jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If you can get a serial number, go to the Nikon site and try to register it. If it's gray, it will come up as "invalid serial number." That's how I learned my D90 from 2008 was gray market. I returned it and waited for a USA version to become available.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

Yes grey market used will make a difference if you live in the USA. Nikon USA will NOT work on any grey market regardless of if it was purchased new or used. If you were out of the country when you purchased the lens or camera, they will demand proof that you were physically where you purchased the lens (travel documents, hotel bill in your name, etc). Part of the reason is that the warranty for Nikon (NON USA) is one year plus an additional 4 years for extra cost. In the USA it is 5 years automatically. So Nikon needs to know which warranty you have from overseas. If you are an overseas resident visiting and need your Nikon repaired, you need to provide your travel info and copy of the purchase document. (they can probably get it for you but it is faster and easier if you provide them. Grey Market cameras and lenses will not be repaired by Nikon USA for any reason.

cthahn

Don't buy it if you are in doubt.

agillot

nikon is nikon , it is sad that nikon refuse to fix their product because nikon usa did not get a piece of the action when the product was sold . back in the 70 / 80s MB refused to service gray market cars at their dealership , here again it was a money issue . very sad .i wonder if canon or pentax +++ have same policy .

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The problem is that Nikon USA would be paying for the repair, but they did not make any money from the sale. You might as well ask Chevy to do warranty work on a Ford. Camera makers should avoid this whole situation by doing away with Nikon USA and Nikon Britain (or whatever it's called). Then Nikon would be selling, making a profit, and doing repairs anywhere in the world.

dean100 Loc: New-Biden did steal 500,000+ votes in OH

Are you sure about the Nikon body S/N's? Both of mine are USA models purchased from Adorama - D3s 204xxxx in 2011; D500 300xxxx in 2016.

RCJets Loc: Virginia

I have a Nikon 70 to 300 mm f4.5 5.6 AF-S VR lens. After reading the above posts regarding grey market, I decided to check on this one. I can't find a serial number on it anywhere. Does this mean it's a grey market lens?

TIA , I think.







vr

RCJets Loc: Virginia

I have a Nikon 70 to 300 mm f4.5 5.6 AF-S VR lens. After reading the above posts regarding grey market, I decided to check on this one. I can't find a serial number on it anywhere. Does this mean it's a grey market lens?

TIA , I think.







vr

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

All of my Nikons had numbers between those ranges, even the D90 that Nikon would not let me register because the number was invalid. The dealer accepted the return as gray market. 3053297

JR69 Loc: Wolverine Michigan

MT
I registered the serial number for the lens from Japan 307xxx and from KEH 302xxx and Nikon excepted those numbers in my camera bag on NikonUSA.com. I then removed them and entered a number for 205xxx which I believe (based on the first 2 numbers) is a lens destined for the Asian market and it exepted that also. The drop down window when registering the lens did not have the Model 300mm f2.8 G VR (#2154 with VR in red print) only the #2186 VRII . . So I used that lens model. The Camera bag is the only place I can see for registering a lens.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's what I've always used. I think it's more for our convenience than anything official. I probably have some gear I've sold still listed there.

whitewolfowner

Nikon refusing to tell wether a lens is grey market or not is beyond terrible business practice. They (and other camera and lens makers) are the one that has created this BS and should be legally obligated to disclose that information with an phone call. Maybe you should take it to your attorney general and file a complaint against them for with holding information you have a right to have. The complaint may put a stop to a lot this BS and abuse from camera makers towards their customers. After all, what they are doing is literally forcing you to play Russian roulette with your purchase.

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

If the deal is good, the lens from Japan may not be repairable in the US, but should be repairable in Japan. You would need to ship the lens for repair anyway, it would just take longer to get it to and from Japan. Check with the seller to find out where the lens needs to go for repair if a problem ever occurs. I have never understood why Nikon and other camera makers are so picky about the origin of their product to determine it's repair status. They are all made in China anyway and whether the product originate for sell in the US or another country, it should be repairable anywhere unless it is counterfeit and not made my the company that bears it's name.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Close to $100 to ship it to Japan from the USA.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

In addition, if you send a lens or camera to Japan for repair, you will have to pay duty fees for the export and import of the lens. I was going to ship an HP Laser printer to Vancouver, BC back in 2004 for a conference that our offices were holding there. I found that it was going to cost more for me to ship the printer to Vancouver from Hartford Ct. than it would to purchase a printer there and turn it over to our Vancouver office. The big cost was the duty fees. And if we had one of our people include it in their baggage, we were still going to have to pay duty fees on it BOTH ways. It was less expensive to buy the HP Laser printer there and leave it for the office. I would imagine that the same would be true of shipping a lens to Japan for repair.
When I worked for Nikon Professional Services (NPS) we had a member that wanted us to supply her with a couple of lenses to take on a photo shoot in Mexico. We discussed the issues with her and found that it was going to cost her almost as much in duties and taxes to take the 2 lenses to Mexico as it would to purchase them. So, we arranged for her to get the lenses from our NPS group in Mexico instead. It was cheaper (less expensive) for all concerned.
My point is that the same will probably hold true on getting a lens repaired out of the USA and shipping it back. Many companies (and I think Nikon is one) will refuse to do this because of the liability and expense.