30% Lens Price Hike in Europe Rumour.

spraynpray

Really? If this rumour turns out to be fact, I just have to wonder if Nikon bV are trying to go out of business. They are just about to stop me buying any Nikon Europe lenses at all. There is a current thread about grey imports - if this price increase goes ahead, and considering the fact that Nikon lenses only have a one year guarantee, I don't feel I would actually be missing out on too much by buying grey.

Parke1953

If the Canon rumor is true, suing grey market vendors and they win, would Nikon follow and then their would be no grey market goods, could they then put any price they wanted and we would have no choice.

spraynpray

Yes, I am watching that situation with great interest.

Pistnbroke

Threaten a price rise ..cause a panic buying run then when the price goes up you can offer a discount EPLS

spraynpray

That occurred to me too, but it is a shabby tactic that Nikon Bv wouldn't be part of (I hope).

Ironheart

The headline is a bit misleading as there is only one lens that has a 29.4% increase. The average looks to be 10-12%

niemeyjt

As I recall, spraynpray, you are in UK - thus the 1 year Nikon warranty may not be that relevant.

Firstly your recourse is with the retailer not Nikon themselves.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states for the first 30 days you can just reject faulty items for a full refund. After 30 days, for the next 5 months, the retailer can have one shot at repairing the item. After that, if you can prove a manufacturing fault you can claim for up to 6 years.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

This might make an item, bought abroad, less attractive - although I guess a grey item bought from a UK retailer would be covered as above.

As for the Canon story - I recall a similar issue with Kubota tractors a few years back and Kubota US won - so the odds may be on Canon US's side:

http://www.kubota.com/priorproduct/GrayMarketFindOut.aspx

However, Kubota Europe were never able to achieve the same trick - so maybe in Canon Europe try it they too will fail?

Obviously tractors and cameras are not the same - but I offer it as a thought.

J

spraynpray

Hi @niemeyjt. I don't quite get the point of your post. I am in the UK, and of course you're right, we do only have a one year warranty and my point was that it isn't worth a lot as I haven't ever had a lens go bad in one year. The Americans apparently have a 5 year warranty - much more worthwhile and worth buying genuine locally distributed products to get.

In my experience here in the UK, I will never buy any Nikon product through a shop then, if it goes wrong, return it for repair to the shop. They will just package or repackage the item inadequately and send it off to Nikon just the same as I would have and it will be returned to them during which process I am out of the loop whereas I will either go over the top in packaging and ask Nikon to be certain to re-use my packaging to return it to me, or drop it in to the repair centre and collect it after repair. That takes a week to ten days whereas the same process through a grey import company is something you cannot be in any way sure of. It may be sent to the other side of the world in packaging that doesn't protect it well and for how long? Will the foreign repair centre understand and/or find the fault and how long will all this take? you could lose it for at least a month and have it returned no fault found, or other 'impact damage' done during transit so they want to charge for the repair or if it happens on the return journey, it comes back with a different problem. If the lens fails outside warranty it is chargeable anyway, so I would take it to Nikon UK and get it fixed and pay for it just the same.

Bodies are a different kettle of fish - I would always buy them locally.

niemeyjt

Sorry for not being clearer - whilst Nikon may only offer a '1 year warranty' this is overridden by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which allows you a longer period for a free repair, albeit via the retailer not direct with Nikon themselves - thus there can be a benefit buying from a UK-based retailer.

However if you are concerned that such a retailer won't do the repair properly for whatever reason, then you can of course pay Nikon UK for the repair.

spraynpray

AFAIK no dealers repair in warranty lenses, they only send them back to Nikon UK. I have experience of two large UK dealers, and they both send failed items back to Nikon.

michael66

Really? If this rumour turns out to be fact, I just have to wonder if Nikon bV are trying to go out of business.

This will certainly drive a lot more business to Tamron, Sigma, Tokina, etc. And those companies' offerings have already shown themselves to be as good as Nikon at substantially less than the Nikon countertop. I wonder what it will take for Tamron, et al. to produce camera bodies. Personally, I could care less if it says Nikon on the outside.

Besides, I have Tamron and Sigma repair facilities in my backyard, which already makes them quite attractive to me. Imagine being able to talk, in person, to the technician that did the actual work. Quite cool. Like the old days, when Nikon was right there in Manhattan.

kanuck

I wonder how much of this has to do with the continued depreciation of the Japanese Yen? I agree michael66 this will definitely be a big win situation for 3rd party makers and we have already been getting great stuff these past 3-4 years from them as it is.

niemeyjt

I think it is the Euro that is depreciating - the Yen is fairly stable.

Twelve months ago, a Euro bought over ¥148 but today it buys only ¥130 whereas twelve months ago a Pound bought ¥186 and today it buys ¥185 (and the dollar buys ¥123, up from ¥118) - (which raises the question of why British prices are being raised).

Having said that, Nikon's offshore production costs may have fluctuated which may have impacted their thinking.

With another recession round the corner, I do question their rationale.

