Z9 ship date

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sh1209

sh1209

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I preordered the Z9 at two locations the day it was released. I realize by now we’ve been given 2-3 possible ship dates with nothing set in stone. For the life of me I don’t understand if Nikon has a stock of ready to go cameras, why don’t they give a date and stick to it. Perhaps the preorders exceeded their expectation and they’re trying to assemble more units. I called one of the places I preordered from yesterday and was told they don’t expect any will ship before 12/31. I called the other place earlier in the week and was told they really have no idea. No matter what the shipping circumstances or chip shortages, there is absolutely no reason not to give your customers a ship date. I am referring to Nikon, not the vendors. I am not a marketing expert but it shouldn’t be rocket science just to give a date of availability. I am not 100% sure I will even go through with the purchase at this point but the longer they string us alone is most likely going to create hesitancy in their customers. I have always been beyond loyal to Nikon because I’ve liked their products. This last year has really got me disgusted with them. From talking to these two vendors, I have no faith whatsoever these cameras will be available to anyone before the end of the year. Hopefully I’m wrong but time will tell.
 
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Being 'overwhelmed' by preorders, I guess they wanted to stock as much as possible so the delay for the first served and the next batch is shortened. Afaik Nikon never gave a solid date until they decided on the 24th (it was just "in 2021" then "December"). And while Nikon themselves can probably be certain that those who preordered directly to them will get a shipment on the said date, what happens with vendors is out of their control.
 
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We are talking here about uncertainties in the shipping date within a time frame of a few weeks at most. Assuming that Nikon was, in fact, overwhelmed with demand, why is that unforgiveable? Add to this the reality that NPS members will get the cameras first, like it or not, and that there are continuing complications associated with COVID and supply chain interruptions. I preordered well before the release date, but I don't anticipate getting the camera until sometime in January. For me, this is not a big deal; I guess for some other people it is.
 
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sh1209 said:
I preordered the Z9 at two locations the day it was released. I realize by now we’ve been given 2-3 possible ship dates with nothing set in stone. For the life of me I don’t understand if Nikon has a stock of ready to go cameras, why don’t they give a date and stick to it.
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How does anyone expect Nikon or its dealers to forecast demand and supply when customers "preorder" in multiple locations? I'm sure they are putting some sort of estimate on how many are actually "sold," maybe 30%?
 
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It took me a year to get a bicycle! Everytime I called it got pushed back so I gave up calling. Then they called me a month or two later that it was in but it was almost 1 full year.

Same everywhere, try and get a car or a house built or a washing machine. Times have changed. Hang in there it's gonna show up!
 
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as for "why", i think this is because they want to control the roll-out. waiting may be frustrating, but i think it behooves nikon to make sure each dealer gets at least a handful of cameras, so making sure they have sufficient stock in hand before they start is part of it. and i suspect if the roll-out happened before they had batteries and ftz2 adapters is also a consideration. and remember shipping is totally screwed right now, so you can't just ship something and count on it showing when the shipper says. i suspect while waiting "looks" bad, a bad roll-out would be a lot worse. and afaik, nikon has only said they'd start shipping this year. so if they make good on that, why worry?
 
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Nikon subsidiaries all answer to Nikon Corp. It's possible that many Z9's are sitting in warehouses waiting to be released. Nikon tends to like to release new products everywhere at the same time. It doesn't always happen that way, but they try. Let's look at the time of year in the USA. The USPS is starting it's busiest time of the year and all the delivery services are running flat out. Add the extra load of covid related remote buying and you have a system that is struggling. My dealer waits to get word from Nikon that they are shipping product. My conversation yesterday with them was that they will likely get a 2 day notice of how many units and a list of NPS reserves. From that, if there are any extras, they can start filling orders on their list. I've seen other companies announce a ship date only to change it 2 or 3 times. I won't die if I don't have a Z9 in my hands by 12/25/21.
 
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In a conversation with a rep this week, he stated they are still waiting on the remaining portion of the first shipment to arrive and once they are here they will send them all out. So sounds like they are in transit, but exact dates are uncertain. The first shipment won’t be able to cover all NPS orders. Most of us can expect to get the camera in January or later.

As others have mentioned, there are so many delays between shipping and manufacturing currently, employee shortages, and so many other things, we all need to be a little more understanding and patient now.
 
