AZ Dog Loc: Peoria, AZ

OK, Hoggers, there seems to be a lot of discussion about grey market and US market lenses. Primarily Nikon, I believe. Someone explain the difference between a given lens that is grey market and US market. Are they not the same lens, maybe even made in the same factory? This does not make since to me. Any Hoggers out there with first hand knowledge of this or even a good theory?

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

They may be the same lenses, however Nikon (and Canon at least) may not support them as they are not sold (and not just in the USA) as they may not be sold through authorised importers.
Basically if you want support from Nikon do not buy grey market - see Nikon USA website (search for "grey market").

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Gray market are indeed real products from the same company (well there are also counterfeits, different problem, but usually sold as gray market). The difference is they do not come in through the official contracted distributor. Therefore the US contractor, say Nikon USA, does not back the warranty and in many cases will not even work on them or sell parts to work on them. So either they have to be worked on by third party or even sent out of the country to the service center in the part of the world they were meant to be sold in. And sometimes if the company catches it they will not even be worked on then.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I have had to have my zoom lenses repaired, but my prime lenses have never had a problem. So I would shy away from a zoom.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

If you were to use the "Search" function at the top of the page you would find many discussions on this subject.

JeffinMass Loc: MA

Stay away from Gray. Always ask the dealer if it has either a CUSA or NUSA warranty with it. Don't be fooled if they say it has a one year warranty. It could be a generic warranty. It is not worth the cost savings to buy gray. Most legit dealers like Hunts in Melrose, MA. , B&H, and others do not sell gray. With pre-owned you should always ask the owner where they purchased the product and to see a copy of the warranty card, whether it is in warranty or not.

markjay

Yes - they are the same lenses made in the same factories.
The difference is that Nikon wants to charge more for their lenses in the US where they think there are many wealthy customers, and they know they have to charge less in markets that are not as economically strong. So they create a different category of products and say we will not warranty a lens or camera sold in the US if it was bought elsewhere. Because everywhere else in the world it is largely less expensive.

So basically - what Nikon is doing and saying to their US customers is giving them the middle finger and charging a rip off price.

As I had once suggested - you should buy a grey market product, and then buy it from a reputable dealer in the US - get the receipt, and then return the US product.

Its a tough situation to do it to Adorama or B&H - but if enough people do it - these big US retailers will start putting pressure on Nikon to stop the games because it is costing them !

JeffinMass Loc: MA

"So basically - what Nikon is doing and saying to their US customers is giving them the middle finger and charging a rip off price.

As I had once suggested - you should buy a grey market product, and then buy it from a reputable dealer in the US - get the receipt, and then return the US product."

What kind of crap are you conveying here? You are obviously not informed about business. NUSA or CUSA are US distributors for their parent companies. They are in business just like any other business.

When you buy gray market neither CUSA or NUSA will not warranty them because it was not purchased through legit channels. Neither NUSA or CUSA are giving anyone anything but warranting their product that they sold and went through them. That is perfectly fair. They paid the freight in to the US. They had to deal with customs in to the US. They shipped the product to dealers in the US. They also repair their product in and out of warranty. What more can we ask? To say that either are giving the "finger" and charging a rip off price is pure BS. I would suggest that you go buy gray. Chances are nothing will go wrong. That said is it worth the risk? NOT !!! I was in photo retail/wholesale for a long time. Have seen many gray market stories.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Same lens, but Nikon USA won't touch it. Since they don't sell parts to repair shops, you're kinda stuck if it needs service. In over forty years of using lenses, I've never needed service. My son dropped his 18-55mm (I think), and I was able to by a new mount on ebay and replace it.

markjay

Excuse me - but you are the one who has no idea what you are talking about. You say ...

NUSA or CUSA are US distributors for their parent companies. They are in business just like any other business.

When you buy gray market neither CUSA or NUSA will not warranty them because it was not purchased through legit channels.

So you think if you buy a Nikon camera from B&H, that is owned and controlled by NUSA ? NO... B&H is a retail store that buys from the authorized distributor NUSA. OK - so now you are on vacation travelling in Spain, and you see a large photo store which has the entire line of product, with warranties, and all Nikon marketing materials (obviously from Nikon). That store is an authorized retailer in Spain, and buys product from an authorized Nikon distributor in Spain.

