Refurbished and/or used equipment

SquarePeg · Apr 17, 2013

I'm starting to research trading up from my Nikon D60. Not in the immediate future but by the end of this summer. I am open to buying refurbished or used but was wondering what the pros/cons are for taking that route. I'd love to get some first hand feedback from those who have bought refurbished or used Nikon camera bodies.

What type of care goes into a factory refurbished DSLR? Can I expect like new quality? Do I need to worry about shutter count?

I just need the camera body and charging accessories - I have a few of the typical kit lenses already so the bundles don't make sense for me. Are there some models that I would not want to consider if buying refurb? I'm leaning toward 3200, 5100 or 7000 but no where near a decision (that is another thread entirely!).

Do I need to stick to established used retailers like BH or Hunts? Anything I should look for (or look out for) if buying used in a private sale? This question is camera equip specific - I'm aware of the usual cautions of buying from online sellers, craigslist etc.

And finally, from a possibly buying new perspective - if I've waited through September, should I wait a bit longer to see what the Black Friday sales bring?

TIA for your responses

480sparky · Apr 17, 2013

Refurb means it's been gone over with human hands and put back to factory specs. This is something even new-off-the-assembly line cameras don't get. They're just randomly tested, one out of who knows how many.

SquarePeg · Apr 17, 2013

Thought I had posted this in the Equipment forum. (sigh) I think my "no longer a newbie" status will need to be revoked.

Ballistics · Apr 17, 2013

I just bought a D800 refurbished. I saved $500 and I had a shutter count of around 180 clicks. It was brand new, but the packaging is slightly different. The only thing that I own that is brand new out of my kit
is the Sigma 70-200mm OS. Everything else is refurbished. I honestly don't really see a reason to ever buy brand new unless you are a pro and you are claiming it on your taxes. Warranties can be matched and you would still pay much less.

SquarePeg · Apr 17, 2013

Thanks. Did you know the shutter count when you bought it? I don't see that disclosed on BH or Nikon site for the refurb items. Do you know, do places like BH take the used cameras they buy from their customers and have Nikon refurb them or are they all returns/demos etc.? I agree no reason to buy new. After all if I buy a 20,000 used car then why not a $700 used camera?

Ballistics · Apr 17, 2013

SquarePeg said:
Thanks. Did you know the shutter count when you bought it? I don't see that disclosed on BH or Nikon site for the refurb items. Do you know, do places like BH take the used cameras they buy from their customers and have Nikon refurb them or are they all returns/demos etc.? I agree no reason to buy new. After all if I buy a 20,000 used car then why not a $700 used camera?

No, it's pretty much a luck of the draw. Someone on this forum recently bought a refurbished D7000 and it wound up having 500,000 clicks. I'm sure they replaced the shutter and what not, but that's something to consider. I most likely got a refurbed demo, but an item that is returned within warranty is probably what is refurbished.

Light Guru · Apr 17, 2013

480sparky said:
Refurb means it's been gone over with human hands and put back to factory specs. This is something even new-off-the-assembly line cameras don't get. They're just randomly tested, one out of who knows how many.

Note there is also a difference between Refurbished and Manufacturer Refurbished. If it is Manufacturer Refurbished then it will come with a warranty he same as the regular product. If it is not done by a manufacturer then it may or may not come with a warranty from the third party that refurbished it.

KmH · Apr 17, 2013

Nikon's factory refurbished warranty is for only 90 days. Warranty repairs would be done by sending the item to Nikon USA service.

Nikon authorized sellers then may add their own additional warranty. Those warranty repairs would be done by sending the item to the seller.

Be sure you check out what the warranty terms actually are, regardless the item brand name.

bentcountershaft · Apr 17, 2013

I've had good luck with my refurb, though it's a Canon. Three and a half years and thirty thousand clicks later I've yet to have a problem with it.

SquarePeg · Apr 17, 2013

One more question - how long from initial release before refurbs become available, typically?

TIA

480sparky · Apr 17, 2013

SquarePeg said:
One more question - how long from initial release before refurbs become available, typically?

TIA

Not very long. Just a few months and they start showing up.

KmH · Apr 17, 2013

A lot of refurbished cameras/lenses were demo models at trade shows.

The main source of refurbished gear is returns from people who got buyer's remorse.
Returned gear cannot be re-sold as 'new'.

The camera makers don't spend much time or effort doing anything but the simplest repairs if any are needed.
Camera gear needing more extensive repairs are worth more to the camera makers as a tax write-off than they can possibly make by re-selling the gear.

KrisztinaK · Apr 17, 2013

I bought my 60D refurbished a few months ago. It was Manufacturer Refurbished and came with a 90 day warranty.

I have no hesitation buying refurb since they are individually tested before being re-sold. At least I have heard this from many sources. My camera is working perfectly.
It has even been seen by Canon during the warranty period since I was taking my lenses in for repair and it came back with a clean report.

I also bought a new lens recently and it had problems since the day I received it.
I have full confidence in buying refurbished gear, as long as it has been refurbished by the manufacturer.

gregtallica · Apr 18, 2013

TL;DR

gonna share anyway: Bought both my D7000 and 18-200 refurbished. Absolutely no problems with the camera (so far), or lens. Seriously, these things are just as good as a brand new one. My personal theory is they're probably tested even better than factory new. They have to make sure the problems are fixed before they send it out.