Nikon - Beware of Nikon

[Mark Senn]

Beware - Nikon will not repair and stand behind their products. We purchased a new Nikon which they have now labeled "gray market" and although they admit that it is their product, they have refused to repair it saying that it was not intended to be sold on the American market. Go figure. What a poor way to treat a customer. My family will never by Nikon products again.

[Hards80]

actually this should read beware of gray market products. many company's policies are similar to nikon in this respect. there are a few companies that will honor warranty internationally, but most will not. therefore it is always a good idea to make sure you are buying a 100% US product from a reputable dealer such as a local dealer or a well respected internet dealer like Adoramn, B&H, Amazon, etc.

[andygimma]

mark,
not sure where you purchased your item.
i've been using b&h photo.
they are very specific on warranties.
imported items can be a bit less expensive and at
least on lenses b&h carries the warranty.
my view is paying a bit more for a usa item is worth the money.
good luck.
andy

[TCav]

Nikon USA has exclusive rights to sell Nikon products in this country, and are within their rights to refuse to repair Nikon products intended for sale in other countries. If you wnat it repaired, send it back to the store you bought it from, and I'm sure the local Nikon repair depot in that country will repair it for you.

[Old Boat Guy]

"If you want it repaired, send it back to the store you bought it from, and I'm sure the local Nikon repair depot in that country will repair it for you."

That said it all.

I bought a gray market Sony and while Sony Style USA did sell me an extended warranty my first year is in the country of origin (in my case that is England).

Check with your seller. Even the REPUTABLE eBay outlets have return policies. It might require shipping to a foreign country but it can be repaired under warranty.

I do not want to test this but the nice lady at Sony USA told me that should I need repair that Sony England would be on the hook for the shipping both ways. (she also provided direct contact information for England)

I wish you good luck having your camera repaired but do not be quite so quick to nuke Nikon as it sounds as if they are telling you the same thing I was told by Sony

Steve

[corkpix]

Originally Posted by Old Boat Guy

I wish you good luck having your camera repaired but do not be quite so quick to nuke Nikon as it sounds as if they are telling you the same thing I was told by Sony

Steve

Canon have a similar policy. I think Olympus are one of the
few manufacturers who offer an international warranty on
cameras.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_se...ranty_home.asp

[camvard]

Originally Posted by Mark Senn

Beware - Nikon will not repair and stand behind their products. We purchased a new Nikon which they have now labeled "gray market" and although they admit that it is their product, they have refused to repair it saying that it was not intended to be sold on the American market. Go figure. What a poor way to treat a customer. My family will never by Nikon products again.

You can't really blame Nikon in your country for not wanting to repair something they didn't sell you. The Nikon you should be contacting is the Nikon office in the country you bought it from. Remember, different countries can have things like different electrical output, etc.

IMHO, you only have yourself to blame in this case.

[ac.smith]

A little history. The founders that created Nikon USA invested a lot of their own money, time, effort into creating the reputation Nikon enjoys today as a professional tool. That wasn't just advertising, it included was creating repair facilities, parts warehouses, distribution chains to meet the needs of the likes of National Geographic, Associated Press, the photographers that took assignments from them, and the miriade of dealers that sold the products where nothing had existed before. Their return on investment is exclusivity.

A. C.

[rjseeney]

Originally Posted by Mark Senn

Beware - Nikon will not repair and stand behind their products. We purchased a new Nikon which they have now labeled "gray market" and although they admit that it is their product, they have refused to repair it saying that it was not intended to be sold on the American market. Go figure. What a poor way to treat a customer. My family will never by Nikon products again.

Suppose you are a seller of widgets. You buy your widget legitimately directly from the widget company. Now you've got a competitor that buys his widgets in a foreign country where exchange rates with the yen are more favorable, and can thus buy his widgets cheaper, and sell them cheaper than you can. Then you would complain about the widget company not protecting it's exclusive US distributors. This is basically what Nikon is doing. Protecting the profits of their distributors. Most every camera company has the same policy.

[musket]

More on wikipedia 'grey market or gray market goods'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market