Jump to content

New Grey Market w/Seller 1 yr warranty vs Used w/Seller 180 day warranty


rwa757

Recommended Posts

I am looking at buying a Nikon D500 and cannot locate a new one with a USA Warranty.  B&H has a grey market copy available with their limited one year warranty and KEH has a used one rated excellent with their 180 day limited warranty.  Does Grey Market mean I can't take it anywhere for repair other than the seller for ever? How would I know if the KEH copy is or isn't grey market?  I'd like to be able to take it to my local camera shop for any issues that might arise after the warranty expires.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grey market means Nikon USA won’t work on it all, not under warranty and not for a price. I believe it’s still true that you’ll have to find an independent repair facility or send it to Japan. My experience with KEH has been uniformly excellent. If they sell you a grey market camera you’ll know it.

 

Rick H.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, NHSN said:

Really? If I were to travel to the US with my EU purchased Z6ii, I couldn’t get authorized Nikon service, even if I wanted to pay? 

Nikon does make some exceptions, case by case, when it comes to repairs for the traveler.  However, the norm is that if the product is gray market, Nikon will not repair.  You would have to return it to the source of the sale for any repairs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Mary Doo said:

I won't hesitate to buy it.  In the off chance that you need to repair, there is not a problem - quite a number of qualified shops do it.

In the U.S. there are very few authorized repair facilities, and they're the only ones who can get necessary parts for repairs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, dennisbrown said:

Nikon does make some exceptions, case by case, when it comes to repairs for the traveler.  However, the norm is that if the product is gray market, Nikon will not repair.  You would have to return it to the source of the sale for any repairs.

Could you send it to Canada or is that the same distributor?

Niels
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Mary Doo said:

I realize people are finicky about this.  Not a problem really.  The name of the dealers who handle Nikon are mentioned in this forum many times.  One is in Chicago. You can find it by searching.

The concern may be access to parts - if independent repair facilities have full part accessibility I guess it may not be a problem. 

  • Like 1
Niels
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Midwest Camera Repair is one I have used for many long-discontinued Nikon lenses, the last of which was a beautiful 85mm f1.4 AIS where the focus was both stiff and inaccurately set. It came back working perfectly.

They  work on currently equipment, and have access to Nikon repair parts. I'd be shocked if they refused to service anything one needed to send them.

http://www.midwestcamera.com/

Edited by Greg M
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Greg M said:

Midwest Camera Repair is one I have used for many long-discontinued Nikon lenses, the last of which was a beautiful 85mm f1.4 AIS where the focus was both stiff and inaccurately set. It came back working perfectly.

They  work on currently equipment, and have access to Nikon repair parts. I'd be shocked if they refused to service anything one needed to send them.

http://www.midwestcamera.com/

Here is another:  https://www.nikoncamerarepair.com/  These things have been mentioned so many times and it seems some members cannot remember no matter what.  🤪

Edited by Mary Doo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/22/2022 at 7:06 AM, NHSN said:

Really? If I were to travel to the US with my EU purchased Z6ii, I couldn’t get authorized Nikon service, even if I wanted to pay? 

Yes you can get it serviced by Nikon USA because your camera isn't grey market. It was bought in the EU thru an authorized Nikon dealer. You will need to show receipt that you bought the camera there. If you buy a grey market from B&H the receipt would say it was sold by B&H in the USA and the camera wasn't destined for USA market. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see it would be better to buy a "USA" camera/lens if the item is available and not costing a lot more than grey market, but sometimes the situation is different.  At the end - at least to me - it does not matter because the equipment can be serviced anyway no matter what.  A recent [non-Nikon] example for me is the Olympus OM-1.  I waited for quite a while to get my first one.  Then I would like to get a second one but would rather not wait, and I could buy it from a Hong Kong dealer - actually the price was not lower than what I paid for the first one (I think).  Both cameras works the same and now I can't tell which is which unless I keep track of the serial numbers which I have not and there is no need to.

As far as warranty and repairs, I wonder how often equipment breaks down.  I don't count on it much because in my experience, either my equipment had not broken down at all or broke down after the warranty period.  - And now we know they can be serviced, grey or otherwise.  One time I enjoyed this "USA privilege" very much was when Nikon offered to revamp my D800 out of the blue.  There was nothing wrong with the camera other than wear and tear.  I think Nikon picked my camera out of their registered items.  It was not my request but it was nice.  Think I mentioned it in this forum. 🙂

Edited by Mary Doo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, BeBu Lamar said:

I wouldn't buy a grey market if I can buy a new one because the discount isn't worth it to me. However, between a new gray market and a used one if the prices are the same I would pick the gray market. New camera is worth a lot more to me than a slightly used one. 

Gray market =/= used. New equipment not imported through the 'official' channel.

So you can buy a new, gray market camera.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, q.g._de_bakker said:

Gray market =/= used. New equipment not imported through the 'official' channel.

So you can buy a new, gray market camera.

I meant between a USA new and Gray new I would buy the USA version. However in the case of the OP he can't find a new USA one so I would pick the new gray rather than the used USA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/22/2022 at 9:00 AM, NHSN said:

Could you send it to Canada or is that the same distributor?

I thought grey market meant that Nikon will not uphold the warranty. I have sent Nikon equipment for repairs for years and they never asked me whether it was grey market or not. Not sure what the policy is now however ? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/24/2022 at 9:12 PM, hjoseph7 said:

I thought grey market meant that Nikon will not uphold the warranty. I have sent Nikon equipment for repairs for years and they never asked me whether it was grey market or not. Not sure what the policy is now however ? 

Do you have grey market Nikon's? Nikon never asked if it's greay market and even if you give them the serial number and ask them if it's grey market they wouldn't know. However, after you sent it in they somehow know that it's grey market and refuse to fix it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, BeBu Lamar said:

Do you have grey market Nikon's? Nikon never asked if it's greay market and even if you give them the serial number and ask them if it's grey market they wouldn't know. However, after you sent it in they somehow know that it's grey market and refuse to fix it. 

Nikon knows where they originally sold the camera from its unique serial number.  So if they sold it to a Japanese dealer, and you're sending it from the USA for repair, they know it's gray and won't service it.   

 

When you buy a camera, make sure you get the original box that shows the camera is a USA sold unit and that the serial numbers on the box and camera match.  Don't accept a camera without the box with the seller telling you it's not gray.  Get the box or at least the portion of it that shows it's a USA non gray unit.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, AlanKlein said:

When you buy a camera, make sure you get the original box that shows the camera is a USA sold unit and that the serial numbers on the box and camera match.  Don't accept a camera without the box with the seller telling you it's not gray.  Get the box or at least the portion of it that shows it's a USA non gray unit. 

Is that true? The BOX really?  That's just dumb.

Surely, the ONLY thing that matters is the Camera's Serial number.... on the camera! Not everyone keeps the box!

Edited by mike_halliwell
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mike_halliwell said:

Is that true? The BOX really?  That's just dumb.

Surely, the ONLY thing that matters is the Camera's Serial number.... on the camera! Not everyone keeps the box!

The box holds more information about the camera and whether it passed through the 'official' channels than the camera. So yes: really.

A camera's serial number tells you no more than what its number is. Unless you have access to resources that links the number to other info. One such resource is, uhm..., the box it came in. So yes: really.

Above the GTIN barcode, it will say "US" if the item in the box is an official U.S. of A. import.

 

And indeed: do make sure, though, that a box is the box belonging to the camera, with the camera's serial number on it.

Edited by q.g._de_bakker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...