NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Purchase

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steigw

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I'm purchasing this lens for use on my Z9. Been wanting it for a while and was waiting for the sale. I noticed on the NikonUSA website, while they are offering $200 off, there are three retailers that are offering $300 off. I wouldn't mind saving an extra hundred, but have no experience with these retailers and have concerns that perhaps I'd get a floor demo model or an open box return that perhaps wouldn't be the same as getting an unused lens directly from Nikon.

Does anybody have experience in this area? The three retailers are Service Photo in Baltimore MD, The Camera Company in Madison WI, and Action Camera in Roseville, CA. I appreciate guidance and also if anybody has purchased from any of these retailers before.
 
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steigw said:
I'm purchasing this lens for use on my Z9. Been wanting it for a while and was waiting for the sale. I noticed on the NikonUSA website, while they are offering $200 off, there are three retailers that are offering $300 off. I wouldn't mind saving an extra hundred, but have no experience with these retailers and have concerns that perhaps I'd get a floor demo model or an open box return that perhaps wouldn't be the same as getting an unused lens directly from Nikon.

Does anybody have experience in this area? The three retailers are Service Photo in Baltimore MD, The Camera Company in Madison WI, and Action Camera in Roseville, CA. I appreciate guidance and also if anybody has purchased from any of these retailers before.
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Are they authorized Nikon dealers and is the lens covered by Nikon warranty? That's a deciding factor (either way).
 
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I got my mine via B&H.
Apply for Paboo card and save the amount the Tax is.
If you’re not approved immediately for the full amount, you can use 2 cards, Payboo and second card. You’re saving though.
 
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Nimi said:
Are they authorized Nikon dealers and is the lens covered by Nikon warranty? That's a deciding factor (either way).
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I believe they are authorized dealers as the link to their store is on the NikonUSA website. I'd need to confirm before purchase that I'd get a USA warranty. Good points, thanks.
 
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JoelKlein said:
I got my mine via B&H.
Apply for Paboo card and save the amount the Tax is.
If you’re not approved immediately for the full amount, you can use 2 cards, Payboo and second card. You’re saving though.
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I don't live in either of those three states, so sales tax really shouldn't be a factor. But there is something to be said for purchasing through B&H. They are reputable. These other stores very likely are as well though.
 
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I confirmed that Action Camera in Roseville CA is an authorized reseller, the lens would carry a full Nikon USA warranty and they are selling factory sealed, brand new product that has never been opened. So I added it to the shopping cart and the discount changed from $300 to $200. I used the instant messaging capability to ask if they would honor the price they advertised and received no response. I then called the store and was told that this lens was a price protected product and it was illegal for them to sell it for the $300 discount. Can you believe it! Amazing. I've made the purchase from The Camera Company in Madison WI. They were closed so I didn't get to ask all the other questions, but will call them in the morning to make sure its all good.
 
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FYI, Service Photo is an authorized Nikon store. They are my “local” store and have always been very good to deal with. However, you should call the store as there is a chance that the $300 discount on the website is an error. Nikon USA shows a $200 discount, and that keeps authorized dealers from going below that figure.

Service Photo is , in my opinion, a very reputable camera store. However, mistakes do happen when updating a website.
 
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Burke Seim is the owner of Service Photo. They do a very good job. You can contact him directly. He's very helpful.

Sometimes you get open box products or customer returns that are discounted.
 
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steigw said:
I confirmed that Action Camera in Roseville CA is an authorized reseller, the lens would carry a full Nikon USA warranty and they are selling factory sealed, brand new product that has never been opened. So I added it to the shopping cart and the discount changed from $300 to $200. I used the instant messaging capability to ask if they would honor the price they advertised and received no response. I then called the store and was told that this lens was a price protected product and it was illegal for them to sell it for the $300 discount. Can you believe it! Amazing. I've made the purchase from The Camera Company in Madison WI. They were closed so I didn't get to ask all the other questions, but will call them in the morning to make sure its all good.
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Enjoy this great lens. I'm shooting it it extensively this week and was reminded how good it is.
 
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Nimi said:
Enjoy this great lens. I'm shooting it it extensively this week and was reminded how good it is.
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It is a stellar lens, Its just very sensitive to frame the scene right. A little tilted up or down gets stuff distorted… true for all ultra wide. But this lens when framed with care is amazing in dealing with distortion.
 
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Well I learned some interesting things. first, these smaller shops have 1 or 2 copies of the lenses in stock. The Camera Company has 2 locations and had 2 copies of this lens. The copy they have is in the display case everyday and they put the lens in the box and pull the box from the display case overnight to secure it because they've been broken into and had equipment stolen in the past at night. For this lens, they said the copy at location 2 hadn't been opened and would be shipped same day. Well today, the day after supposed shipping, I got a call saying the website had an error and they couldn't honor the price. Raised the whole issue about Nikon's established rebate. I let him know that last i new it was illegal for a manufacturer to set the price that a retailer could sell for. He agreed and said the contracts they sign with Nikon limit the price they can advertise the lens at but they can actually sell it for any price they want. I then asked him to honor the price they and sold it to me for. I had actually purchased it and have the receipt in my inbox. He refused and said they'd loose money on selling the lens. He wanted another $100 and would take my card over the phone. I declined. Those are pretty thin margins if a lens of this price would loose them money by honoring the price they sold it to me for. So my guess is they will just cancel the purchase. Now I have to decide if its worth the effort to call on the folks at Service photo.
 
