Alternative Nikon Repair Facilities, to Nikon USA (I am now paranoid)

[cd thacker]

We the people <i>are</i> - they're buying Canon.

[mskovacs]

If I send a fax to Nikon Canada, I can get a free estimate for any Nikon camera part I want including the part number. Pretty much any repair shop should be able to handle a film camera, although its possible that the F5 may need some computer diagnostic equipment in some cases that Nikon may or may not sell to independents (if so big $$$$).

 

<p>Call Nikon, give them the serial and they can tell you if its Nikon USA or not. Honestly though, with their flat rate repair costs being so high, its gotta be pretty major for Nikon to be the cheapest! There are many independents that can do as good or better a job than Nikon (<a href="http://www.winballcamera.com/">Winball Camera</a> in Toronto for example).

[ShunCheung]

In the US, Mamiya is a trademark for Mamiya USA. It is illegal for anybody else to import anything with the Mamiya logo into the US, but somehow it is ok for tourists to bring one item each in at a time. I am no legal expert in this, so don't ask me for the details.

 

As a result, there are no new gray-market Mamiya cameras at the camera stores, but Mamiya USA prices are sky high, roughly twice as the corresponding prices in Asia. So what do the consumers do? They mail order directly from Asia, Europe (where Mamiya prices are still much lower than those in the US), etc. Or people just bring them in as tourists and re-sell them at places such as E-Bay.

 

If Nikon can somehow ban the import of grey-market Nikon products, Nikon will be like Mamiya now. And I don't think the sky-high Mamiya USA prices are "good" for us consumers. In fact, that was one of the main reasons that I chose Contax instead of Mamiya for my medium format needs.

 

As long as there is a price differential among different areas/countries, people will find a way to take advantage of the lower price elsewhere, and there will be grey market. Lots of Europeans buy Nikons in the US to take advantage of the lower US prices too. When I lived near New York, for several years I used to visit B&H every month. They are jam packed with European tourists speaking everything but English.

[mskovacs]

For the record (I guess the other thread was deleted???), I think its a highly unscrupulous practice to refuse paid repairs outside of warranty. Nikon USA should be happy to getting paid for warranty service on a body that they would have had to repair under warranty! I'll bet the profit margins on a single repair equal several F5 sales...

 

I've converted the official warranty policy to acrobat format if anyone wants to host it.

 

I had an F3 repaired/overhauled by Nikon Canada that I bought from an Ebay auction in Toronto. I have no idea where the camera originated from but its from the early '80s. Every other repair I've used independents just because it didn't make sense to use Nikon. (MF lenses)

[constance_cook]

I just checked both of my F5s. Neither has a US stamped on it. One was bought new here in Chicago when they first came out and the second is a Nikon refurb. There is a circular stamp in the metal after the number but that may be on all of them.

 

FWIW, salesmen in Japan are shocked to learn that Nikon USA won't repair Nikon's bought elsewhere. They always proudly hand me the "International Warranty" and tell me that if ever needs service Nikon will fix it. Then I tell them the truth about Nikon USA and they are very surprised and tell me stories of Nikon equipment from other countries that is readily repaired. So the "lack of fix" is in for the US but not the rest of the world.

 

The only time I had a problem with something I had bought in Japan, I returned it to Japan. Postage, insurance and all was cheaper than Nikon USA. And I got it back much faster. I haven't sent a Nikon to a Nikon center in years. I just run them up to NCS, whose owner used to be part of the Nikon center there before they closed it and he has it back in no time at a reasonable price.

 

Conni

[jbq]

Does anybody know how that works in the other direction? Will Nikon France repair Nikon USA products? I'd like to by an N75 as a Christmas present for my father as a replacement for his F501 (N2020). Will he be able to get it repaired in France if something goes wrong?

 

Similarly, I may buy a D100 soon to add to my family of 3 Nikon bodies. In 18 months I'll most probably have to move back to Europe. Will I be able to have my D100 serviced there?

