Do you own a grey market nikon dslr camera body?
- Thread starter Bill16
- Start date
Gray is the American English version of the English word Grey. Hope that helps!
Back on topic, my D810 and Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 are both Grey, and both come with a (non Nikon) 3 year warranty. I don't see the need to be ripped off just because of where i live.
Gray is the American English version of the English word Grey. Hope that helps!
Back on topic, my D810 and Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 are both Grey, and both come with a (non Nikon) 3 year warranty. I don't see the need to be ripped off just because of where i live.
Ripped off
Come on some one has to pay for luxury HQs,reps and cars,corporate days and the list goes on.
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My D7100 body and Tokina 11-16 are grey imports. They both were shipped to me directly from Hong Kong, but the sellers were reputable shops located in the UK, with their own warranty. For the camera body I got a 3-year warranty and from reading the reviews I know that the shop deals with these warranties well.
Just wanted to add one more thing. Whether these grey companies are good or not shows when something goes wrong. Here is my story.
The shop I ordered the Tokina from sent me the wrong version of the lens in the first place (DX, while I ordered DX II). They apologised and offered two solutions: either replace the lens (at no cost to me) or they give me a £50 discount. I went for the replacement. They arranged a courier to pick it up (in the evening at my request) and sent me a new one within a day (to a different address, for my convenience). I took a while for it to arrive, as it was from Hong Kong, but the communication with them was excellent and, in my opinion, they dealt with the issue very efficiently. I would definitely buy again from them.
The shop I ordered the Tokina from sent me the wrong version of the lens in the first place (DX, while I ordered DX II). They apologised and offered two solutions: either replace the lens (at no cost to me) or they give me a £50 discount. I went for the replacement. They arranged a courier to pick it up (in the evening at my request) and sent me a new one within a day (to a different address, for my convenience). I took a while for it to arrive, as it was from Hong Kong, but the communication with them was excellent and, in my opinion, they dealt with the issue very efficiently. I would definitely buy again from them.
My sigma lens was a grey market lens I bought, and apart from the length of time it took from order to delivery, I was very happy with the lens.
The D800 was a birthday present from my hubby. I gave him a list of cameras/shops and he went and bought... the dealer is a UK shop that sells grey market. I got a 3 year warranty with it.
Now I PREFER to go to the camera shops and buy from them, talk to the staff (our local one is very clued in on Nikon) and buy from them, but sometimes the price difference is just too much... I really dont understand why the price difference is so much, specially from one bricks and mortar shop to another... the only difference is UK or Grey
The D800 was a birthday present from my hubby. I gave him a list of cameras/shops and he went and bought... the dealer is a UK shop that sells grey market. I got a 3 year warranty with it.
Now I PREFER to go to the camera shops and buy from them, talk to the staff (our local one is very clued in on Nikon) and buy from them, but sometimes the price difference is just too much... I really dont understand why the price difference is so much, specially from one bricks and mortar shop to another... the only difference is UK or Grey
I did exactly the same thing with my D810 saved about £500 and got 3 year warranty.
Read more: http://nikonites.com/off-topic/3029...t-nikon-dslr-camera-body-3.html#ixzz3YmGH16xx
I also did the very same thing with my D7100, possibly from the same store. I will look to them for future purchases too.
RocketCowboy
Senior Member
Interesting perspective.
Part of why I haven't gone "gray" is because of the perceived impact on resell value if I decide to sell later. Even though the Nikon warranty is not transferrable, I had presumed that potential buyers would want to at least know that Nikon USA would service the camera if things went wrong. If potential buyers of used gear can't tell the difference between black and gray, that makes it even more confusing and potentially risky when buying used.
You can ask the seller but the only proof is the nikon warranty card which in the uk states Nikon uk,the V2 i just bought i paid half the UK price it was a European import and i registered it with nikon and got a letter saying it was covered for two years did i want to buy a third year.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
I've sold bodies and lenses both and I see private sales happen at work routinely. I've never had anyone ask me about the warranty nor have I heard it come up in conversation during private sales at work. People want a specific body, or a specific lens; they want it in good condition and at a good price.
Those of you who are under the impression a Nikon warranty is some kind of Gold Standard need to Google "nikon customer service review".
EDIT: On the upside, Nikon was willing to take and fix my grey market D750 of the infamous "flare issue" had I wanted to send it in. They had the serial number, both in email and over the phone, and I was told on two occasions it would be repaired at no charge. I never bothered sending it in because my D750 wasn't exhibiting the "problem" even though its serial number was on the hot-sheet, but, there ya go. Wanna give credit where credit is due and all that.
Those of you who are under the impression a Nikon warranty is some kind of Gold Standard need to Google "nikon customer service review".