It is the same camera or lens, made in the same factory, and sold through a different Nikon controlled distributor.

BUT - but that camera for the lower Spain retail price and bring it back home - and no warranty because Nikon is trying to give you the shaft for playing around with their different global pricing strategies.

SO - yo are getting screwed buying from an authorized dealer in Spain. The same camera in Spain is an authorized camera. Take the camera to the US and all of the sudden it is a "grey market camera" with no warranty.

If you think there is any justification to this nonsense - you are not thinking clearly and you have drunk the cool-aid that these camera companies are selling.

markjay

Oh --- and you have seen many grey market stories.? What kind of stories? You mean the kind where someone buys a camera overseas that is a legitimate camera and bring it home. Has a problem, and the camera company says FU - its grey market ! hahahahhaa we wont help you because you bought it from a legitimate dealer in Spain and we dfont want you to do that because our official list prices in Spain are lower. And they are lower because we want to screw people in markets where we think we can make more money.

Did you know that if you buy a camera in America - it IS under warranty anywhere. Because you paid an absurd amount for it.

Did you know that in China where the camera companies want to build a business - than Nikon and Canon are sold with list prices about 35% lower - with warranties, and as Trump says - China has the largest import duties of anywhere in the world.

So how is that?? I bought a Canon in a company owned Canon store in Shganghai. Beautiful store. Great service. Every Canon product made on display. AND LOWER prices by a big amount - even after Canon pats a hefty duty to bring the camera into China. You get a nice Canon factory warranty at the Canon owned service facility. BUT --- bring that camera to the US --- hahahhahha

Its the old Canon FU !!!! No warranty !! hahahahah I can hear them laughing.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Canon does, maybe (It's a gray area ), repair some gray market gear, and Nikon repairs some gray market cameras. In 2015, Canon sued gray market importers because of the money it was losing. Fuji began a similar suit last year.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2015/11/23/canon-usa-looking-to-put-an-end-to-gray-market-camera-sales-in-us
http://www.canonpricewatch.com/blog/authorized-unauthorized-dealers-and-grey-market-explained/
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/standard_display/gray_market

Nikon -
https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000001223&configured=1&lang=en_US
http://nikonrumors.com/2016/05/16/great-news-you-can-now-repair-some-nikon-grey-market-cameras-at-third-party-us-repair-facilities.aspx/

Gray market products earn no money for the people you want to perform the warranty work. If everyone bought gray market, there would be no Nikon USA to do the repairs.

JeffinMass Loc: MA

OK. Now let's reverse that. You live in Spain. Your camera breaks down while visiting Disneyworld in FL. You go in to Colonial Photo (no gray) in Orlando and purchase either a NUSA or CUSA product and bring it back to Spain. Do you think that Nikon or Canon Spain are going to repair it under warranty? NOT !!! If it were gray market, yes. Grey market carries an international Canon or Nikon warranty.

JeffinMass Loc: MA

2015? Gray market has been around for a lot longer than that. The feud between back door importers and CUSA and NUSA has been going on for years.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Yes, they ARE made in different factories. Regular Nikon lenses are made in China and Malaysia, those gray market lenses are manufactured in North Korea by forced child labor. That's why NikonUSA will not work on gray market lenses. Gray market lenses can only be worked on by children in North Korea, you must send your lens back to North Korea via Canadian Post, it usually takes about 45 weeks round trip.
Seriously any lens that is not distributed by NIKONUSA which is the official distributor for Nikon in the USA is considered a gray market lens cause NIKONUSA is doing all the work and paying for all the costs associated with bringing the Nikon lens to America so their is a natural mark up which also includes a one year warranty on camera's and five on most lenses. Folks who want to bypass this system import their Nikon lenses directly from the Manufacture and get a discount that they pass on the the consumer. NIKONUSA will not work on a gray market cause THEY did not import it, someone else did. So, a gray is the same lens as a USA lens but be aware that if service is needed and you want Nikon to do it that lens must be sent back to the country it was imported from. Good luck and may god bless.