 

Anybody know about Canon? (I'd consider a 10D but the price difference between Nikon's 18-35 and Canon's 17-40 plus the cost of replacing my existing Nikon glass with Canon glass tells me that a Digital Rebel may be more in my price range and I don't like the feel of the Rebel).

[Jim_Tardio]

There's a ton of mis-information in this thread. Just call 1-800 645-6687 (1 800 Nikon-US). They'll be happy to tell you their policies.

[ilkka_nissila]

Nikon USA will repair stuff bought in another country, as long as you can prove that you bought it from an authorized dealer abroad. Original warranty card + receipt. I don't know how one would do with a second hand item, sounds like that could be troublesome. I guess they want to kill the 2nd hand market.

 

I've never heard of anyone having problems getting Nikon stuff bought in the US repaired in Europe. Never tried though.

[ShunCheung]

Even though Nikon USA and Nikon Canada wouldn't fix certain cameras, there are other avenues to get your grey-market cameras fixed. B&H, etc. use Mack to provide warranty service for their huge grey-market sales. Conni and Alex have mentioned NCS?? in Choicao, just to name a couple. The good news about Nikon is that in the 26 years I have used Nikon cameras, only a few items have ever require repairs. The bad news is that Nikon USA charges a lot for some simple repairs. Therefore, there is incentive to find alternatives anyway.

 

Conni, since you have actual experience sending stuffs to Nikon Japan for repair, could you provide this forum some details, such as where you sent the item to, how they charge for the service, how to inquire, etc.? This kind of info should ease some of the concern here. I really don't believe that any broken grey-market Nikon items will automatically become paperweights. The real problem is that the repair cost is usually so high that a less expensive item is ferquently not worth fixing, but that is a separate issue.

[constance_cook]

Shun:

 

NCS Camera Service is a repair facility in Morton Grove, IL. The owner worked for the Nikon Service Center on Dempster AV. When Nikon operated it. He and another former employee bought it when Nikon decided to reduce the number of repair facilities. They then split from each other and started separate establishments, so both are still in Morton Grove. NCS is owned by a Korean who (it appears to me) has all Koreans (or at least Asians) working in repair. The prices on repair are very good and the turnaround time boggles if you're used to Nikon. I have helped several photo.netters arrange to use this company and all have been pleased.

 

NCS Camera Service

8728 Ferris Av

Morton Grove, IL 60053

(847)470-2430

 

Be aware that they are not native English speakers and depending on who you get, you may need to be a bit patient with language.

 

I refer to them as "the Nikon repairing, chain-smoking Koreans who can fix almost anything fast." They fix other cameras as well.

 

I do not represent them. I just have been so satisfied with their service and prices that I recommend them regularly and feel confident doing so.

 

An example was 9/02 I took my original F5 to them for a CLA because I was getting a bit of shedding that drove me crazy. I took it up and they asked if anything was wrong with it and I told them no. Several years before I took a fall down the side of a mountain in the Japanese Alps and the F5 flew over my head. It got a thumb-sized dent in the DP30. I took it in to another repair facility in the area and they tested the shutter and said it was fine. But as time went on, I got more unsharp photos and thought it was my fault because I have a bit of family inherited tremor. The next day after I took the F5 to NCS, he called and asked if I knew that the shutter was "off" considerably and did I want it repaired. I said yes and got a new estimate. When I got the camera back, it was like new and no more unsharp photos. He also removed the thumb-sized dent from the DP30 and if you didn't know it was there, you would never find it. The first place I went didn't know about the self-healing shutter on the F5 and so didn't know that it would keep compensating with more difficulty as time went on. When I told them about it later, they admitted they didn't know about that.

 

They also put back together a Tokina zoom that one of my student's husband dropped out of his state police car. It is as good as it ever was and they had it back in a week.

