Its not a Nikon thing. Each and every camera and lens manufacturer now has MAP pricing policies.
This started almost 10 years ago when the industry recognized the problem of huge retailers getting huge quantity discounts and selling products at hundreds of dollars below small dealers lower buying power costs. This decimated the small stores all over the country and caused thousands of them to fold because they could not compete pricewise with the big New York catalog stores and the internet discounters.
MAP pricing set a solid selling point for ALL authorized dealers and the dealer discount that is still tied to quantities ordered assures EVERYONE makes at least a slight profit. The profits get MUCH bigger depending on the quantities ordered. But high volume NYC dealers can make upwards of 35% on cameras and lenses while small mom and pop stores are given a minimum 6% profit. Which leaves very little margin if the credit card that is used to pay for that camera charges 4%.

So I'm feeling like I might be a bit out of the loop and I figured those of you here might know. Does Nikon still have it's price lock or fixed price thing where pretty much no matter what you're buying of theirs it's going to cost the same, or right at about the same, at every place? (Unless you're getting a grey market item that is.)

When I purchased my D5200 several years ago it didn't matter where I bought it it cost pretty much the same at the store versus purchasing it directly from them, so I supported my local camera store and bought from them. Since then, I haven't purchased any major things and the camera store changed owners. After these long years I am finally getting back into photography again and wanting to expand what glass (lens) I have to shoot with.

My latest interest has been with micro photography and so I headed to my camera store to see what they had in the way of macro lenses to go with my camera. They didn't have anything used in at the moment so I asked about new. The only way that I could purchase a macro lens that day and walk out of the store with it was to purchase it in a two lens set they were selling. It was the 40mm DX micro lens and a 10-20mm DX lens. The guy at the store told me that if I purchased them together I could save some money and I could leave with both of the lenses that day, whereas they would have to order in just the one lens and I would have to wait on it. He didn't give me the price of the lens individually.

So, this got me to thinking about how much they would be individually and how much it would run if I were going to purchase these lenses directly from Nikon, or at least get an idea of what I would be spending for the one lens I want. Come to find out, even before taxes, it's $75 cheaper for me to purchase the lenses individually from Nikon than to get them in this set from the store. I get that this is a store and that they have to make money, but when I purchased my camera and the lens it came with the price was the same at the store, maybe $10 more for the kit I purchased, as it was online from them.

So, what's changed? Is there not a price lock anymore? Could it be because the store has changed hands? If you've read this far, thank you so much. I just wanted a little more info before I went out and spent my money because I would like to get a deal if possible so I can get some other gear. (I will be checking back to see if by chance they got anything good in in the used lenses since last week.) The GAS is kicking back in with me and I'm pretty excited.

Personally, I would walk out of, and never buy from any vendor of anything that tried to make me buy something I didn't want just to get something I did. Nikon, as well as others, from time to time do have dual lens deals but they usually come with camera bodies. In your case, just order the lens you want, on-line, from any of the Big Boys always mentioned here. Although I do LOVE local shops, Allen's camera in Levittown PA is MY favorite, I would walk out, make that run out, of any store that treated me like that. Best of luck.

So I'm feeling like I might be a bit out of the loop and I figured those of you here might know. Does Nikon still have it's price lock or fixed price thing where pretty much no matter what you're buying of theirs it's going to cost the same, or right at about the same, at every place? (Unless you're getting a grey market item that is.)

When I purchased my D5200 several years ago it didn't matter where I bought it it cost pretty much the same at the store versus purchasing it directly from them, so I supported my local camera store and bought from them. Since then, I haven't purchased any major things and the camera store changed owners. After these long years I am finally getting back into photography again and wanting to expand what glass (lens) I have to shoot with.

My latest interest has been with micro photography and so I headed to my camera store to see what they had in the way of macro lenses to go with my camera. They didn't have anything used in at the moment so I asked about new. The only way that I could purchase a macro lens that day and walk out of the store with it was to purchase it in a two lens set they were selling. It was the 40mm DX micro lens and a 10-20mm DX lens. The guy at the store told me that if I purchased them together I could save some money and I could leave with both of the lenses that day, whereas they would have to order in just the one lens and I would have to wait on it. He didn't give me the price of the lens individually.

So, this got me to thinking about how much they would be individually and how much it would run if I were going to purchase these lenses directly from Nikon, or at least get an idea of what I would be spending for the one lens I want. Come to find out, even before taxes, it's $75 cheaper for me to purchase the lenses individually from Nikon than to get them in this set from the store. I get that this is a store and that they have to make money, but when I purchased my camera and the lens it came with the price was the same at the store, maybe $10 more for the kit I purchased, as it was online from them.

So, what's changed? Is there not a price lock anymore? Could it be because the store has changed hands? If you've read this far, thank you so much. I just wanted a little more info before I went out and spent my money because I would like to get a deal if possible so I can get some other gear. (I will be checking back to see if by chance they got anything good in in the used lenses since last week.) The GAS is kicking back in with me and I'm pretty excited.

Mom and pops are soon to be gone. I have a friend that once owned his own B&M store, and wished to sell Nikon. He finally, after along wait, got a rep to take his phone calls, and was told that to be an authorized dealer, he was required to purchase a certain amount of inventory including oddball stuff and obscure accessories. So where I live, to get Nikon stuff, If I want the very bottom end of kits, it's costco, and for higer end stuff its full price at Best Buy. The manufacturers are making their own beds.