back on competition.</p>

<p>Then, they will need to import them from Nikon Japan. </p>

<p>I couldn't find the article on the linked page but it sounds to me like buying a new car and becoming captive to the dealer for service. </p>

<p>Nikon does not have a monopoly in <em>any</em> rational sense of that word, and they're perfectly within their rights to want their brand serviced - when they're not doing it themselves - by businesses with which they have a known relationship. Anti-trust? Gaaah!<br /><br />People who don't like what Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic, Sony, Sigma, Leica or Samsung do can take their business to Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic, Sony, Sigma, Leica or Samsung (minus the one they don't like).</p>

<p>Michael: Nikon has authorized service centers that are not dealers. To the extent we actually have the real details here, it doesn't sound like anything changes for them.</p>

<p>If one could only <strong>see the glee</strong> in a lawyer's eye ___ if, for example, Toyota Motors announced only a Toyota dealer could service your Toyota automobile or truck.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Toyota <em>does</em> decide to whom they will sell their own parts, Jerry. Third parties who don't want to operate in cooperation with Toyota can use any of an ocean of third-party parts. Which is why you're making a poor analogy.<br /><br />And Nikon's not saying you can't have your Nikon camera cleaned, lined up, etc., by a shop with whom they have no relationship. They're just saying they want to only wholesale their own parts, which they make and import, to shops they actually authorize.</p>

<p>As a moderator here, I have an outstanding e-mail to Henry Posner for a second, reliable source of this information. I did a quick search and as far as I can tell, the only source of a Nikon Rumor site. I don't consider any rumor site reliable and in fact that is why we block links to those sites.</p>

<p>If Nikon USA has sent such letters to the independent repair shops, it should not be difficult to get independent confirmation.</p>

<p>To a certain extent, repairing cameras has become similar to repairing cars. As the technology of each product becomes more complex, fewer and fewer people can fix certain problems. What might have been an actual repair on a Minolta SRT 101 is now just a replacement of a module or a wire. There is also the issue of product life cycle. Only the most expensive digital cameras will stay in production for more than a short time. Most are not made to last very long anyway. I don't really know how it benefits Nikon USA to sell to fewer repair facilities. Maybe Nikon USA thinks that very few repair facilities will remain anyway and it wants to have the business concentrated in the hands of a few companies it has a relationship with. I read recently, I think in the NY Times, that one company in Switzerland makes almost all of the watch movements for Swiss watches. The company announced that it wanted to stop selling to the other companies so it could monopolize the market for expensive Swiss watches. The Swiss will have to figure that problem out for themselves. <br>

We live in a time when almost every product with current technology has parts made by only a few suppliers. If Nikon and Pentax couldn't buy sensors from someone else they might both go out of business. Many years ago Copal was supported by Nippon Kogaku and Konishiroku. Copal then developed shuters which were used in Nikon (Nikkormat) and Konica cameras. The arrangement helped both companies. Over time the equipment needed to mass produce high tech products becomes more and more expensive. The companies which can't develop the technoligies themselves or buy it at a reasonable price will not be able to remain in the market. </p>

<p>http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=61240.0<br /><br />This was posted over at Luminous-Landscape by a small repair shop owner:<br /><br />"I've received what is one of the most disturbing letters from any company in my 30 or so years as an independent camera service tech. Nikon will no longer provide parts to anyone other than authorized Nikon repair shops. This is going to drive up the cost to the customer, as well as increase the turn around time. If you use Nikon, my advice is to turn the equipment as soon as the warranty is up, and if you're a working pro join NPS. Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride."<br /><br />And in another post as part of the same thread (the same person writing), responding to what it entails to be an authorized Nikon Repair facility: <br /><br />"Money, and lots of it. You not only have to annually subscribe to their technical manuals and service software for each camera model (now roughly 17), lenses(65), and flashes(5), you also have to purchase all test equipment and setup jigs, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars for each line. You are also required to keep in stock all parts they deem necessary, including each color part for all cameras that come in different colors. Once a camera has been out for awhile and no longer comes in for frequent repairs, this leaves you with a large inventory of dead stock. You are also required to take in warranty repairs, for which you are poorly compensated."<br /><br />"Most techs I know who have been authorized quit long ago. You have to have a large operation to recoup the expenses. I know a medium sized shop who's Nikon parts tab for last year was $35k. I'm a one man shop and my parts total for last year was about $10k. We are both independent, so having to spend another $30-$40 thousand a year to be authorized Nikon is a non starter."</p>

<p>Robert, thanks for the link.</p>

<p>Its control in a small way their just making sure the proper people service their brand they way they want them be serviced</p>

 

<p>Matt-<br>

I can walk into a Toyota dealership and buy Toyota parts. Any repair shop can order parts from Toyota.</p>

<p>I think this could be viewed as anti-competitive if Nikon gains significant monetary benefit from having only authorized shops.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The only problem I have with this is they no longer service the F2 and F3's they will look at but warn that getting parts may take some time.</p>

<p>I should keep my mouth zipped, but I've had so incredibly few Nikon problems over the years, that if and when there is trouble, I either send my machine right to Nikon and pay the fee, or replace the piece. That being said, I expect failure tommorow...</p>

<p>Dave, I'm afraid you just jinxed your good luck streak. Time to knock on some (DuPont) wood. :-) </p>

 

<p>I didn't know Toyota decided who could buy their parts. I can go to Toyota of Orange, (California) and buy any part I want and I don't even know how to repair my son's Toyota Tacoma truck. I don't get any discount though.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>If one could only <strong>see the glee</strong> in a lawyer's eye ___ if, for example, Toyota Motors announced only a Toyota dealer could service your Toyota automobile or truck.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I don't see anything from Nikon asserting that only it can service Nikon cameras so this really isn't applicable to the situation here.</p>

<p>Perhaps you need to make a distinction on the Toyota subject.<br>

One is FREE repairs/service under waranty, that only Toyota authorized deaaler can do, and the other is repair when you pay...and any shop can do,</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I don't see anything from Nikon asserting that only it can service Nikon cameras so this really isn't applicable to the situation here.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I noticed that also, but I thought I would add that I don't own a Toyota so I haven't really paid much attention to the (bad) analogy.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Perhaps you need to make a distinction on the Toyota subject. One is FREE repairs/service under waranty, that only Toyota authorized deaaler can do, and the other is repair when you pay...and any shop can do,</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The analogy iwould be Toyota announcing it will no longer sell parts to independent repair facilities. Off hand, I can't think of any requirements that manufacturers of products having sell parts to unaffiliated repair service providers. If there are any examples, it would be interesting to know.</p>

<p>In any event, maybe my Nikon paperweights will sell for another dollar or so on the for parts only market... or not.</p>

<p> I have heard that Leica has excellent customer service. </p>