 

Now, about sending Nikons to Japan, I will have to do some digging here because it has been awhile since I did that and I can't find the info I need to give you. I will get on it tomorrow and get back to the forum to let you know.

 

If you need more help, I can do that for you. NCS doesn't do e-mail so if you know what you need done and don't want to make a long distance call, you can e-mail me the information and I will call them and get a quote for you, if you need for me to do that.

 

Conni

[ShunCheung]

Thanks Conni.

<P>

Here is some additional info from Conni via private e-mail on sending Nikon products to Japan for repair:

<P>

Nikon Service

<BR>

104-0061

<BR>

Crest Bld. 2nd Floor, 5-11-4 Ginza

<BR>

Chuo-ko Tokyo Japan

<P>

tel: 011-813-3248-3780 (from the US)

<BR>

fax: 011-813-3248-3781

<P>

And according to Conni: "<I>If you call, don't expect someone to speak English with you right away or possibly at all. You must send a copy of the Nikon registration form and/or you Nikon International warranty. They accept Visa and Mastercard.</I>"

<P>

So there are alternatives to Nikon USA even though they won't repair your grey-market items. Some of us might prefer these alternatives anyway since Nikon USA charges a lot for repairs.

[scott_warn]

I don't blame you, this is about the dumbest policy that I have ever seen. I can understand why Nikon would not service a gray market camera under warranty, but to refuse to service it for a fee is stupid. Of course, I do think that the management at Nikon has been living on a diet of stupid pills lately, the APS cameras are a good example of a stupid decision. What about all the people who move to this country from Europe or Japan and bring their cameras with them? They have set things up so that if you were to buy a used camera from a Nikon Japan employee in this country you could never get it serviced. Thank heavens that some of the former service centers are now independent, it does give us one venue for repairs. It's just another example where greed outweighs common sense. Come on, Nikon recieves money for every camera sold and if they really wanted to stop gray market sales all they have to do is stop selling the cameras to the importers who are doing this.

 

Imagine how many cars GM would sell if they refused to service any model sold in Canada? Not very many and I suspect the government would step in with some restraint of trade citations. Maybe we should start writing our congressman (tongue in cheek sarcasm because it would not do a thing).

[ShunCheung]

I can easily see why Nikon USA doesn't want to fix grey-market cameras sold in the US, even for a fee. That is probably their best weapon to discourage people from buying grey-market products, which is hurting Nikon USA big time. I do feel that grey-market products are unfair to Nikon USA, which has to pay for all the advertisting and promotion while someone else avoids those expenses and gets a free ride to sell the same products at a lower cost. Meanwhile, some of Nikon USA's prices are really high. In a way it is good to have competitions from grey-market products and other brands such as Canon to keep them in check.

 

I still don't know as a fact that Nikon USA wouldn't fix any Nikon products purchased outside of the US with an international warranty. Based on the info Ilkka provides from Europe and what I have seen with Nikon products purchased in Asia, Nikon USA is supposed to fix those products. They are not "grey market" since they are imported and sold in the respective countries via the official channels.

[Carl Stone]

"Imagine how many cars GM would sell if they refused to service any model sold in

Canada?"

 

Scott, try getting a Mercedes dealer to work on a grey market Benz. Not at any price!

See Shun's post for the reason. I like the choice of grey market or US equipment, and

the fact that I can buy either. I also know the risks, so I don't see why some are

freaking out over this. Companies are not responsible for bad choices made by

consumers.

[ilkka_nissila]

While it is true that in some cases (600 mm f/4) the gray market item is much cheaper than the Nikon USA version, we don't know how the USA version would be priced if the gray market didn't exist. Nikon USA might reduce prices due to larger volumes sold.

[ShunCheung]

Ilkka, we do know about Mamiya. See my previous post on the details. Since there is no gray-market Mamiya in the US, they manage to price everything sky high. At one point I was interested in the Mamiya 7 and made a comparison; prices in Hong Kong are, depending on the exact item (body, lens, etc.), 40% to 60% of the same item in the US.