PB_PM

It might seem strange, but that's the way things go. Currency fluctuations, changes in terrifies, increases in shipping and manufacturing costs all get dumped onto the customer. Doesn't make a lot of sense to jack up prices when sales are falling, but at the end of the day companies have to answer to shareholders. They have to try and maintain profit margins, or increase them, even if that means having fewer customers. The sad part is that it is a very short term vision, that may end up shooting them in the foot, but they have to keep those numbers up each quarter or lose value in shares.

haroldp

Customers always have a choice if you annoy them enough.

kanuck

I find it strange that the hike has been placed on older items as well as new releases though. The D810 will be 3 years old in the 2nd quarter of 2016. Customers certainly do have a choice now you are right haroldp....

PB_PM

While R&D may have long since been covered manufacturing a camera like the D810 in Japan is not inexpensive due to much higher wages than bodies made elsewhere. If anything the cost of making a D810 is more than when it came to market. It's not just Europe that has seen price hikes, I think it's affected most places, other than maybe the US. Nikon Canada for example has hiked prices twice in the last year, more than compensating for the fall in the dollar against the yen.

spraynpray

I have sympathy for manufacturers who are genuinely up against it for a number of possible reasons, but if it turns out to just be hiking prices to give a better ROI to investors, well, that is different.

paulr

Spraynpray. you state, I am in the UK, and of course you're right, we do only have a one year warranty"
This is what Nikon Uk state. However under EU regulations the buyer has a 2 year warranty if the product fails.maybe this is why Nikon offer a two year warranty if you register within 30 days. The strange part is that the buyer has only a contract with the Nikon selling dealer, not Nikon Uk and therefor the selling dealer is the one that would have to stand the cost., if Nikon UK refused the claim.

spraynpray

I forgot about the 2nd year if you register it within 30 days Paul. I thought that was bodies only but you're right. I did not know about the EU law thing? Is that general?

Regarding your other point, I would think that if Nikon refused the claim, then the dealer would too.

paulr

It applies to all 28 members states The dealer is bound by UK Law ,Sale of good act which in fact is longer than two years in the UK , on a sliding scale, with age which would effect a claim. Sadly, a lot of the times buyers accept initial negative responses and don't take on the dealers but when push comes to shove the dealer providing they are still business would lose the claim if it went to court. Few people want to take it that far though. I would, but have found from experience, the dealers never let it go that far and settle, and this applies to all products sold in the UK. Assuming the goods are faulty.

niemeyjt

I think you will find it is now the Consumer Rights Act 2015 - and it has various time limits and levels of proof up to six years from purchase - depending on the item in question and the nature of the fault.

kanuck

While R&D may have long since been covered manufacturing a camera like the D810 in Japan is not inexpensive due to much higher wages than bodies made elsewhere. If anything the cost of making a D810 is more than when it came to market. It's not just Europe that has seen price hikes, I think it's affected most places, other than maybe the US. Nikon Canada for example has hiked prices twice in the last year, more than compensating for the fall in the dollar against the yen.

I remember being quite disappointed when I heard that the D810 was made in Thailand instead of Japan like the D700. I have had very minor but annoying issues with the build quality on the D810 I have found too. Buttons sticking, battery door not opening occasionally. Again extremely minor, but after shooting my D700 for 4 years that little Japanese tank was indestructible compared to the D810.

R&D is a real killer for companies as everyone knows and it is why Nikon keeps putting their secret 2012 sauce into bodies these past 3-4 years. I am certain that these price hikes are just compensation for the volatile currency exchange rates as others have mentioned already.

Killerbob

Of course the price hike is crap for us living in Europe, but even with the increase, I still can buy Nikon gear significantly cheaper in Greenland (imported from Denmark) than anywhere else.

An example using the Nikon 85mm f/1.4;

BH in the US - USD 1.596,-
Photografica in DK - USD 1.760,- (after 10.24% increase)

However, I can import to Greenland without the DK VAT, and my price is USD 1.408,-

Sure there are some shipping costs involved, but there is as well if I buy from BH.

Maybe I should start my own Nikon gear import/export company...

As for the warranty, because I buy the gear in Denmark I get full warranty, irregardless of the fact that I live in Greenland, hence 2 years full warranty.

PB_PM

While R&D may have long since been covered manufacturing a camera like the D810 in Japan is not inexpensive due to much higher wages than bodies made elsewhere. If anything the cost of making a D810 is more than when it came to market. It's not just Europe that has seen price hikes, I think it's affected most places, other than maybe the US. Nikon Canada for example has hiked prices twice in the last year, more than compensating for the fall in the dollar against the yen.

I remember being quite disappointed when I heard that the D810 was made in Thailand instead of Japan like the D700. I have had very minor but annoying issues with the build quality on the D810 I have found too. Buttons sticking, battery door not opening occasionally. Again extremely minor, but after shooting my D700 for 4 years that little Japanese tank was indestructible compared to the D810.

R&D is a real killer for companies as everyone knows and it is why Nikon keeps putting their secret 2012 sauce into bodies these past 3-4 years. I am certain that these price hikes are just compensation for the volatile currency exchange rates as others have mentioned already.

Ah must have missed that. The D800/E was made in Japan, so I assumed the D810 is as well. The D800 had poor build quality compared to the D700, so it is not a surprise that the D810 follows in it's footsteps.