Gray Market Lens Question
Apr 28, 2015 17:26:46 #
I ordered a Nikon/Nikkor 18-140mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens from Amazon. I was advertised as as "gray market" and in parentheses had"(white box)". It arrived today, but it came in the standard bronze/copper box and inside was the normal papers with a 5year guarantee and the serial number. I registered it on the Nikon web site without a problem. Went out and took some photos this afternoon and am more than pleased. My question is, did I luck up and get a non-gray market lens? How do you know if what you buy is gray market or not? I saved a bunch of money on this lens!
Apr 28, 2015 18:01:26 #
It sounds like you might have got lucky, I hope you did. I'm a Canon shooter so I'm not familiar with Nikon registration web service but I believe Canon USA only allows registration of USA warranty products. So you've got the online registration going for you. Does your paperwork specify USA warranty? Good luck, got my fingers crossed for you.
Apr 28, 2015 18:13:17 #
Brayyd wrote:
I ordered a Nikon/Nikkor 18-140mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED... (show quote)
Does the serial number start with "US"?
Apr 28, 2015 18:22:05 #
Brayyd wrote:
I ordered a Nikon/Nikkor 18-140mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED... (show quote)
Congratulations on you new lens. Enjoy.
Apr 28, 2015 22:14:27 #
Hope you lucked out. It only really matters if you need warranty or other service from Nikon. They'llonly work on U.S. models.
Apr 29, 2015 02:21:29 #
Had me going for a minute. Couldn't find a "US" on any of the paperwork, but the lens itself has the "US" at the beginning of the serial number!
Went out this afternoon with a friend from our local photo club. I'm very, very happy with this lens. It almost takes the place of the two kit lenses that came with my camera. The 55-200 has a bit more reach, but for most of my photos, the 10-140 will more than suffice and I won't have to swap lenses. It takes really nice photos! It's a bit heavier than either of the kit lenses and it may be a bit sharper too. Happy guy here!
Went out this afternoon with a friend from our local photo club. I'm very, very happy with this lens. It almost takes the place of the two kit lenses that came with my camera. The 55-200 has a bit more reach, but for most of my photos, the 10-140 will more than suffice and I won't have to swap lenses. It takes really nice photos! It's a bit heavier than either of the kit lenses and it may be a bit sharper too. Happy guy here!
Apr 29, 2015 06:02:48 #
The grey market is an interesting one. About 20 miles north of Hanoi there is a very big Canon manufacturing site. No doubt the last lense that I bought could have been made there. However, if I had gone to a camera store in Hanoi and bought it then it would have been "grey". Just like my Toyota dealer telling me that the car I got from Ireland was an import and Grey, strange as it is a japanese car! Often seems worth the gamble on the 12 month warranty, especially if you average it across all your kit.
Apr 29, 2015 06:07:15 #
Leitz
Loc: Solms
Brayyd wrote:
I ordered a Nikon/Nikkor 18-140mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED... (show quote)
You're the victim of bait and switch - send it back and demand a REAL gray market lens! :lol:
Apr 29, 2015 06:11:32 #
Leitz wrote:
You're the victim of bait and switch - send it back and demand a REAL gray market lens! :lol:
:thumbup:
Apr 29, 2015 06:29:28 #
I believe, you got lucky, try to register the lens, on the Nikon USA web site, if it excepts it, you hava the genuine article.....
Brayyd wrote:
I ordered a Nikon/Nikkor 18-140mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED... (show quote)
Apr 29, 2015 06:46:06 #
Brayyd wrote:
I ordered a Nikon/Nikkor 18-140mm DX f/3.5-5.6G ED... (show quote)
That's the kind of deal we all dream about. How did your price compare with a standard USA price?
Apr 29, 2015 06:46:43 #
This is an interesting issue. I want the new Canon 100-400 and it is £2000 ($3070) in the UK. I can see that I can buy it in USA and Canada for quite a bit less. So it may well be worth the one year gamble as I am visiting Vancouver and then into Alaska next month. Is this seriously going to be a grey lense?
Apr 29, 2015 08:32:35 #
Woodham Lock wrote:
This is an interesting issue. I want the new Canon 100-400 and it is £2000 ($3070) in the UK. I can see that I can buy it in USA and Canada for quite a bit less. So it may well be worth the one year gamble as I am visiting Vancouver and then into Alaska next month. Is this seriously going to be a grey lense?
If you can't have it repaired in the UK, it will be a gray market issue. However, what are the chances that it will need repair? If you ever want to sell it, you should tell the buyer that it is gray market.
Apr 29, 2015 09:47:09 #
Sometimes you can afford to underwrite the Warranty yourself if the saving is big enough. After all we are only talking about 12 months. I do get a little fed up with trying to reconcile the difference in price for something was not made in the UK or the USA. We had this price difference for years in the UK between our car costs and those throughout the rest of Europe and thankfully that has now ended.
Apr 29, 2015 10:31:28 #
ottopj
Loc: Annapolis, MD USA
jerryc41 wrote:
That's the kind of deal we all dream about. How did your price compare with a standard USA price?
I just bought a New US 18-300 Nikon for $100 under list (Nikon, Adorama, B&H) through greentoe.com.
Try it; you'll like it!
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