 

If Nikon USA prices are just slighly higher than gray, I am willing to pay a bit more. But for some items the difference is crazy. We already discussed the 600mm/f4 AF-S II before. When I bought my 200mm/f4 AF-D macro a few years ago, the difference was like $1050 Gray and $1450 US. To me it was a very easy decision since there was no way I would pay an extra 40%, although that spread has narrowed since then.

 

When the D1x was still new a couple of years ago, it was in the high $4000 range. A friend of mine here in California found some seller in Japan thru E-Bay. He bought one directly from Japan for $3000+. The only problem was that the manuals were only in Japanese. Otherwise, everything was brand new and worked fine. He saved over $1000.

 

Whenever there is a price difference, there will be a way. It is just like a lot of people in the US are now buying drugs from Canada.

[roto]

Just to let you know: Nikon Switzerland repaired my 70-200/2.8 (bought in the States) under warranty withouth batting an eyelid, though they perfectly knew it was not an "official Swiss import". They didn't even asked me for the warranty card. Same story with my F5: I bought it used and they fixed it for free although the camera is 6+ years old. They even repaired things which, as far as I know, wouldn't have been covered by the warranty even if the camera had been new (e.g. they replaced the loose handle rubber cover and replaced the flash socket which I managed to dent - although very slightly and without compromising its functionality).

 

I am totally happy with the quality of Nikon's service in Switzerland.

 

On the other hand, I find the situation in the States very embarassing for Nikon. I believe Nikon Japan should really put a stop to this ridiculous discrimination between USA items and grey items. After all they are all Nikon products.

[ilkka_nissila]

Roberto, that's exactly the situation in Finland as well. I have never been asked to present a warranty card and even 5 year old equipment has been serviced free. I've been most impressed with them.

[aaron_ng]

Hi,

 

I'm in Australia and over here, Nikon's importer is Maxwell Optical. They are sort of like EPOI. I'll write about both warranty work and paid repairs.

 

Warranty:

I had a 105mm f/2.5 lens bought from Malaysia and I had to have it serviced for fluff in the lens. I did it twice over the 1 year warranty, the 2nd time in the 11th month of warranty. I use a local Nikon authorized service center (independant, but recognized by Maxwell/Nikon and is allowed to buy spares and equipment from Maxwell/Nikon) and know the owner quite well. The first service, all I had to give him was the International Warranty card, just to show that the warranty period was still valid. He told me that for repairs under warranty, all work gets sent to Maxwell. So off my lens went to Maxwell with the warranty card and it came back all fixed up with a service report. The 2nd time, it was the owner's assistant who handled it and he asked me for the purchase receipt as well just in case. So I gave him a copy and off it went to Maxwell again and it also got the service. Free of charge. For Maxwell Optical, they will honour warranty as long as it says on the card, "Nikon International Worldwide Warranty". Now, of course, Nikon USA has a different warranty card, am I right? I haven't tried to service a Nikon USA product yet (don't have one), but I think it's because the warranty card we get (in the rest of the world other than the US) with lenses and film SLRs say "International", and hence they have to honour it. Of course, now with the digital SLRs the warranty card is saying that it's only valid in the country it is distributed in.

 

Paid service:

Sent my Nikon F4 which was purchased 2nd hand in Australia, no questions asked. As long as you pay, it is fixed.

Sent my 80-200mm purchased 2nd hand in Hong Kong and they also got it fixed, no questions. As long as it was a paid service, no rejects unless there are no more spare parts available (like the Nikon F2, sob sob). If you brought in a spare parts body to cannibalize for your camera, no problem either.

