bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

Is it better to buy camera in USA or China?

My son is traveling from USA to China in a couple of weeks. He is interested in buying a new mirrorless camera (his first), either Sony or Canon or Panasonic, and not sure whether to buy from USA or China.

Questions:

1. If he buys in China would he likely get a better price than USA? If so, is such price difference significant?
2. If he buys in China, would that be considered gray market? ie, no USA warranty?
3. Is there any customs tax on such a purchase when he returns to USA?
4. What do you recommend? China? or old USA faithful B&H or Adorama?

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

1. Can't say for sure, but the price is likely to be better in China.
2. Unless it has an International warranty, which does exist I have been told, it would be grey market.
3. Minimal, at best. Last time I checked there was no import tax on cameras. A current check would be wise. Google is your friend!
4. My personal preference is B&H for everything photographic. Things rarely go wrong and if there is a problem they are quick to fix it.

ELNikkor

On returning, there is a form he will get in the plane before landing that will ask if he bought anything in China. If he mentions the camera with its value, there may be a duty on it. I would buy it at B&H before leaving.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

First of all, if he buys in China, it will be a Nikon China Nikon (GRAY MARKET), yes, it will have a warranty, and if his camera needs servicing during the warranty period, he will have to send it to China Nikon for repairs. And yes, the Chinese Nikon is considered a GRAY MARKET camera, ie. NO USA warranty. No servicing by USA Nikon either now are down the road. However, if his camera breaks down say two years from now, he could find US repair services that should be able to help. But rest assured, Nikon USA will not service it EVER. BUT, he can always send it off to China Nikon for repairs down the road.
Yes, you will save money buying it in China, how much? Depends on a lot of factors.
I have bought several Nikon lenses from China on line and have NOT paid any customs tax. BUT, with that said, I have never traveled to China to purchase, it has always been on line.
IMHO, it pays to buy from B&H or Adorama, yes, it will cost more. BUT, if your son can afford to travel to China, he should be able to cover the difference and have more piece of mind buying from USA dealers.
And in so doing, supporting American Camera Dealer Workers, USA Postal Workers, and USA warehouse workers.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

🇺🇸👍👍👍

GHW3 Loc: San Antonio, TX

Agreed. I have traveled through Asia and there is not much difference in price, if any at all on your quality equipment. I always try to purchase from my local shop and on-line only as a last resort should my local store not have what I am looking for. I am willing to part with a little more cash to support the brick and mortar stores because of the extra personalized service educating and helping me to make the right decisions as to the proper equipment, rather than taking a chance on something I am not familiar with.

LittleRed

Best check with Nikon USA on this as in some cases what Billnikon says may not be totally correct. On NikonUSA website they give the definition of Gray Market as (quote) "Nikon products that are IMPORTED AND SOLD by anyone other than Nikon Inc. USA are considered Gray Market." In your sons case he is not importing the camera to sell rather than for his personal use. I have a friend who ran into a similar problem with purchasing a camera outside of the US. While travelling in Europe he had his Nikon camera stolen in England near the start of his vacation. Since he had a multitude of Nikon lenses he opted to purchase another camera there in England. The seller there was an authorized Nikon dealer for that country and advised him to make sure he kept all documents to prove that point when he returned home. He did so and when he returned home contacted someone at NikonUSA regarding the purchase outside of this country. He was advised that possibly any warranty may not be covered ?? but that in the future as long as he could prove he himself had purchased the equipment from an authorized dealer he would be able to get it repaired (at his expense). So it appears that as long as he keeps the camera and documentation himself it would be acceptable to NikonUSA. However should he sell it he then becomes the importer and it would be Gray Market. This was for a camera purchased in Europe (England) but it may be different for one from China especially with what is going on now between the two of them. Also I wonder if there are many "authorized" Nikon dealers in China that will issue the proper documentation. So it would be best to contact NikonUSA and get the real answer to your question rather than depend on the ramblings of us Hoggers. They do have a chat line on their website (I think)

LittleRed (Ron)

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

You are the one that is wrong. The serial number on that Nikon camera purchased in China will probably start with a 7. But regardless, bottom line is that a Nikon camera purchased in China will NOT HAVE A USA WARRANTY. Period, end of story. Stop posting what you know little about.
Call USA NIKON, here is their number 1-800-645-6687.
And this is not the ramblings of a Hogger. I worked for Nikon, DID YOU?