EDIT: On the upside, Nikon was willing to take and fix my grey market D750 of the infamous "flare issue" had I wanted to send it in. They had the serial number, both in email and over the phone, and I was told on two occasions it would be repaired at no charge. I never bothered sending it in because my D750 wasn't exhibiting the "problem" even though its serial number was on the hot-sheet, but, there ya go. Wanna give credit where credit is due and all that.
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rocketman122
Senior Member
OTOH, you can buy a 3 or 5 year all risk warranty and pass that to the next seller which will give him peace of mind. id take a grey camera used with an all risk warranty anyday over a nikon USA camera where the warranty has expired. buying a camera thats been used for 2-3 years and have an all risk warranty that gives me peace of mind for any repair it might need goes a very long way in my book.
I only buy grey camera gear. D3/D3s both grey. both have had shutters replaced at over 600000 clicks. all had genuine nikon parts used. I saw the wrapping for the parts with the invoice of the parts.
nikon usa would like people to buy nikon usa and not grey. so they use scare tactics like you wont get warranty and u wont get service ever. and since no non authorized repair place is allowed parts you wont get it repaired should u need to.
now that is not true. there are many nikon authorized repair places that will repair grey market gear. they order any parts they need and repair "under the table" its money for them and they will do it no problem at all. grey market cameras come with the basic 1 yr warranty like nikon offers. but you get the repair from the store you sent it from. these retail stores have a list of repair labs they liek to work with on a regular basis. they send it to them, they order the parts and have it repaired. I always buy a mack vip diamond warranty so it doesnt matter whos repairing to me. they get genuine parts and have the repair done. I had a D3 and D3s complete shutter mechanism replaced. it would cost AT LEAST $400 just to do the shutter. the warranty costed less than $180. thats a hell of a deal for 3 years of full coverage. for me its only grey.
and like horoscope fish said, nikons service isnt a 5 star service.
Ditto that. I've sold on the Bay and to dealers, and never once has anyone asked about warranty's etc. The difference between me buying a new D810 here, or buying from HK (with a total UK spec) was £700. It was a no brainer
i went gray , the savings were too good , i got a d7100 , 55-300 and 18-55 kit lenses which are not as bad as most people say , i got them for 1280 australian when the retail for the 7100 was around 14-1500 body only
12 months warranty , the savings pretty much got me a tokina 11-16 or at least most of it
12 months warranty , the savings pretty much got me a tokina 11-16 or at least most of it
If I remember correctly, Nikon USA works different to the rest of Nikon.
If you buy a lens outside of the US, then Nikon USA will not service it under warranty, whereas if I was to buy a lens outside of the UK, Nikon in the UK will service under a wolrdwide warranty.
Nikon UK won't honour any warranty on bodies bought outside of the EU though, but I believe they will anything bought within the EU.
I originally bought my D5100 kit and 55-200mm at the same price from the US for what I would have here in the UK and only got a D3100.
I have family in the US that I could send my Nikon body to if it needed any form of repair and the return cost for p&p would have meant I could easily have sent it for 5+ repairs before I started losing any savings I'd made.
To this end, I'm waiting on the next trip to the US to get my hands on a D750 , a saving of around £350, though will have to see what saving I get closer to the time.
If you buy a lens outside of the US, then Nikon USA will not service it under warranty, whereas if I was to buy a lens outside of the UK, Nikon in the UK will service under a wolrdwide warranty.
Nikon UK won't honour any warranty on bodies bought outside of the EU though, but I believe they will anything bought within the EU.
I originally bought my D5100 kit and 55-200mm at the same price from the US for what I would have here in the UK and only got a D3100.
I have family in the US that I could send my Nikon body to if it needed any form of repair and the return cost for p&p would have meant I could easily have sent it for 5+ repairs before I started losing any savings I'd made.
To this end, I'm waiting on the next trip to the US to get my hands on a D750 , a saving of around £350, though will have to see what saving I get closer to the time.
RocketCowboy
Senior Member
That's the part I was missing ... the 3rd party warranty being transferrable. That makes all the difference and makes it worthwhile, in my opinion.
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
If it were me buying grey market, I wouldn't worry so much about the warranty from the USA, I'd worry more about getting the camera worked on later on down the road in the USA. Nikon USA says they won't work on a grey market camera in the USA, so who the heck is going to do the repair(s)?
next ****
next ****
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Any number of independent repair shops? Around here it's George's Camera but a new place just opened up that's a lot closer called Darkroom Photography (HA! Git it??) but I haven't used them. Repairing your camera is not really much different than getting your car repaired and I don't know but one person that takes their car to the dealership for repair work.
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
If it's that easy (notbut one tiny camera shop here in Raleigh), the by all means, buy grey. How about the indy's getting Nikon parts for grey? I've been under the impression you can't get the parts for grey? Sorry to be a pain, but covering the bases.