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Patrick M said:
I’d have paid their $100 for the sake of future “goodwill” that you could squeeze them for. i
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perhaps. but i find there's very little institutional memory these days.

but i'd pay it just because 1) i wanted the lens, 2) i understand nikon really pushes them to adhere to the pricing, and 3) $100 isn't a huge difference in the total cost of the lens
 
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steigw said:
Well I learned some interesting things. first, these smaller shops have 1 or 2 copies of the lenses in stock. The Camera Company has 2 locations and had 2 copies of this lens. The copy they have is in the display case everyday and they put the lens in the box and pull the box from the display case overnight to secure it because they've been broken into and had equipment stolen in the past at night. For this lens, they said the copy at location 2 hadn't been opened and would be shipped same day. Well today, the day after supposed shipping, I got a call saying the website had an error and they couldn't honor the price. Raised the whole issue about Nikon's established rebate. I let him know that last i new it was illegal for a manufacturer to set the price that a retailer could sell for. He agreed and said the contracts they sign with Nikon limit the price they can advertise the lens at but they can actually sell it for any price they want. I then asked him to honor the price they and sold it to me for. I had actually purchased it and have the receipt in my inbox. He refused and said they'd loose money on selling the lens. He wanted another $100 and would take my card over the phone. I declined. Those are pretty thin margins if a lens of this price would loose them money by honoring the price they sold it to me for. So my guess is they will just cancel the purchase. Now I have to decide if its worth the effort to call on the folks at Service photo.
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I live an hour away from Madison, WI and have dealt with The Camera Company. Multiple times in the past 6 to 9 months they have pulled some shady/weird/not straightforward things regarding their inventory. Like listing a Z9 as being in stock, calling to see which store it was at, going there and being told, no wait, it’s at the other store across town. Or seeing a 1.4 x TC in stock, calling to see which store it was at, going there, and then being told it’s actually not for sale as it has a post it note with someone’s name on it and was improperly listed on their website. They had a 400 f/4.5 lens listed as in stock but the lens or box wasn’t in the locked display case. Who knows what really is going on there?
 
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DRM said:
I live an hour away from Madison, WI and have dealt with The Camera Company. Multiple times in the past 6 to 9 months they have pulled some shady/weird/not straightforward things regarding their inventory. Like listing a Z9 as being in stock, calling to see which store it was at, going there and being told, no wait, it’s at the other store across town. Or seeing a 1.4 x TC in stock, calling to see which store it was at, going there, and then being told it’s actually not for sale as it has a post it note with someone’s name on it and was improperly listed on their website. They had a 400 f/4.5 lens listed as in stock but the lens or box wasn’t in the locked display case. Who knows what really is going on there?
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maybe I dodged a bullet. It would have been a bigger mess to get a lens that wasn't NIB.
 
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John Navitsky said:
perhaps. but i find there's very little institutional memory these days.

but i'd pay it just because 1) i wanted the lens, 2) i understand nikon really pushes them to adhere to the pricing, and 3) $100 isn't a huge difference in the total cost of the lens
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I don't believe un-ethical businesses would ever acknowledge they "owe you one" and are definitely not worth buying from. I went to them specifically because they were 1 of 3 stores who advertised a price $100 less than everybody else. If I was to pay the increased $100, I might as well buy direct from NikonUSA.
 
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Brick & mortar camera stores make little profit from selling camera bodies & lens, $200 discount would eat into their bottomline; the most profitable items are filters, lens & camera cleaning items, tripods, bags, chroma keys etc.

On the service side, printing has very good margin.

Oliver
 
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Have you considered refurbished (from nikon)? They currently have one at $1999 but often run 10% off to bring it down to $1800. Or used, although I haven't seen many on fredmiranda.com recently.
 
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steigw said:
I confirmed that Action Camera in Roseville CA is an authorized reseller, the lens would carry a full Nikon USA warranty and they are selling factory sealed, brand new product that has never been opened. So I added it to the shopping cart and the discount changed from $300 to $200. I used the instant messaging capability to ask if they would honor the price they advertised and received no response. I then called the store and was told that this lens was a price protected product and it was illegal for them to sell it for the $300 discount. Can you believe it! Amazing. I've made the purchase from The Camera Company in Madison WI. They were closed so I didn't get to ask all the other questions, but will call them in the morning to make sure its all good.
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You might find the deal if you spend a lot of time searching for it. Or you can decide have a great relationship with a dealer who will help you out in pinch, is worth more than saving a fewer dollars (okay, $100 is more than a few) occasionally.
 
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