Why promote Grey Market deals?

stephens7

Maybe it's me but I fail to understand the promotion of grey market Nikon deals on this and many other sites.

Sure, one might save a couple of hundred bucks but the the fact is Nikon USA will NEVER fix a Grey item regardless of whether it's a warranty or a non-warranty PAID repair.

They will flat out refuse and send the item back-It's their corporate policy.

Moreover, they are restricting the supply of parts to 3rd party repair stations so if you do send it to another repair place it might sit there for a long time until they source the parts overseas.

So, what, in the end does one save by buying grey???

BTW- I am an independent photographer, long time Nikon user and I have no affiliation with Nikon.

In fact, I disagree with their policy, but it is what it is.

Caveat Emptor

spraynpray

I guess the temptation is there for those of us with champagne taste but beer budgets!

I do feel sorry for those who have no idea what they are buying and get stuffed by a bad dealer though as happened to a new member of this forum recently. One could always trot out the standard comments like 'caveat emptor' or 'if it looks to good to be true it probably is', but innocent, naive people are regularly caught and that is bad.

donaldejose

I agree. Stop promoting grey market deals on the main blog.

tcole1983

I haven't ever thought about grey market...I do love refurbished though! I however go through great length including calling people to make sure I am buying what I think I am buying.

Ironheart

In many countries, grey market goods are serviced locally through Nikon. There is no warranty, but you can pay the going rate to get service. Many folks, especially working pros, do the math and realize that the gamble is worth it. I believe that Nikon USA is the outlier here. Even then, you can send the equipment back to the seller, and they will send it to the regional service center that will work on the equipment. Reputable resellers that do gray market, like Adorama or some of the Hong Kong folks, will handle this seamlessly on behalf of the customer, and typically offer a 1-year warranty through their own service department.

Wesley

I am wondering about the USA Ebay sellers that sell new import models lower than retail price. 1yr USA seller warranty with the option to get Squaretrade for many of them. These would be grey market, yes?

donaldejose

Ok. I would buy greymarket if I knew I could get it serviced.

Ironheart

I am wondering about the USA Ebay sellers that sell new import models lower than retail price. 1yr USA seller warranty with the option to get Squaretrade for many of them. These would be grey market, yes?

Yes, the seller's warranty indicates these are grey market goods. Otherwise it would be a manufacturers warranty. Squaretrade is more for drops and spills. The seller will take your product and ship it back to the country of origin for service on your behalf.

stephens7

Right, I am talking USA here. Do you really want to be without your working tool for weeks or more while some vendor ships it back to god knows where?
All for the sake of saving a couple hundred bucks?

Myself, I often buy low-use USA goods and take the risk that if something goes wrong I can still have it fixed by Nikon who have the best techs and parts. I just dropped my D4s and 14-24, hard and though expensive, got both back looking like new in less than a week through NPS.

I disagree with their policy and strongly believe they should at the very least repair ANY Nikon product, for a fee, regardless of the source. But, they do not.

Paperman

The savings are not a couple of hundred dollars. We saw gray market D800s for $2100-2200 when the retail price was $3000. I will agree anything below 25% is not worth it.

There are camera repair shops in every major city that can service gray market cameras a lot faster than Nikon at a cost. Plus there is the shop warranty. And needless to say some of us here ( not me ) find dealing with Nikon Service a bit painful.

And I have never heard of anyone that had to throw his gray market Nikon into garbage because he could not get service.

donaldejose

But I thought Nikon just said (at least in the US) it would not sell parts to independent repair shops anymore. So how can they repair a grey market camera if they cannot get the parts to do so?

Wesley

If you are in the US, I don't find it worth to buy gray because of crippled third-party repair parts and complexity of digital cameras / modern lenses.

Paperman

@Donaldejose

One would think if gray market cameras exist, so should gray market parts

esquilo

Not all your readers are americans. For me as a european, the american grey market deals is a very attractive way to get the same camera as I would get at home, but for a better price. As long as the yellow note is included, there is no problem with warranty or repairs.

It is also an important price indicator that tell me how much the camera actually costs without the retail overhead.

spraynpray

Although I think the Nikon USA position really stinks from our perspective, you have to see their point. I have only had one body fail during warranty which wasn't a really expensive fault (focus point wouldn't move) so If I had bought grey, I would be ahead. If everybody did that, there would be no Nikon USA at all and Nikon would hardly sell any products in the USA at all because it would be such a b*tch to get them serviced.

Paperman

Does anyone have sound information on source countries for gray market DSLRs ? There must be a few countries where Nikon is sold at least 35% below US retail to be able to allow traders these margins.

