Nightmare with Nikon USA Store

schataut

I bought a refurbished Nikon D750 from www.nikonusa.com. Upon receiving the unit I noticed an unusual amount of shutter vibration, also known as “shutter shock”. Having another D750 with me I compared the two and found that my old D750 did not exhibit the issue. So I called Nikon on the 2nd day of receiving the camera.

Call #1 (9/14/2016): After describing the issues I was told that I needed to send it for service.

Out of curiosity I decided to check the shutter count on the camera and I was surprised to find out 47K+ actuations.

Call #2 (9/14/2016): I called back and mentioned that I wanted to exchange the camera instead of getting it repaired; however the representative told me that they cannot do an exchange.

Since I could not exchange the camera I decided to return it.

Call #3 (9/19/2016): I described my previous phone calls and indicated that I wanted to return the camera. I was not even done describing my situation when the representative interrupts me and tells me, in a very rude voice, that I cannot return an opened camera. With a defective camera on hand and a very rude Nikon representative I was quite angry at the way she was talking to me. After which there was a moment of unpleasant conversation. How am I supposed to find out about a faulty device without opening the box and on top of that it is a refurbished camera. Even the Nikon return policy states that:

“We offer refunds on most products purchased directly from us that are either defective or unused and unopened within 14 days of delivery. Read our Return Policy for more information.

After some discussion she told me that I have to go through a troubleshooting process before I can return it. Since I did not have the camera with me at that time I told her I will call back and hung up the phone.

Call #4 (9/20/2016): As any other call I describe my situation and again I get the same response saying that I cannot return the camera. Not wanting to get back into argument mode, I calmed myself down and told her about Nikon return policy that is published on their website. After some discussion she told me that because this purchase is over 1000 dollars the case needs to be escalated and that someone will call me back in 24-48 hours. Without having any choice I thanked her and waited for the call.

Call #5 (9/20/2016): After about 2 minutes I get a call back to go through the troubleshooting steps, which included: 1) Questions about what type of battery, lens and memory card I am using 2) Asked me to remove battery, lens and memory card 3) To put back the battery, lens and the memory card 4) Rest custom menu, shooting menu etc. Once we were done with the process she told me I will hear back within 24-48 hours.

I did not hear back from Nikon so decided to call them after the 48th hour.

Call #6 (9/22/2016): Same conversation as every other call. The representative tells em that she needs to forward the case to sales department and that someone will call me back within 24-48 hours.

Waiting starts again.

While I was in the process of filing a dispute with my credit card company I received RMA for my return.

I have a lot of Nikon gear and I do like Nikon gear but I will NEVER EVER buy anything directly from Nikon. From my experience the sales practice were not very different from many scan photography stores our in Brooklyn. All I can say is think 10 times before you buy directly from Nikon.

Few weeks ago I bought another refurbished from Adorama and it does not have the "shutter shock" problem and has close to 2K actuations.

Rx4Photo

What a nightmare!!! YES, how would you know something's defective unless you open the box? Such an idiot policy. I did buy my D800 from Nikon USA store and admit that it's been a good ride so far. Sent it in for service twice and have paid nothing. So, it seems to me that their refurbished department might be set up to dump what they can. I would only buy refurbished from Adorama or B&H.

Ironheart

Actually my experience has been the exact opposite. My understanding is that much of what Adorama or B&H sell as refurb, is really open box that has been returned that they can't legally sell as new. OTOH, if Nikon sells refurb, it actually has been back through service and refurbished if necessary, either way you have a 90-day warranty to get it fixed. I think the OP happened to get the rare ones that slip through.
I agree it shouldn't have been a hassle to return it within the 2-week return period. I suppose doing just what he did, insisting upon a return, is the best course of action. Apparently Nikon did as well since they (eventually) issued the RMA.

