Dead hot shoe

Well, this is a new one. After 35 trouble-free years of Nikon ownership, my luck has apparently run out. Recently while shooting with my SB-900 mounted atop the D7200 I'd bought just three months before, I found myself unable to make the flash fire. There was no ready light in the viewfinder. After fidgeting with it for awhile and blaming myself for not being sufficiently familiar with a new piece of equipment, I eventually took the camera back to the store where I'd purchased it. They did some trouble-shooting by trying my flash on one of their cameras (same model), decided that I had a bad hot shoe, and sent the 7200 back to Nikon for repair or replacement under warranty.

This was one time I was glad I'd gone local rather than buying from Amazon.

That is strange... But you are right in that it makes a great point for supporting local brick and mortar stores when you have the option. Another reason I prefer B and H over Amazon. They have helped me the few times I have had issues.

My camera came back from Nikon on Friday afternoon, all fixed. One week, door-to-door...I can't complain about that.

The paperwork said (1) the hot shoe was repaired -- I don't know whether it was actually repaired or replaced -- (2) AF system was adjusted, and (3) camera was "cleaned and returned to factory specs." I'm not sure what they may have found wrong with the autofocus, but they did something with it.

My only minor gripe: Nikon hit me up for $20 (plus tax) for shipping.

Problem is there are very few camera stores left. My only options are: Amazon, Ebay or a 200 mile each way drive to a real store. There are mail order stores mostly in NY with good reputations but they are very similar to Amazon, many of them sell on Amazon