Nikon USA vs Grey One Man's Story

[Warren D]

Interesting experience of a guy trying to find out how to verify if his 600 EFL is USA or gray: https://nikonrumors.com/2020/12/28/...rket-fuzzy-or-crystal-clear.aspx/#more-153896
I've encountered the same thing but mostly when considering a used lens. One of the big reasons I keep all the paperwork that comes in the box. The paper with the Nikon USA warranty seems to be about the only way to be sure.
What amazes me (personally I think it's BS) is that Nikon claims only their tech can tell when it hits the bench. I find it difficult if not impossible to believe that Nikon manufactures lenses (or other gear) with a specific country in mind and would go thru the trouble to somehow encode that info into the manufacturing process.
I also find it hard to believe that Nikon USA doesn't keep track of serial numbers they import and distribute to their authorized dealers. I think they do know but don't admit it as they would likely be bombarded with requests.

 

[Steve]

I saw that article this morning. I too find it hard to believe Nikon doesn't know which lens goes where - you'd think keeping track of the serial numbers would be pretty easy. Besides, what does the guy see on the bench? Does Nikon have a little grey tag inside the lens?

 

[FB101]

I have a simpler issue - Nikon made should equate Nikon warranty. I am not going to go into the wholesale trading practices that enable grey market items but manufacturers are not just enablers but actual actors in the process (no, it's not just about exchange rates and differential tax rates although they play a big role), and denying service is plain hypocrisy considering that Nikon made a profit on those lenses, bodies etc... All manufacturers do it and get away with it so Nikon is no worse, although the sheer volume of grey Nikon items versus Canon lately - just look at eBay - tells me they may have been using the side channels a bit more heavily than others in the past year to help quarterly results.

But, it's not illegal and nobody is breaking the trend, so it will continue until one of the big guys gets really desperate and goes all online with a global warranty...

 

[Strodav]

I love my Nikon's, but that USA vs gray market stuff is BS and really hurts the Nikon brand name in my eyes. I understand why they do it, but there has to be a much better way. Maybe charging much more for service or repair of gray market stuff if you want it serviced in the US. Of course they know what serials numbers were sold to which distributors around the world. Making you send it in to see if they will service it or not disgraces their company. What's just as bad is not selling replacement parts to "non-Nikon" repair shops. That whole system stinks and needs to be changed if Nikon wants to survive.

 

[Warren D]

I have a simpler issue - Nikon made should equate Nikon warranty. I am not going to go into the wholesale trading practices that enable grey market items but manufacturers are not just enablers but actual actors in the process (no, it's not just about exchange rates and differential tax rates although they play a big role), and denying service is plain hypocrisy considering that Nikon made a profit on those lenses, bodies etc... All manufacturers do it and get away with it so Nikon is no worse, although the sheer volume of grey Nikon items versus Canon lately - just look at eBay - tells me they may have been using the side channels a bit more heavily than others in the past year to help quarterly results.

But, it's not illegal and nobody is breaking the trend, so it will continue until one of the big guys gets really desperate and goes all online with a global warranty...

They call it gray for a reason! You will always have a Nikon warranty from corporate Nikon. The subsidiaries (like Nikon USA) operate on their own budget. The subsidiary makes money off the sale of the goods it imports and some of that money goes to warranty repairs. It would be great if Nikon Japan re-imbursed the subsidiary but I'm told that's not the way it works. So gear that is sold in the subsidiary's jurisdiction that is not from it's official merchandise stream does not make them any money and to repair these items for free makes no sense. Likewise, if they took in gray market goods even if paid for it might result in repair time delays to those who bought through channels. I'm not saying it couldn't be better but it is what it is.
I have read that some subsidiaries work differently. In the USA, we often get a 5 year warranty on lenses where others in other subsidiaries get 1 year. OTOH, the same Nikon body that has a 1 year warranty in the USA has a 2 year warranty in Canada. (My info might be a bit dated).
I would think it would be very complicated to run all the subsidiaries the same given the difference in consumer laws from country to country.

 

[Thern]

That whole system stinks and needs to be changed if Nikon wants to survive.

Don’t worry Nikon won’t survive anyway according to others like you LOL
Canon, Sony, Pentax etc, they all have the same policy but Nikon won’t survive?
Only brand I know of with a worldwide service/warranty independant where one bought ‘it’ is Leica.
Thank you for a good laugh.