Coastalconn

I personally buy my refurbs from Cameta as they extend the 90 day warranty to a full year. After 90 days, you ship it to Cameta and they bring it next door to Nikon for service. Customer service is a pleasure to work with and no sales tax outside of NY... Because of my past great experience with them, I ordered my D500 through them and it came with a dead charger.. One quick phone call and they shipped me a new one with no issues.. Hard to find good customer service these days... Sorry you had to go through all that..

framer

That's just plain wrong not to be able to return a used camera. Yes, it was a used camera, all refurbs are used. I've bought many a used camera and could always return for any reason for 7 days or I would not buy them. So for just a few $ more you could have bought a new camera with a years warrantee and been able to return it. Sounds like a bad deal Nikon. I'd considered a refurb on occasion but am glad I've bought new or used considering your experience.

framer

schataut

framer said:

That's just plain wrong not to be able to return a used camera. Yes, it was a used camera, all refurbs are used. I've bought many a used camera and could always return for any reason for 7 days or I would not buy them. So for just a few $ more you could have bought a new camera with a years warrantee and been able to return it. Sounds like a bad deal Nikon. I'd considered a refurb on occasion but am glad I've bought new or used considering your experience.

framer

True, I could have bought a new one for few hundred dollars but I have bought quite a few refurb items and never had a problem. So thought I'd put few hundred dollars to some other toys. It was shady on Nikon's part to treat a customer like that when a product is defective. Like somebody mentioned - may be its their refurbished department which is like that.

framer

Thanks for the post because most of us and myself included would have thought you could return it without a hassle.

I'd rather buy used with a 14 day unconditional return guarantee than a refurb that I'd own with issues.

framer

NSXTypeR

That sounds like a terrible experience. Different manufacturers are definitely less lenient with refurbished than others, Apple is quite lenient on refurbished.

Nikon... not so much I guess. Couple that with their terrible customer service and that is a recipe for disaster.

paulr

Plead the 9th Amendment

spraynpray

Nikon sell direct in the UK too (never used it, too expensive). Over here we have distance selling regulations that apply to everything you buy over the net and it trumps any companies 'policies' so you can return stuff.

MikeCTX

Long Post - from new member, hoping to see if anyone else has had an issue with the Nikon Store in the past 30-60 days.

Hello, new member here and just had one of the worst buying experiences ever with the Nikon Store. Not bashing Nikon, but there is something wrong at the Nikon Store(at least this time).

Here is the story - On Dec 26, saw that the Nikon Store had the D810 with 'End of Year' discount and decided to pull the trigger on a refurbished Nikon D810. First hint things were strange is got a call from someone about verifying that I placed the order on the 27th, but they did not leave a number so I called on the 28th to see what was needed. No one in Customer Service could tell me, other than they always verify each purchase. Well, they had not done this before. Never heard back from them and received email notice that the camera had shipped on the 29th. Money taken from PayPal.

Camera arrived on Jan 4, signature required no big deal - stayed home from work to sign for it. Opened the box and did not find a D810 (thought the box seemed really light), but instead there was a box with a D7200 in it (yeah I opened the box to verify that the camera was indeeda D7200 and it was). Looked at the shipping invoice and it had the wrong order number on it, but it had the correct SKU and description for a D810.

Called Nikon Store customer support and told them what happened and the guy goes 'OhNo' that's bad. He said he needed to escalate to someone higher up than he was and I said OK. The next person was really nice and apologized and said that the person that could help had gone home sick and someone would call me first thing the next morning. Hmmmm, next day Jan 5, no response after I was told someone would call, so I called again and was passed up the escalation ladder again and was told they needed the store manager wanted to know what happened and they needed to decide what to do next. No other follow-up.

