Grey Market

[GDHLEWIS]

Hiya everyone,

So I am currently in the market for a new body, having had the Nikon D3200 for three years now, the lack of buttons is becoming annoying and the need for an internal motor for some of my older lenses has become apparent.

I will end up with either the D7100 or the D7200, decided that the upgrade after this will be the one I take the final leap in to full frame, need more time to swap the DX glass I have.

Here is the main question, as I import all my camera gear from the US, US warranty is not something that I am worried about, as a result I have been looking at the grey market to try and bring down the cost of the body. Saw a D7200 for 890USD . I have never bought grey market products before so was wondering if anyone had any experience.

As stated the camera would be shipped straight out of the US to the Middle East through Aramax, the camera I saw was body only not one of these daft 100-1 package deals with a bunch of paper weights included.

Any advice / experience you may be able to offer would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[KmH]

Gray Market is new Nikon gear that does not have Nikon's US warranty. The gray market gear still has Nikon's regular warrant. You should be able to have warranty work done at any Nikon authorized repair facility outside the USA.

BH Photo/Video in the US Gray market info.

Should you experience a problem with a product sold with a USA warranty, it can be sent to any of the manufacturer's authorized service facilities for servicing (and some even to any worldwide authorized service facility depending on the brand). A "direct import" or grey market item would have to be returned to B&H if it required in-warranty service.[/quote

 

[GDHLEWIS]

Thanks, I had read similar and just wanted to ensure that it was not something dodgy...can never be too careful when shopping online. If anyone else has any experience or advice it would be highly appreciated.

 

[robbins.photo]

Thanks, I had read similar and just wanted to ensure that it was not something dodgy...can never be too careful when shopping online. If anyone else has any experience or advice it would be highly appreciated.

I don't recommend Gray market, at all. What you save in initial cost will most likely bite you in the butt big time if you ever have any kind of an issue - because in order to get it to the correct "repair facility outside the US" you will almost certainly be stuck sending it back tot he company from which you purchased it first - and most of them are a bit on the shady side to begin with. You have to remember the reason they can offer you this "great deal" on the camera is because they are basically using a loophole to avoid paying import taxes on the goods in the first place. That should set off an alarm bell right there.

Seriously, spend the few extra $ and get yourself a good used or refurb model from a reputable dealer like KEH, etc.

 

[GDHLEWIS]

Cheers, Robbins. I can afford the camera Im after, just wanted to make see if it was worth chasing after these gray market deals first.
Problem I have being in the middle east any issues I have will result in me paying a courier to ship the equipment back to the states for warranty either way. Dealerships in Qatar charge double what they do in the States so very few people use and would rather just pay 50-100$ and ship them back to the US.
Although there is a public holiday / religious holiday coming up and usually there is a good deal or two available so crossing my fingers.

 

[KmH]

BH Photo/Video is about as reputable as a online seller can be, is nowhere near the 'shady side', and they sell lots of gray market gear.

 

[robbins.photo]

BH Photo/Video is about as reputable as a online seller can be, is nowhere near the 'shady side', and they sell Gray Market Nikon gear.

You are of course entitled to continue to push the gray market as hard as you wish, personally I think it's a bad idea and a horrible investment and I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I was of course referring to the Ebay sellers mentioned previously, not B&H - but even so, gray market = bad choice in most cases.

For the op, if you live outside the US I'd probably still buy from a US dealer and get a US model, that way worst case scenario if you send it back for repair you can send it to a US repair facility. If the camera was not sold in the US the US repair facilities would reject it in most cases for warranty work.

Which means you'd have to send it back to whomever you purchased it from and trust them to get it to the correct country/location for repair, and in the cases of THE VAST MAJORITY OF GRAY MARKET SELLERS ON EBAY this is a lot of trust to put into a operation that is probably pretty shady to begin with.

So, even if you are outside the US, if you want to send it to the US for repair, buy from a US dealer. If you prefer to send it elsewhere, buy from a dealer in the country of your choice. Just my 2 cents worth, but frankly I would never consider buying gray market and would never under any circumstances advocate anyone else do either.

You'd be much better off buying used and saving money that way, and then you won't have to worry so much about whether or not the warranty would be honored or how many hoops you'd need to jump through to get warranty work because you aren't purchasing a warranty.

 

[KmH]

I'm not pushing the gray market, just pointing out that not all sellers of gray market gear are shady operators and you are provided information that appears to be less than accurate.

 

[Solarflare]

Refurbished is fine (even if I myself havent seen any offer like that in germany; but in the USA, I certainly would go for it).

Gray market however, I dont think I would tolerate the limitations of that. Quick service is far too important for me and justifies the increased price.

 

[GDHLEWIS]

Well I didn't go grey market in the end, not enough reviews or experience with any of them on offer so ponied up for a straight up Amazon purchase. Now the wait for the new D7200 to ship to me... I may cry in anticipation.

 

[rmeyner]

I am chiming a little late to be helpful, I just wanted to comment on purchasing grey market.
I have good Nikon glass from my film days. My first DSLR was a D70 that failed, so I got a great deal on a D90 that has been durable and reliable for years. I unknowingly went grey market.
Full frames are now affordable and I wanted to use my old glass to it's full potential. Bought a D610 from an online retailer. I told them I wanted a US version not an import. Well, the cheap internet price, was for an import and I would have to pay more. The price was still competitive so I went for it. The new body showed up in a new but unsealed box, no Nikon USA warranty card, and no D610 (U) mark above the barcode. ( D610 (ME) ).
I am now trying to send it back and they want to charge a %15 restock fee. I paid with a credit card, so the fight is now on.
The vendor is: smartphotohut.com a url that was registered in Aug 2015.
Buyers beware! Run away, Tell everyone!

I am a Newbie posting about something unsavory. I promise to keep it happy in the future!

BTW, I might be willing to buy a grey market lens but never a body. I had my coolpix repaired out of warranty at a NikonUSA service center. Fast, quality, and affordable. This is why I shoot Nikon. The D610 rocks! too bad I have to rebuy it