One Rude Dawg Loc: Athol, ID

B&H great to do business with.

BigJim Loc: East TN Oak Ridge Area

Will someone explain "Grey Market" to me. Aren't all Nikon lenses made in Japan?

JD328i

I suspected and figured the outcome would likely end with satisfaction. B&H is one of the best online stores out there. The lesson here is that customer service reps are usually scripted employees and you should elevate your concerns to higher levels if needed.

WAL

What was the savings for buying grey market?

oldasdirt Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

After reading through five pages on this subject I just feel driven to get into the foray. I cite two instances: Just before Christmas I purchased a 28-300 Nikon after a month of agonizing over the price. I bought it because I had decided I wanted it, and wanted it now.... not when the price "might" go down. It's selling for about $200 less in this promo, but it must have been worth it, when I bought it, so it's worth it now. Also had an expensive Lenovo laptop shipped in from them that came with a hole puched in the box, dent in the lid, UPS style. B&H turned it around in four days with a replacement, NY to TX, and during the extremely bad weather. They have my business and my loyalty.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Why did you purchase the grey market lens in the first place? I've seen these in the B&H catalog but the price is almost always the exact same amount so I never saw a point in purchasing the grey market products. Besides, they DONT have a US/Canada warranty.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

I hope we can agree to disagree. Adorama and B&H are almost identical, in fact they probable are identical.

This is how these two companies remain the top two internet sales companies for photography equipment. The only reason I prefer Adorama is because it takes one day less to ship to me for some reason. Their prices are almost always the same.

Jim D

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Well said, sir. In this case the lens was not at fault it was simply at a lower price. I can understand a person not used to buying cameras buying a lens at a lower price, not knowing there is the USA warrantied lens AND a grey market lens to choose from But most experienced photographers should know there is a reason for a lower price and ASK if the item has a USA warranty.

Dennis

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Well said, sir. In this case the lens was not at fault it was simply at a lower price. I can understand a person not used to buying cameras buying a lens at a lower price, not knowing there is the USA warrantied lens AND a grey market lens to choose from But most experienced photographers should know there is a reason for a lower price and ASK if the item has a USA warranty.

Dennis

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"Grey Market": "A system of product distribution that uses the distrubution channels of the world's free market and economy".

If you buy a product in the USA from a contract dealer who buys form the contract wholesaler you get the "full service" of the distribution system, including a guarantee that it is a "real" product and full warranty service.

I've never done it, but you can buy a Rolex watch from a jewelry store or a street vendor on the dock adjacent to a cruise ship in Mexico. One should have real Rolex parts, the other might look like is should but the guts were made where?

I think it used to be that manufacturers could fully control the market distribution. You could not buy "Grey Market" products in the USA. Gradually we adopted trade laws that made that illegal. Now, as you can see, you can buy a lens that went through "all the right channels" or one that came from (perhaps) a Hong Kong wholesaler.

FWIW, I was a Navy pilot in the '70s and flew throughout Asia. Everywhere I landed there was a new to me Navy Exchange with Nikon gear at 75% less than in the USA. It was like a drug. I bought everything I didn't already have. If any of it broke when I went home, it may have been more difficult to repair as none of it had a warranty honored by Nikon USA.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

You are correct. It was not the norm. I too spend all my disposable income on photographic equipment, which has been considerable this past year and going back 15 years.

It just made me furious that I couldn't even discuss it.

Now that I'm back to a reasonable state I'll still choose B&H. Its good to know there is help when you think its needed.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

juicesqueezer, when I worked retail years ago I found the same thing to be true. Personally I do the same thing but also if a store irritated me I generally didn't shop there anymore. There are many stores around that sell the same product so I found another store. Now that I am a little (very little sometimes) more mature in my thinking I try to call a store manager over to explain the problem. Sometimes I did not read the ad thoroughly regarding dates of the ad or possibly the item I was buying was not covered under the ad. I apologized and went on my way. If I still felt I was right in my thinking I went on my way and found another store. As we should all know by now the customer is not always right.

Dennis

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Having worked in the after-market parts business for years its not all that clear cut. Very little is back & white. The lines are blurred between OEM and after-market.

BigJim Loc: East TN Oak Ridge Area

Thanks Bsprague that helps a lot.

KotaKrome

Isn't price fixing supposed to be illegal in the USA?
I know this IS done but a wholesaler is not SUPPOSED to have the power to control the RETAIL prices of their customers