 

I think it is Nikon USA's way of trying to "persuade" buyers to buy from them and not through imports. (They also want you to buy brand new, that's why the F80 and D100 can't meter with AIS, but that is a Nikon Japan strategy. Good thing they shaped up with the D2H). It is not a nice way to do things, AND I 100% DISAGREE WITH IT, but think again, if Nikon loses sales on the camera front, where will it get its revenue? From the low-margin flash memory industry? It's unfortunate, but until Nikon starts to diversify like what Cano* did, it has not much choice but to scrape as many sales as possible, otherwise it might sink ship.

 

Regards,

Aaron

[ilkka_nissila]

The Nikon USA warranty card includes the International Warranty, it's just the second page of the card or something.

[ShunCheung]

The different levels of services between Europe and US is not all that ridiculous. I just read a new UK photo magazine a couple of days ago. A lot of the prices in the UK are almost the same in numbers as those in the US, but the currency is Pounds in the UK and US$ in the US. In other words, things are like 1.7x more expensive in UK. If Nikon USA could charge that much more, I am sure they would privde much better services too.

 

If a lot of people in Switzerland bought their Nikon gear from either the US or Asia and then turn around and got the superior services in Nikon Switzerland (or whatever they are called), they would be in financial trouble in no time and would have to take "defensive meastures" just like Nikon USA.

[roto]

While I see your point (or Nikon USA's point, whatever), I can't really understand why Nikon USA won't repair a grey market item even if its owner is willing to pay for it.

 

Excuse me, but this is crazy! I can imagine several scenarios where this would lead to controversial situations. For example, if you bought a used item without knowing it was "grey" (there is no way to check). Another example: I have all the receipts and warranty cards of my cameras and lenses at home, in a box. Suppose I moved to the States and this box got lost (I moved 6 times in 3 countries in the last 10 years - something like that can really happen): Nikon would refuse to service my equipment, even though I bought everything from official distributors and I used to have all the right papers.

 

You can go on forever enumerating scenarios where Nikon USA doesn't gain anything and the client, instead, find himself in an unconfortable situation. Ok, you can always send your hardware to another repair shop, however (call me naive if you want) I would rather send my 500/4 (no, I don't have one: just think of an expensive lens) to Nikon rather than a generic repair shop.

 

Finally, while it is true that Nikon has got higher prices in Europe, this doesn't say much about their profit margins. For example, in Switzerland *EVERYTHING* is more expensive than in the States (sometimes much more so). Actually Nikon equipment is not so "more expensive" in comparison to, say, laptops, meat, restaurants, hotels, gas or houses. If you think how high the salaries (and the cost of life) are here, it is understandable that the price of an F5 is somewhat higher. This price differential has certainly other reasons: in the past, in the North American market there has been more competition than in the European, and foreign companies have been driving the prices of many items down in an attempt to penetrate the market. (I mean, how come a luxury Italian cars or clothes are cheaper in the States than in Italy?)

 

Comparing prices between two continents makes sense to a buyer, if he or she can buy in whichever of the two. But saying that Nikon prices in Europe are higher, therefore the service must be better is probably not completely correct if you do not consider the boundary conditions.

[constance_cook]

Obviously, Nikon Japan is hand-in-glove with Nikon USA or the US versions wouldn't have US stamped on them in the factory.

Conni

 

BTW - The two shops that have been mentioned in MOrton Grove are not generic. They are both still authorized Nikon repair shops.

[colin_galloway]

I'm coming rather late to this thread, but I have info that may be useful for anyone doing a keyword search. I live in Hong Kong and am thinking about buying a Nikon D100 and 12-24mm from a US source (no 12-24 lenses right now in HK and the D100 is cheaper in the US). After much misinformation, I have discovered that Nikon HK (aka Shriro) will not honour a Nikon USA warranty for a digital camera, though they will fix the camera for a fee. Film cameras and lenses are, however, repairable in HK under the Nikon USA warranty. My options on the D100 are either to send it back to the US for warranty repair or to buy a Mack warranty, which is apparently good internationally, though they have a poor reputation.

[scott_johnson17]

<p>Nikon will repair a grey market item but not under a warranty.</p>