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I am by no means saying there’s not supply shortages, shipping delays and all that. I would say it’s safe to assume that Nikon had X amount of these bodies built even before the date of their official release. Having said that, they should have some type of forecast of what their monthly production will be. What I’m saying is what they have on hand regardless of where it is could be released. Even if there’s going to be a monumental delay in getting these out to vendors then I can or any other company for that matter should be able to put out an arbitrary date of expected shipments. One place I pre-ordered required no deposit and the other place I have paid the full $5700 which includes a body and a battery. Nobody made me do that, that was my choice but it’s still frustrating that there’s no forecast date of availability. Even if they came out today and said it would be June 1 that would still make me feel better but again we’re all different.
 
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and if you feel like i'm not empathetic about paying full price up-front, between the bbq and other outdoor furniture, i paid over $11k for that stuff back in march or april and i still don't have a solid eta. obviously that sucks, but the _ONLY_ thing that will change if i'm upset about it is that i make myself unhappy.
 
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John Navitsky said:
and if you feel like i'm not empathetic about paying, between the bbq and other outdoor furniture, i paid over $11k for that stuff back in march or april and i still don't have a solid eta. obviously that sucks, but the _ONLY_ thing that will change if i'm upset about it is that i make myself unhappy.
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So you’re honestly gonna sit here and tell me you didn’t get frustrated? Also where are you seeing this information that these are going to be shipped by the end of the year because I have not seen it anywhere?
 
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sh1209 said:
I am by no means saying there’s not supply shortages, shipping delays and all that. I would say it’s safe to assume that Nikon had X amount of these bodies built even before the date of their official release. Having said that, they should have some type of forecast of what their monthly production will be. What I’m saying is what they have on hand regardless of where it is could be released. Even if there’s going to be a monumental delay in getting these out to vendors then I can or any other company for that matter should be able to put out an arbitrary date of expected shipments. One place I pre-ordered required no deposit and the other place I have paid the full $5700 which includes a body and a battery. Nobody made me do that, that was my choice but it’s still frustrating that there’s no forecast date of availability. Even if they came out today and said it would be June 1 that would still make me feel better but again we’re all different.
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Sounded like before end of year for the first batch is still expected, second batch in January. I would like to have a date for mine too, as I want to sell my D500 but not too far before arrival. Unrelated, but of likely interest to you, but was also told a Zii firmware release is coming soon. Unfortunately, no details.
 
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sh1209 said:
So you’re honestly gonna sit here and tell me you didn’t get frustrated? Also where are you seeing this information that these are going to be shipped by the end of the year because I have not seen it anywhere?
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Nikon has issued a mail with the official "release" date. Release means it's officially possible to order instead of back ordering. No guarantees there will be enough items for everyone by the end of the year.
 
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sh1209 said:
So you’re honestly gonna sit here and tell me you didn’t get frustrated? Also where are you seeing this information that these are going to be shipped by the end of the year because I have not seen it anywhere?
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I certainly wish it was better, but, no, I'm not upset. It is what it is.

This is the only actual claim Nikon has made:

Screenshot 2021-12-16 092342.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.


I shortcut that to "start shipping by the end of the year".
 
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abc123brian said:
Sounded like before end of year for the first batch is still expected, second batch in January. I would like to have a date for mine too, as I want to sell my D500 but not too far before arrival. Unrelated, but of likely interest to you, but was also told a Zii firmware release is coming soon. Unfortunately, no details.
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The firmware for the generation two bodies is a whole other source of frustration for me. I have over 20k in Nikon gear and have shot with nothing else for the last 16 years. I am as pro Nikon as any person walking the earth and I think this post has been vastly misunderstood. All I am saying is I don’t care if they say March 1 June 1 May 1 or any month in between it’s just frustrating that there are no answers. Also like I said the other day, Nikon Never promised vast improvements in the generation two bodies so I guess that’s our fault for assuming that. It’s still frustrating and I think we all have the right to feel that way from time to time.
 
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sh1209 said:
The firmware for the generation two bodies is a whole other source of frustration for me. I have over 20k in Nikon gear and have shot with nothing else for the last 16 years. I am as pro Nikon as any person walking the earth and I think this post has been vastly misunderstood. All I am saying is I don’t care if they say March 1 June 1 May 1 or any month in between it’s just frustrating that there are no answers. Also like I said the other day, Nik I promised vast improvements in the generation two bodies so I guess that’s our fault for assuming that. It’s still frustrating and I think we all have the right to feel that way from time to time.
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Well honestly considering what Nikon did with the original Z6/7 bringing them almost on par with gen2, I assume they will issue great firmware updates for gen2 whenever they can/feel like it. My personal take on this is that they don't want to do it before the Z9 is in many hands so a too good Z7II doesn't steal the show/sales.
 
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