'Non USA' Nikkor lens

Dexter-1 · Oct 25, 2008

I've been looking on e-bay lately for lenses and noticed that some listers have for example an 85mm F1.8 Nikkor lens that they call a 'non USA' model. Is this one of the so called 'grey market' lenses and if so, how does it differ between the ones make in the USA?

Kegger · Oct 25, 2008

Warranty, they don't have one.

ann · Oct 25, 2008

the warranty will only be honored in the country where the lens was "suppose" to be sold, which in this case is not the US

JerryPH · Oct 25, 2008

Read your other post... I answered there.

I have the imported model, I called Nikon Canada here in Montreal, I told them where I bought it from (the USA), how much I paid and that it was the "imported" model. I was told my warranty WOULD be honored 100% if something went wrong.

I suggest you call and find out yourself as well.

BTW, do NOT buy from e-bay. I hear horror stories every day about that place. Buy from known reputable sources like the forum sponsors here. I bought mine from B&H.

elemental · Oct 26, 2008

Also, if you can find it on KEH, you can save some cash for like-new glass (or so I'm told, haven't tried it yet).

epp_b · Oct 26, 2008

The Nikon f/1.8 is so cheap as it is, it's not worth risking it for a grey market version. Just pay the very reasonable full price of $150 or less and you're guaranteed a 5-year warranty.

elemental · Oct 27, 2008

epp_b said:
The Nikon f/1.8 is so cheap as it is, it's not worth risking it for a grey market version. Just pay the very reasonable full price of $150 or less and you're guaranteed a 5-year warranty.

Are you thinking of the 50mm f/1.8? The 85mm is not under $150 from any remotely reasonable sources.

Mike_E · Oct 27, 2008

If you don't buy from a recognized retailer then you don't have any warranty anyway as the warranty doesn't transfer between customers.

BTW I think that KEH has started to sell some new equipment.

epp_b · Oct 27, 2008

Are you thinking of the 50mm f/1.8? The 85mm is not under $150 from any remotely reasonable sources

Whoops! My bad, I was sure I read 50mm f/1.8. Don't know why...

JerryPH · Oct 27, 2008

The general discussion was about the 85mm F/1.4 and F/1.8 lenses. See post #1.

LiveWave · Oct 28, 2008

I don't see anything wrong with buying from eBay. As long as the seller has $2,000 in PayPal protection. Although to be frank, I myself only buy from the seller agrees to allow for some sort of inspection period be it 3 day or 7 day or whatever time so I have a chance to do sharpness tests and make sure the AF and everything works and obviously the feedback has to be decent.

austriker · Oct 29, 2008

btw i bought my d40 with a 18-55 'nikkor' lense on ebay and i had NO problems.. just a case where everything worked out.. however my roommate has bought 2 different pairs of pansonic headphones for DJing and got scammed both times (they were copies that were close but he could tell the difference...)

JerryPH · Oct 29, 2008

Oh, I am sure many people have had good results on eBay. The issue is that many people get ripped off on eBay on a regular basis and there is nothing that can be done.

For a small amount of money more (if that), I get the security in knowing that I am dealing with a reputable company that is willing to do whatever it takes to resolve the issue and has real guarantees from the manufacturers.

You cannot say that of eBay at anywhere near the same level.

I like sleeping well at night.

roadkill · Nov 3, 2008

JerryPH said:
BTW, do NOT buy from e-bay. I hear horror stories every day about that place. Buy from known reputable sources like the forum sponsors here. I bought mine from B&H.

I agree with Jerry. Also Amazon has some great equipment.

benhasajeep · Nov 3, 2008

LiveWave said:
I don't see anything wrong with buying from eBay. As long as the seller has $2,000 in PayPal protection. Although to be frank, I myself only buy from the seller agrees to allow for some sort of inspection period be it 3 day or 7 day or whatever time so I have a chance to do sharpness tests and make sure the AF and everything works and obviously the feedback has to be decent.

Actually that $2,000 paypal protection is only good IF the seller has the money in his paypal account! Need to read the fine print on Paypal closely. If the seller is a scum bag. And gets a bunch of people to buy high priced items. He collects the money with the guaranteed paypal protection. Then he cleans out the account. By the time you start to wonder why my camera / big LCD TV is not there. He has already gotten his check and closed his account! You complain to Paypal. They say sorry, nothing to collect from! Obviously people don't do that all the time but it happens.

The big scam on ebay is to steal a little used account. Set up a paypal account. List a bunch of high priced items close together. List the buyer protection. Auctions end, people pay paypal thinking they are fine. Guy requests check from Paypal to clean out account. Closes account. No notice is sent to anyone with pending transactions that the paypal account was closed. They assume transactions are completed. Guy gets the cash. After say 2 weeks you worry call ebay, they send you to paypal. Paypal says we look into it. They reply back account closed. You say I want money back. They reply account closed no money to refund. You are SOL!

Matter of fact, I made an order for a tool from one guy. Clearly stated on ebay page that he took paypal. His account was suspended though. I refused to send money order. Ebay let him give me a negative feedback even though Ebay rules state that if you say you take a form of payment you must accept it. After a while ebay finally kicked him off and removed the bad remarks.

Long story short, Paypal is not a true guarantee! It's only true for reputable sellers.