I work in retail and e-commerce and know that this is a big issue (or should be) for them. Either they have a major inventory problem or someone is working around the system to pull this off. Today, Jan 6 - Inow updates and was promised a reply the day before and that did not happen. I then proceeded to dispute the charges on PayPal since I did not get the camera I ordered (and the price difference is pretty darn big). Finally got a email from someone and started messaging back a forth with one of the staff, first they need a photo of the box and the bottom of the camera to verify what I have told them is true. Next they tell me that they cannot send me the camera I ordered until they have their camera back (getting very unhappy at this point). They seemed to be much more concerned with getting their camera back than doing anything to make me happy

They did finally send me an RMA to send their camera back and said that they would refund my money once they have it and I could re-order the D810. So now they have my money and I have no camera. What really got me was the last communication I had with them the rep stated, and I quote, "I am very sorry for the inconveniences that you have experienced with this order and I am happy to assist you any way I can to be sure that you receive the correct camera that you intended to order. " - really, the camera I intended to order? I ordered the camera I intended to, but the Nikon Store could not ship it to me.

Thanks for reading if you have gotten this far. I still want the camera and the last person had tried to help. The D7200 is on it's way back to Nikon (I already have one), but really at my wits end on how a company this big and behave so poorly.

paulr

Any company is only has good as the staff it employs, The mystery is they still keep employing them

MikeCTX

So true, seems like training is needed.

WestEndFoto

Not sure I agree with that. Consistent staff issues are either a leadership problem or a conscious strategic decision. That goes right to the top.

PB_PM

Either someone entered the SKU into the computer wrong, or put the wrong label on the wrong product box. Simple enough error to make, if you aren't super familiar with said products, which I suspect the average warehouse worker might not be.

tc88

Those two models cost a difference of at least 1k. If the company lets an employee switches like that (intentionally or not), and there is no procedure in place to catch it, the company is totally screwed up. And as WestEndFoto said, this indicates problem at high level. If I were the owner of a company, I wouldn't tolerate such thing.

PB_PM

Until robots take over the warehouse, those mistakes will happen regardless of who is in management. No manager could possibly micromanage every employee every minute of every day.

AmericanLoonie

I've had plenty of experience with Nikon CS reps who simply did not understand the simple questions I was asking them. It reminds me of talking to terrible telecom service reps who have to double check every little thing on a computer because they simply don't have diverse knowledge of the products they sell. In the end I do my best to avoid Nikon entirely unless it is warranty related. Camera shops do a far better job in the customer service and sales departments...

paulr

Clearly Nikon representation varies with country, My dealings with Nikon Uk have been excellent. Only downside is in the UK is we have had our warranty reduced to 1 year from 2 which is frustrating in view of the cost factor in the UK.

decentrist

buying a refurbed D750 is asking for it no matter the seller.

decentrist

WestEndFoto said:

Not sure I agree with that. Consistent staff issues are either a leadership problem or a conscious strategic decision. That goes right to the top.

no, it's a wage issue...you are getting exactly what Nikon is paying for...nothing. Anyone doubting Nikon's lack of commitment for QC/customer service has been on thorazine the last few years and camera models.

spraynpray

decentrist said:

buying a refurbed D750 is asking for it no matter the seller.

Nobody is talking about a D750 above. What's your point? A refurbished D750 from Nikon will be fine - as good as any other refurbished product from them.

NSXTypeR

decentrist said:

buying a refurbed D750 is asking for it no matter the seller.

Depending on the seller, that might be true, but buying refurbished from the factory should not result in this fiasco.

Apple refurbished products are pretty solid deals if you want near new products, but obviously it depends on which product you're buying.

MikeCTX

I wanted to update this thread. After the incorrect camera made it's way back to the Nikon Store, monies were refunded. I wanted to give them one more chance (I know first time shame on them, second shame on me). Well, they honored the price I had originally paid and include one day overnight shipping. Have the camera in hand and as of now I am very pleased with the camera (which I thought I would be). The buying experience was terrible and let's say lesson learned. It would have to be some type of amazing deal for me to chance this experience again.

NSXTypeR

I'm glad they resolved this issue for you. Like others have said, the holiday rush caused a mixup with the serial numbers.

Took a while for them to fix it, but at least you didn't have to escalate it further to a small claims courts.