Buying D800E tomorrow. Refurbished or New Grey Market Import?

I need some advice, what should I do...I dont want to buy brand new @ $3399 and then add 300 tax, thats just too much right now, so here are my options.

I am going to purchase the D800E tomorrow or Monday, I have two choices refurbished or import/grey market brand new.

I talked to Nikon and greay market/import they say sometimes will flag when i try to register it, meaning no warranty. However the camera is new and SHOULD have zero issues. I mean my 7D never had a single issue in 2 years!

The refurbished camera doesnt have a 1 year warranty but a 90 day which would be enough to guarantee a left side focus repair if needed however during the refurbish process that might have happened already. Nikon customer support said that they dont do trade ins and that their refurbished cameras are "store display" models brought back to manufacturer specs and that they go by a strict set of rules.

When I asked could I tell the difference between New and Refurb and the representative said NO not on the outside....? Meaning that if the camera took 200 store photos and then got refurbed My camera would have a 200 shutter count? Do they reset the shutter count?

So here is my 2 options:

Refurb 90 day warranty = $2649.00

New POSSIBLY grey market = $3096.00

both of these prices are total with shipping and there is no tax.


What should I do?

There's a risk either way. Enquire with the grey importer about an international Mack warranty. Not sure how much weight they hold but it is a little peace of mind for only a few extra $'s.

I bought my D5100 as a grey import and haven't had a problem with it. I did get a Mack 3 year warranty with it but haven't had to use it yet so cannot speak for their reliability. I looked into user comments online before buying and it was pretty even between the people who were happy and those who were disappointed. As people are more inclined to complain than compliment I felt pretty comfortable proceeding.

http://www.mackcam.com

Personally, if I'm spending big money on a camera I want it to be a virgin camera, one that has never been touched before and not one that has been taught any bad habits. As for taxes, buy your camera from an out of state dealer and you'll not have to pay taxes on it.

Dave_W said:

Personally, if I'm spending big money on a camera I want it to be a virgin camera, one that has never been touched before and not one that has been taught any bad habits. As for taxes, buy your camera from an out of state dealer and you'll not have to pay taxes on it.

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I can agree. However I cant find an out of state dealer who has the D800E for 3k, they are all 3300. I found a few stores locally, and one out of state that has the D800E for 3096.00

Looks like you are going to be using it for work, I would get a brand new one or the refurbished, if you pay with certain credit cards you get a year's warranty from the CC company.

I'm with Dave on this...Grey $300 saving, not worth the risk without warranty...You could get rid of $300 real quick..

Sambr said:

Looks like you are going to be using it for work, I would get a brand new one or the refurbished, if you pay with certain credit cards you get a year's warranty from the CC company.

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So are you saying you would go refurbished over grey market new?

pedroj said:

I'm with Dave on this...Grey $300 saving, not worth the risk without warranty...You could get rid of $300 real quick..

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I agree. However my budget right now cant stretch to 3300.00

Faymus Media said:

I agree. However my budget right now cant stretch to 3300.00

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Think of the addition $300 as an insurance policy against potential trouble along the way. I mean, it's only $300, if you can't get it now, put the entire purchase on a card and pay the remaining $300 next month. When you're spending as much as you are, you should protect yourself as best as you can. And like the old adage - "In for a penny, in for a pound"

Yes I would go refurbished over grey market and pay with my MC and get an additional year of warranty from them.

Dave_W said:

Think of the addition $300 as an insurance policy against potential trouble along the way. I mean, it's only $300, if you can't get it now, put the entire purchase on a card and pay the remaining $300 next month. When you're spending as much as you are, you should protect yourself as best as you can. And like the old adage - "In for a penny, in for a pound"

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i agree, adding more to credit is not an option at this point tho.

Sambr said:

Yes I would go refurbished over grey market and pay with my MC and get an additional year of warranty from them.

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ok. yea the 90 day warranty isnt that bad. I just gotta make a sure decision.


The new D800E i am looking at is from "Abes of Maine" are they legit?

For a couple hundred bucks it's probably not worth it going grey. In Australia, we get stitched up when going through legit suppliers. For example:

D800
Genuine Nikon supplier = $3400
Grey import =$2425

D800E
Genuine Nikon supplier = $3800
Grey import =$2898

Hard to go past those prices.

Think of it this way, if a referb'ed camera was as good or even better than a new camera, why only warranty it for 90 days? Why not give it a year warranty, too? Take the example of a car that turns out to be a proverbial "lemon", would you expect one trip to the mechanic to fix all its ills? And like a lemon car, when you're buying a referb you don't know whether you're buying a lemon or if you're getting a diamond in the rough. But one thing you do know is that Nikon is betting on it being a lemon more than they're betting on it being a diamond.

Dave_W said:

Think of it this way, if a referb'ed camera was as good or even better than a new camera, why only warranty it for 90 days? Why not give it a year warranty, too? Take the example of a car that turns out to be a proverbial "lemon", would you expect one trip to the mechanic to fix all its ills? And like a lemon car, when you're buying a referb you don't know whether you're buying a lemon or if you're getting a diamond in the rough. But one thing you do know is that Nikon is betting on it being a lemon more than they're betting on it being a diamond.

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well said. lol

Dave_W said:

Think of it this way, if a referb'ed camera was as good or even better than a new camera, why only warranty it for 90 days? Why not give it a year warranty, too? Take the example of a car that turns out to be a proverbial "lemon", would you expect one trip to the mechanic to fix all its ills? And like a lemon car, when you're buying a referb you don't know whether you're buying a lemon or if you're getting a diamond in the rough. But one thing you do know is that Nikon is betting on it being a lemon more than they're betting on it being a diamond.

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At least you get 90 days with it. Grey market - zilch, nothing, - brand new is the answer if he could swing it.

Faymus Media said:

So are you saying you would go refurbished over grey market new?



I agree. However my budget right now cant stretch to 3300.00

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...

If you can't afford $3300 now you can't afford a repair bill either...

pedroj said:

...

If you can't afford $3300 now you can't afford a repair bill either...

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Agreed! lol

Abes of maine just message me on ebay and said their D800E for 3096 is a USA model and that shipping is free. Can i trust this? What can i do to investigate?

I looked at grey market for D7000, for the £30 difference on the body or bundle (with lenses I didn't really want) a £70 saving I decided not to bother, holding on another month or two to get exactly what I want the proper way for that piece of mind. I see there is a greater saving for you with the D800, but I'd definitley buy a completely kosher & New on such a prestigious camera.

Best of luck on whatever you decide .

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

I was thinking about trying hard to buy new, if I can make it happen how is "crutchfield"?

They won't charge me tax cause they are in virginia.

nikon website lists them as authorized. Are they good people over there?

I just bought an refurb'd 800 from Adorama. Hate the shipping, love the savings. I signed up for their VIP club and received an additional 12 months of warranty for $7.95. So that's a total of 15 months warranty. Here's a link to their refurb'd 800E ($2,700) and VIP information.



Refurbished Nikon D800E Digital SLR Camera Body - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A. 25498 B

Adorama VIP - It's all about you!


For more Gray Market info, check out http://nikonites.com/other-photography-equipment/10001-if-you-buy-adorama-read.html