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Nikon Price Lock?
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Feb 11, 2019 15:52:03   #
henryp Loc: New York, NY
 
Bill P wrote:
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.


Do not forget Nikon USA has two classes of authorized retailers:
NPD = Nikon Professional Dealer. NID = Nikon Imaging Dealer.

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Feb 11, 2019 22:15:13   #
SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont
 
Tea8 wrote:
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.
So I'm feeling like I might be a bit out of the lo... (show quote)

I would be cautious dealing with a store that has only one "deal" for a macro lens, especially when you discover it costs more than directly from Nikon! In addition, it sounds as though the salesman was more interested in a sale than in finding out what would be the best solution for you.

My suggestion is to go to a website such as B&H and look at the Nikon macro lenses to see what is offered. There you can see prices, whether they are on sale, and whether there is a "reward" [store credit for your next purchase]. The page for each of the lenses gives you a good description, the specifications, customer reviews, and information on compatibility. Quite thorough and worth looking at!

While you want a good price, you should also be considering what type of macro images you plan to take. If you will be working on a table with lights, the 40mm would be OK. But that short of a focal length without the lighting means you risk having your shadow fall on the subject! If you want to take flowers and butterflies, perhaps some bees, a longer focal length is recommended. It lets you stay farther away so as not to spook the critters. I mention this, because it would be a shame to bring that lens home and then discover it was not suitable for what you want to do with it.

If you decide to look for a lens online, you want to stay with trusted vendors. You will discover that the most recommended are: B&H, Adorama, Cameta, KEH. They have a reputation for good service, honest dealing, easy return policies. Plus you can look at used lenses and feel confident that they have graded them accurately. And if you should discover something wrong, they will take the lens back! I deal mainly with B&H because of all the above reasons, plus shipping from there is fast. [B&H and Adorama are in New York City, and I live in south-western Vermont.]

The 40mm macro lens is a DX lens, made for the crop sensor camera. But if you want a longer focal length, you may decide you want one that is an FX lens, for a full frame camera. That is OK because an FX lens will perform very well on the DX camera. Before I bought a full frame camera, I traded in all my DX lenses for FX lenses and used them on my DX camera!

Note: The 10-20mm DX lens is not a macro lens, it is a wide angle lens. No point in buying a lens you don't want! If you have a longer lens, such as a 70-300mm, you can use that for "close-up" shots that can be a close approximation to macro, and then buy the right macro lens when you are sure what you want.

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Feb 12, 2019 10:41:11   #
henryp Loc: New York, NY
 
SusanFromVermont wrote:
I deal mainly with B&H because of all the above reasons, plus shipping from there is fast.

Thank you. Very gratifying.

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