Unless of course, there is a story within a story and Nikon has a hidden strategy & supplies the traders themselves thru alternative channels. One can look at it as selling products cheaper without warranty/service for lower income levels. ( too much of a conspiracy theory? ? ) )

WestEndFoto

I think if you see it that much cheaper, Nikon is clearing excess inventory, though I am guessing. The way I look at is this. I have a $25,000 system (lenses, lights and other accessories to my lenses, such as a camera). I am not going to put that at risk to save 25% on a single component.

When the D820 comes out, I will buy that and use my D800 as a second body. Which will mitigate that risk somewhat.

niemeyjt

Does the policy of Nikon US mean that a European with a legitimate European camera that breaks it whilst on holiday in the US is refused a repair?

manhattanboy

I don't know if I agree with the don't buy gray market philosophy.
Would it be better to have an expensive older non-gray market camera or a newer, cheaper gray-market camera? I upgrade frequently enough and have enough cameras that if one of them dies I just pick up another.

Regardless, it is poor form for Nikon to not service for a fee gray market cameras. Why throw away a source of revenue... it seems to me that not making money by servicing these cameras is antithetical to the bottom line of a for-profit business. And then there are the first time buyers who are unaware and just see a special advertised online only to later find out about Nikon's nonsensical service policies when something goes wrong.

Ironheart

Does the policy of Nikon US mean that a European with a legitimate European camera that breaks it whilst on holiday in the US is refused a repair?

No. If you have your proof of purchase they will repair it. Also I should point out that Nikon USA will work on grey market gear, they are just not obligated to do it. There are plenty of examples of them "doing the right thing" there are just also plenty of examples of them not. Honesty seems to be the best policy as they can tell in a heartbeat what the origin of the gear is.

Beso

I find it interesting that the grey market exists at all given the product had to have come from Nikon, and presumably through a legal channel at some point. Either it is intentional although not acknowledged, or there are unscrupulous vendors who fail to adhere to Nikon policy. Either way it can have the effect of devaluing the product albeit at some risk.

Given the service/warranty problems expressed in this and other forums, and given the recent history of recalls and quality issues, it appears the risk associated with grey market gear is substantial. Discounted grey market gear may appeal to some but it is not for me.

Dominique_R

"Why promote Grey Market deals?"

Because they exist, and can be an excellent option (or the only option) for some.

I'm sorry to hear that Nikon USA will not repair such gear, and I wonder just how legal that position is. I know in Europe it's flat out illegal. You may have difficulties to obtain free repairs under warranty (although a few court cases have already decided that way, but it may take some time to get the message across), but if you're willing to pay, of course Nikon will fix it, grey market or not, and no questions asked.

I've acquired a couple of items that way and the few repairs I've requested over the past 5-6 years have been carried out without any problem.

I'm surprised consumer rights advocates in the US have not managed to obtain the same kind of case law.

Ironheart

"Why promote Grey Market deals?"

Because they exist, and can be an excellent option (or the only option) for some.

I'm sorry to hear that Nikon USA will not repair such gear, and I wonder just how legal that position is. I know in Europe it's flat out illegal. You may have difficulties to obtain free repairs under warranty (although a few court cases have already decided that way, but it may take some time to get the message across), but if you're willing to pay, of course Nikon will fix it, grey market or not, and no questions asked.

I've acquired a couple of items that way and the few repairs I've requested over the past 5-6 years have been carried out without any problem.

I'm surprised consumer rights advocates in the US have not managed to obtain the same kind of case law.

In the US, in the current lobbyistic, crony capitalism environment, the corporations have all the power, and the people are being ignored. I'm not surprised at all that the consumer rights advocates haven't been able to make the mighty corporations bend to their will. Essentially the law is on their side.

manhattanboy

In the US, in the current lobbyistic, crony capitalism environment, the corporations have all the power, and the people are being ignored. I'm not surprised at all that the consumer rights advocates haven't been able to make the mighty corporations bend to their will. Essentially the law is on their side.

^^ This is (sadly) spot on.

niemeyjt

And sadly TTIP is more likely to bring corporatism to Europe than liberalisation to the US.

safyre

So, what, in the end does one save by buying grey???

I saved over $600 dollars by buying a gray market D750 and I've used it for countless paying jobs without fail. Needless to say, I'd do it again and would recommend my friends do so as well. And if I did need to send it in for repair, I know of a a 3rd party repair shop that has the parts and can fix it.

So please stop spewing anti-gray market hate. It's obviously that you have no idea what you're talking about.