 

[FB101]

I can't imagine that warranty policies would force the demise of Nikon, especially not when everybody else does the same. Could it help them if they embraced a different policy first is the real question. Nikon doesn't have a history of being driven by making their customers' lives easy or being focused on user feedback (in other words they are very engineering-driven hence the amazing products when they get it right and the head-scratchers the rest of the time) - so I doubt we'll see them test the assumption anytime soon.

 

[Woody Meristem]

That's sickeningly disgusting, but matches what a camera shop owner told me about Nikon a number of years ago. Hard to believe they don't know where certain serial number lenses were sent from the factory -- if they don't it's no wonder they may be in trouble. The serial number of steam locomotives made 100+ years ago by companies that are long gone can still be matched with the buyer and, in many cases, who were the subsequent owners -- and that was before computerized inventories.

 

[JANuser]

You will always have a Nikon warranty from corporate Nikon.

Nikon recently announced that the Global 1 year warranty offered by Nikon Japan would be ending soon. So no, you will not have that in the future. This may be Nikon's attempt to squash the gray market sales of gear.

 

[EricBowles]

The question was about an expensive, low volume product. If you asked the same question about most other products, you would have enough volume to see different serial numbers by country. US serial numbers for cameras start with a 3. Lens serial numbers generally start with a 6 when there is a US only serial number range.

For the 600 f/4 in particular, Nikon has sold approximately 19,000 lenses since 2001 covering three separate models. That's worldwide sales of 1000 per year or just 80 per month. There are not country specific batches with volume that low. Compare that to a high volume lens like the 18-55 DX VR with more than 4 million sold.
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html#600

I do think it's reasonable to track serial numbers and where lenses were shipped. I suspect Customer Service simply lacks access to that data as it would be used rarely.

There are lots of lenses that are made in low volume. For a high volume lens, you could have differences in components as a result of duties and import limitations.

 

[StephenP]

When I read the article the author stated "after I registered the lens, how do I know if it's really a USA Model?" If he tried to register a gray market lens at Nikon USA, wouldn't he have been informed that it was a gray market copy and it wouldn't be covered after the first year? Wouldn't he have needed to enter the information from the supplied warranty card? Doesn't Amazon have to declare whether it's a USA copy when they list it?

 

[EricBowles]

When I read the article the author stated "after I registered the lens, how do I know if it's really a USA Model?" If he tried to register a gray market lens at Nikon USA, wouldn't he have been informed that it was a gray market copy and it wouldn't be covered after the first year? Wouldn't he have needed to enter the information from the supplied warranty card? Doesn't Amazon have to declare whether it's a USA copy when they list it?

My experience is NPS verifies the serial number but Nikon's My Camera Bag simply takes what you supply. I've had a formatting error in a My Camera Bag serial number and it still took it - until I needed to upgrade software later.

B&H and other retailers are pretty good about clearly declaring Gray Market products where appropriate. I don't think Amazon sells Gray Market at all, but they may have third party sellers providing gray market.

Nikon does not require a warranty card for service, but it can make it easier. There are some cases where US models do not include a warranty card, and some other countries have a different practice. Having a US warranty card verifies it is a US model, but not having a warranty card does not mean anything. You do need your receipt for service. I keep an electronic copy of all receipts as well as a paper copy. The electronic copy is adequate for service.

 

[Warren D]

When I read the article the author stated "after I registered the lens, how do I know if it's really a USA Model?" If he tried to register a gray market lens at Nikon USA, wouldn't he have been informed that it was a gray market copy and it wouldn't be covered after the first year? Wouldn't he have needed to enter the information from the supplied warranty card? Doesn't Amazon have to declare whether it's a USA copy when they list it?

In the USA registering gear is a marketing thing.

 

[StephenP]

In the USA registering gear is a marketing thing.

Yeah, I know. I live in MA, USA! Just like chevy's gimmick, you get the same price as our employees, oh, and the cars a year old.

 

[Charles Loy]

I (somewhat) understand Nikon USA not warranting work and repair of gray goods. They, Nikon USA, purchase the repair parts from Nikon. They would be putting the purchased parts in a product they did not sell to their dealer network. We don't know if they can invoice Nikon for those parts, or if they can be paid for the time and labor to the gray product, likely not. Ponder that when you complain about no warranty on non-USA goods.

