jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

From Nikon -

https://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/331/~/what-is-gray-market%3F

Ken Rockwell -

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/gray-market.htm

georgevedwards Loc: Essex, Maryland.

That still leaves me wondering about where the 3rd party warranty company has them repaired. It sounds like they would send them back to the factory in Europe or wherever they came from. Which also raises the question of where the grey market item is made. When I bought my grey market Nikkor f1.4 50mm prime lens for substantially less than the USA version, the ad said "same lens only an import". This raises the question of whether Nikon has different factories overseas. For instance with guitars, Fender and Martin have in recent years opened factories in Mexico. The opinion of guitar players is that they are not as good a those made in the USA. The idea was to make them more affordable, so the price is not as high as it might be if made in the US. Now I think guitar making is as much an art as a science, (Stradivarius for instance) but lens making is definitely more of a technology or science, in fact many photography items produced say in Germany may have a higher engineering quality than those in the US. Which brings us full circle to the question of Nikon USA's factory. Is it in the US? I have seen on previous topics that most of Nikons hardware is not manufactured here either, perhaps the parts are made elsewhere and just assembled here.
On the other hand, the 3rd party warranty could merely be a private repair shop somewhere in the US that has a contract with the reseller.
Personally I have never needed to have any warranty work done on a camera, the one time I had a special "replacement by accident" special accident additional warranty on a film camera back in the day, I dropped the camera in mud, and they had to replace it. Incidentally, they shop where I got the camera did damage the camera as they were inspecting it, the repairman dropped it as I watched him looking at it. I sure was glad they had that special warranty for an additional price, it was called the ESP Warranty, and was discontinued.

georgevedwards Loc: Essex, Maryland.

Aha! So you cannot use a 3rd party warranty mentioned in the thread? If Nikon will not supply parts 3rd party shops, that means their are no 3rd party repair shops! It would be like taking your car to your neighborhood mechanic and not be able to get a muffler replaced, because only the dealer has an repair shop that can order parts, and I found out a long time ago they charge twice as much. Sounds like a monopoly system. I have heard for years how the US cannot sell products in Japan because of the system of "authorized" distributors who have a monopoly on business there.

georgevedwards Loc: Essex, Maryland.

So the grey market has nothing to do with origin of manufacture or engineering quality only that the authorized seller in the US has a good warranty and service system for the same item that is sold cheaper with the "grey market" slur. It is only important if you think that you will need a good warranty. I guess if I bought one of those D600 full frame cameras and had spots on the sensor I would be pretty pissed if I had bought it grey market! Of course, from what I heard from customers with the spots was that Nikon denied there was a problem anyhow.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Quality should be the same, regardless where something is made by a major manufacturer. Nikon, Canon, or Honda design the product, the manufacturing process, and the machines. Then they train the workers. My 2015 Honda Fit, like all 2015 Honda Fits, was made in Mexico, and I have to believe that Honda has enough invested in their products to ensure that they are made right. Fingers crossed.

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

For Nikon Lenses http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/serialno.html
For Cameras: Nikon has long used the first digit of the serial number to indicate region for many of their products:
1 Not used
2 Japan
3 USA
4 Europe (excluding UK)
5 Canada
6 Australia/New Zealand
7 Asia (excluding Japan)
8 United Kingdom
9 Not used
Craig

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

If you are buying a used dSLR I do not believe it makes a difference genuine or gray market. There are thousand of places where these cameras are repaired genuine or not.

The Villages Loc: The Villages, Florida

I wish you were correcct, but not sure as Nikon limits those to whom they provide parts.

shelty Loc: Medford, OR

Some years back I bought a camera from an unknown dealer, and when I received it, it had a warranty from a repair service. So I kept it. Big Mistake. Some months later, the camera quit working. So I sent it in to this repair place. It was almost a year later when I received the camera back. I had to buy another camera in the meantime. Then a few months later, it quit working again. So I sent it in and got an estimate for around $900 to repair it. Needless to say, my next camera was a Nikon with USA warranty. Since then I have never had to send a camera in for repair again.

rbfanman

One way to be sure it is a USA product, rather than a Grey Market item, is to buy it from niknonusa.com

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Afraid so. There was a lengthy discussion here a while back.

http://ifixit.org/blog/1349/how-nikon-is-killing-camera-repair/

Zookeeper Loc: Texas

Yes

4ellen4 Loc: GTA--Ontario

I bought a used Nikon d3000 and registered it with no problem giving Nikon [Canada] the serial number. And sent it in for some minor repairs and no problem with that.

I would get the serial number of the item that you are considering buying--phone Nikon and give the serial number and see what they have to say.

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

Unable or unwilling????

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

Nikon USA’s warranty/repair policies have given photographers heartburn for several decades that I am aware of. At one time I had seen instructions for obtaining Nikon service (paid, not even warranty) that required it be sent to their repair facility in the original box and with the original retailers invoice. That’s a lot of stuff to hang on to for years in case you need to have something serviced! But, I’ve had several Nikon bodies, as many lenses, and a speedlight repaired by Nikon to my complete satisfaction. Pricey but excellent work.

I have also seen a claim that Nikon’s prohibition of working on gray market (or parallel import) goods had been disallowed by a federal court ruling. Unfortunately, I cannot now find any supporting documentation. They are, however, evidently, in violation of a treaty allowing parallel import goods, which was approved with reservations by the US and Britain, but more importantly, is in effect in Japan, home of Nikon USA’s parent corporation. So it is entirely possible that Nikon’s policy, and now Canon’s, is not entirely legal. I have heard of people who have successfully argued with the Nikon repair facility personnel citing the court ruling and had their equipment repaired – but can not validate that claim. (Wish I could find reference too that court case.)

I take the safe road and buy only new USA warranted equipment from authorized dealers.