VeraP wrote:
As always, thanks in advance for the benefit of your knowledge.
I have decided to purchase the Nikon 200-500 lens, but it is generally out of stock “everywhere”.
I saw 1 at Abe’s of Maine (which seems to have a good reputation). But the description says, “brand new factory fresh import model”. The Nikon USA site gives a list of words to beware, and “import model” is one of them, so I am concerned that this is a grey market item and I could have warranty issues. As a comparison, B&H says their current inventory (when they have some in stock) is made is China. Abes offers extended warranties.
Your thoughts? Opinions? Should I be concerned? Should I just ask to ensure that this lens from Abes is covered under Nikon USA warranty?
As always, thanks in advance for the benefit of yo... (
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RUN, RUN VERY FAST away from Abe's of Maine!
They ain't in Maine and no one named Abe has worked there in years.
If you look up the words "shyster" or "bait n switch" in a dictionary, they show a picture of Abe's.
They are most certainly "gray market" since I think every manufacturer has kicked Abe's off their lists of "authorized dealers", so the only way they can stock their shelves is through "unofficial imports".... also known as "gray market".
Gray market is worse with Nikon than just about any other brand, because of Nikon USA's monopolistic service dept. and repair parts policies. The only place to get repairs done now is at the Nikon Factory Repair facilities. They no longer have a short list 15 or 20 of "authorized repairers" around the country. Add to that, with some minor exceptions, Nikon will not sell replacement parts to anyone. So to get any repair done, it will have to be by the official factory repair center.
Even then, you may not be able to get a repair done.
I don't know if it's still the case, but Nikon used to refuse to work on any gray market items, even if you pay for it. Gray market is as ALL the "international" items that Abe's sells. "International" might sound better, but is exactly the same as "gray market".
EDIT: This from the Nikon USA website...
Gray Market Warning
Nikon products that are imported and sold by anyone other than Nikon Inc. USA are considered Gray Market products. These often are genuine Nikon products that were intended for other countries; therefore, they may not meet Nikon’s specifications for US products or perform as expected, and they are not covered by a Nikon USA warranty or eligible for Nikon USA repair service. And, because of the above Nikon repair policies the extended warranty offered by Abe's on the gray market items they sell is pretty much meaningless. Maybe, just maybe if something breaks during the warranty there won't be any parts needed to make a repair. But if any replacement parts are needed, you're pretty much out of luck. Congrats, you now own a paper weight!
I can guarantee you that all copies of of any given Nikkor lens are made in the same place... there are unlikely to be copies made in different places being sold at the same time. If they make 200-500mm in China, they make ALL 200-500mm in China. I don't know exactly where, but they have lens manufacturing facilities a number of places. For general info about where they make their cameras and lenses, see:
https://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/nikon/about-nikon/nikon-faq/where-are-nikon-cameras-and.htmlWhen they make lenses, most companies set up a manufacturing and assembly line to produce a large number of copies of any given model, which they put in stock and sell for a couple years. Meanwhile the manuf./assembly line is converted for a different lens model and makes a batch of them. Then it's set up to produce a large batch of another lens. Then another. Etc. Eventually when supplies of any given model start to run low, if it's still a good seller they'll make another batch of them. At any given time, they probably have several of these manuf./assembly lines running in parallel.
Besides, there's some really good stuff coming out of China. (... and Korea... and Thailand... and Taiwan... etc.)
If you want to buy a 200-500mm at some savings, you might look for Nikon USA refurbished. Those have a warranty, though I think it might only be 3 or 6 months. If you see any lenses advertised as refurbished by someone other than Nikon USA, well those would actually just be "used".