 

[fulltimewanderer]

I contacted Nikon to confirm if a lens that I was looking at was indeed a US product. Nikon replied that according to the S/N that it was a US product. BUT that it would need to be sent in, opened up and confirmed that it is a US product. I questioned this reasoning and was told that inspection is necessary do to S/N’s being altered. Friend of mind for years and a Nikon dealer for years told me that Nikon knows exactly where a lens goes. That they are able to track product, preventing the purchasing dealer from reselling to another dealer. Guess this policy would increase sales.

 

[Whiskeyman]

I've had to use Nikon service twice, and both times it was for USA gear. Both times the service was great and went far beyond what Nikon was obligated to or said that they would do. However, I've talked to pros who used to shoot Nikon gear, and had NPS shove them toward other brands, namely Canon. I know one pro who said that he left Nikon (years ago) and went to Canon, knowing that his Nikon gear was better than what Canon provided at the time, bute Canon provided such better support than Nikon did. If Nikon treats pros this way, why would amatuers expect any better.

One thing that I've thought about is with the number of people who travel and live all over the globe and need their gear repaired or serviced. Say, I (and my Nikon gear) was from Australia and I moved to the US for a while. How would I get my gear serviced if needed? I think I know the answer, but why would a company make it that difficult for their customers?

Then again, the only reason I've never had issues with Canon service is that I don't own any Canon products. Maybe they aren't really different at all.

W

 

[Michael_Rothman]

The system was designed to protect the distribution system. It was probably not Nikon's idea but distributors wanted to know that their prices would not be undersold. One way to do that is to limit the repair services to the market area that sold the cameras. The bigger issue we as consumers should be concerned about is fair trade pricing. It is non competitive and price fixing. When B&H OR ADORAMA order Nikon Cameras from the distributor they negotiate their unit cost. Since they order many thousands of cameras they can get a better wholesale price than a smaller camera chain. But are they allowed to pass on that savings to the consumer? NO, Nikon sets the sale price. Can Acme Camera Stores with 6 retail outlets drop the price to increase foot traffic to their stores so they can boost higher profit accessory sales. NO, Nikon sets the price. Failure to maintain manufacturer suggested retail prices would mean being cut off completely by Nikon.

 

[dabhand16]

NO, Nikon sets the sale price. Can Acme Camera Stores with 6 retail outlets drop the price to increase foot traffic to their stores so they can boost higher profit accessory sales. NO, Nikon sets the price. Failure to maintain manufacturer suggested retail prices would mean being cut off completely by Nikon.

There is another issue here which is exchange rates. Anything that is priced in USD is now the same figure for GBP and probably other currencies too and takes no heed of the exchange rates. So a $4000 Nikon camera in the USA will be a £4000 Nikon camera in the UK.

It does not stop there either. US photographers can get the Adobe photographers bundle for (last time I looked) $10 a month. In the UK we have to pay £9.98 - $13.65 in spite of the GBP being worth $1.37.

 

[jcgamble]

I bought a grey market gray colored Nikkor 300 f4 AFS from B&H Photo in 2007. I live in Florida and wanted the light colored lens. It has had the lens focus motor replaced twice by Nikon in Melville, NY. The first one was passed the 5 year warrantee period of a USA lens. I read that they didn't work on grey market lenses. They certainly did for me, twice.

 

[fulltimewanderer]

Friend of mind for years and a Nikon dealer for years did tell me something interesting when we in Europe together. If you purchased a camera or a lens while there. Save your receipt(s) to prove that you purchased it (from an authorized Nikon dealer) while in Europe. I was looking at a 400 2.8. Nikon US would honor warranty and do any repairs. He fully explained the reasoning behind Nikon’s gray market policy. So for any of you that relocate from overseas no fear Nikon US will still take care of you and your gear.

 

[Charles Loy]

I've found out another - you will need that receipt. Period. Your Gold box has a sticker stating expand your USA warranty 4 years, register your lens. Well, you will (quoting Nikon service) "absolutely will need the receipt of purchase made out with your name from the dealer of purchase' to get warranty repair.
Sorry for those that lost their receipt in a fire, divorce, theft, tornado and so on, no excuse is good enough.
I'm paying for repair to my USA 200-500, less than 3 years old. yep, I have no receipt