Nikon shooters be ware.

[table1349]

I Bought a Fake Nikon DSLR: My Experience with Gray Market Imports

 

[snowbear]

Nikon is not the only label with a grey market.

I find some of the article suspect, particularly the Nikon Service Center doing anything with it. From the Nikon USA site (emphasis mine):

Who is the authorized importer of Nikon Equipment into the USA ?

Nikon Incorporated USA is the sole authorized importer of Nikon Corporation of Japan for photographic devices. Nikon Inc. USA pays shipping into the USA, import duties and taxes, and provides service, support and downloads for these products. Nikon Inc. USA ensures that the products they import are fully certified and safe for use in the USA market.

Nikon Inc. USA cannot provide service, support or downloads for products that have not been imported by Nikon Inc. USA.

How do I know if my Nikon product is "Gray Market"?

If the deal was just too good to be true, it probably was. One of the first indicators that a piece of Nikon merchandise might be Gray Market is if the price is considerably less than most other resellers.

Additionally, a genuine Nikon Inc. USA product will include an Owners' Manual and Warranty Registration card in English. It will also include power cables (if applicable) designed for US style plugs. Any other language on the printed material or wrong cables indicates a Gray Market item.

Another indication of a Gray Market product would be photocopied manuals or manually created software CD's. Nikon Inc. USA always provides professionally printed or duplicated materials with genuine products.

What does owning a "Gray Market" Nikon product mean to you?

Nikon Inc. USA cannot provide any technical support or warranty service on Gray Market items. Additionally Nikon Inc. USA cannot perform any fee-based repair work on Gray Market items. Please do not contact Nikon Inc. USA for help with any Gray Market products. Please contact the reseller or importer of your Gray Market items for warranty and service information as well as software updates and downloads.

 

[table1349]

True, but I haven't seen a fake Canon report yet. Not to say that it hasn't happened. Just haven't seen one reported.

 

[480sparky]

True, but I haven't seen a fake Canon report yet. Not to say that it hasn't happened. Just haven't seen one reported.

That's 'cuz they're rebranded as Pentaxs!

 

[table1349]

True, but I haven't seen a fake Canon report yet. Not to say that it hasn't happened. Just haven't seen one reported.

That's 'cuz they're rebranded as Pentaxs!

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, so the only reason that this camera was so cheap and had a fake serial number is because... drum roll please....

It was stolen. Obviously Nikon would have come to this conclusion and informed the guy who sent it in for service of their suspicion.

It also explains his "but we're not here to discuss that" dodge in his post.

His conclusion? Well he mentions all the inconvenience he suffered and concludes he's not sure if he'll buy grey market again.

My conclusion, this guy is a scumbag who supported a fly by night retailer who is selling stolen goods. Lord only knows how many people have lost their property to these thieves and the thieves they in turn finance to steal this equipment. Who knows how many victims might be involved or if any of them were injured trying to defend their property.

And this dirtbag isn't "sure" if he should do this again because he was without his precious camera for a few weeks. Maybe you should try explaining that to the guy that actually owned that d7000 and had it stolen from him so you could receive his stolen property.

Sheesh

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[snowbear]

Stolen or rehabbed by a third party that didn't, or couldn't re-flash a replaced processor with the correct s/n.

 

[robbins.photo]

Stolen or rehabbed by a third party that didn't, or couldn't re-flash a replaced processor with the correct s/n.

If it were rehabbed though there would be no need to replace the outer serial number with a fake, and if you did wouldn't you replace it with a fake that matched the cpu serial?

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[snowbear]

Not saying the outside number was replaced - I said a replaced processor (electronic s/n) and they didn't or couldn't reflash the chip (change the electronic s/n to match the tag.)

If they're just putting crap together, they probably don't care how it matches up.

 

[robbins.photo]

Not saying the outside number was replaced - I said a replaced processor (electronic s/n) and they didn't or couldn't reflash the chip (change the electronic s/n to match the tag.)

If they're just putting crap together, they probably don't care how it matches up.

The article mentioned the outer serial was faked, nikon noted that the numbers were the wrong color and had been replaced.

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[snowbear]

I guess I missed that sentence. Like I originally said. I find parts questionable.

 

[robbins.photo]

I guess I missed that sentence. Like I originally said. I find parts questionable.

Yup, no worries. The guy who wrote this doesn't strike me as being the trustworthy sort, believe me.. lol

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[fmw]

I Bought a Fake Nikon DSLR: My Experience with Gray Market Imports

There are some issues here with terminology in the article. Gray market Nikons are not fakes. They are simply bought and sold around the normal Nikon distribution channel. They don't have the Nikon U.S.A. markup or warranty attached to them. But they are genuine products to be sure. I have a gray market D7000. I once had a gray market F5. I have several gray market Nikkor lenses. I had to have my F5 serviced once and had to send it to Japan for the work. The whole process took about three weeks.

A fake means that it is not a Nikon camera at all but something else made by someone else with Nikon's name on it. I don't believe the author's camera was a fake. I think it might have been exported by the Thailand factory around the Nikon system or had its label changed somewhere along the gray market trail. So it is gray market in my view, not a fake. It would be economically ridiculous to make a fake of a product as complex as a D7000 and make money selling it in small numbers. It simply doesn't make economic sense. It is far easier to put Rolex faces and hands on Chinese mechanical watches. Nobody makes a D7000 clone that you can buy and relabel cosmetically.

It is important for Nikon customers to understand that Nikon USA won't warranty a product that was not sold through them and won't even service it. In my case, Nikon in Japan honored my warranty but that may not always happen. Personally I have bought Nikon products on the gray market for decades and only had one issue with the F5. That turned out well but it might not have. In the long run I've come out far ahead.

So there is the opinion of another scumbag.

 

[robbins.photo]

So there is the opinion of another scumbag.

Ok, well since this was obviously directed at me, please note that my opinion of the author has to do with the fact that he bought what is obviously stolen merchandise, and his only concern is for himself. Not for the people from whom the camera was stolen. Read the portion of the article where Nikon tells him that there is only one reason why the serial number on the outside of the camera would be faked. He doesn't actually state the reason, but it's pretty obvious that there really is only one reason why someone would do this, to conceal the fact that the camera is actually stolen merchandise. Nikon made him aware of this, but his only concern of course was for himself - so much so that he continued to do business with a company that purchased and resold these stolen goods. So yes, scumbag. Major scumbag.

That is a completely different situation than someone buying a camera that was not designated for sale in a certain country to avoid import tarriffs, which is not something I addressed, at all.

 

[nerwin]

That's why when you buy grey market to make sure you're buying it from a reputable dealer.