Stardust Loc: Central Illinois

I was in China last year and wandered into a large multi-brand camera store in Beijing. Prices looked a little better (based off 3-4 models I happen to know US prices) and should be better today with over 7-to-1 exchange rate versus 6.35 when I was there. However...

1> If he doesn't have actual Yuan (cash) to buy he will not get a good exchange rate at store, plus will still pay a "tourist" price like happens everywhere else when traveling.
2> Really needs a local friend to negotiate and/or be willing to walk away if doesn't meet price.
3> As stated by others will probably be just as good camera, but will NOT have a US warranty.
4> There is no import tax.

BebuLamar

I don't think the price in China is better than USA. About the only country I found the price is better is Japan but only for a few items. I think the price is better in Japan only for items that are made in Japan. As you know many cameras are not made in Japan. Now Panasonic cameras are mostly made in China today but I don't think the price is lower there (I am not sure). Sony cameras are mostly made in Indonesia.
Unless the price is significantly better it's better to buy in the USA.

BebuLamar

I don't think buying in China is considered gray market although I didn't check about the warranty. I asked Nikon USA before I went to Japan and they said if I buy a camera in Japan it's not considered gray market and they will service it. I forgot to ask about the warranty though.

LittleRed

No Bill, I did not work for Nikon. In fact I don't even own one. Probably wouldn't considering their policies which I don't believe in. I'm a Canon user, always was and will be. I know that a camera purchased anywhere outside the good Old US of A would NOT HAVE A USA WARRANTY (see I can shout too). Nowhere in my message did I say that. All I said that in the case of my friend Jimmy he was advised by an employee of NikonUSA that in his situation if in the future he would be able to have repair work done on his camera AT HIS COST that included even the time within the warranty period. But he would have to prove that the equipment had been purchased from an AUTHORIZED NIKON DEALER. Frankly sir personally I don't give a crap about Nikon and their policies. All I was doing was forwarding some information I had regarding Nikon and their Gray Market policies as relayed to me by a close friend. As for calling Nikon and the posting of their phone number by yourself this is just what the OP can use, as I suggested. This is the best and only thing to do to get the true answer, rather than listening to us "experts", right??

LittleRed (Ro)

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Little Red..no need to get into a ....contest here. The answer to the OP is easy. A Nikon digital product purchased in China and brought back to the US will not have a Nikon Warranty from Nikon USA. No ifs, ands, or buts. This answer alone would have sufficed.
Now we all get into nuances concerning grey market definitions. You quote correctly from Nikon...'Nikon products that are IMPORTED AND SOLD by anyone other than Nikon Inc. USA are considered Gray Market'; but you miss the point here. If we take this literally, then any Nikon product purchased from an authorized dealer in the US can also be considered Gray Market--it is a stretch of course, but if you buy from B&H and not from Nikon Inc.; does this mean that it isn't covered? Yes I know this ignores the part about 'import', but you need to go further here. If I buy a camera from Nikon Inc. and sell it to you--no warranty! It is not transferable! Yes, it was 'imported' by Nikon USA; but the other terms of the warranty are not met. So, while it doesn't say so in your 'quote'; it does say so deeper into Nikon's warranty. Products sold by Authorized Dealers (not sold by Nikon USA of course); and purchased through Nikon USA; are fully covered by Nikon's USA Warranty. Let's get to the 'Import' side of this. Nikon did not write the warranty to explicitly include or exclude digital products purchased outside of their 'Nikon USA Warranty area'. Clearly someone traveling to China, purchasing a Nikon product, and bringing it back to the US-- was not 'importing' the item in the typical definition. But in actuality, they were importing the product. They were bringing in a product sold outside of the United States and bringing it into the country. If you had them ship it from China to Moline by FedEX, UPS, or on a container ship and then by truck..would this be any different than carrying it in yourself? No, just the method of transport. So, even by Nikon's own definition-- this camera could be considered 'gray market'. Not imported by Nikon USA and not sold by Nikon USA.
So, parse words whatever way you would like.. in the end, no Nikon USA Warranty. It doesn't matter who fixes what since you still need to pay for the repair.
Billnikon was right--regardless of his VOLUME.
With all due respect...

jcboy3

Back in the early 2010's, Nikon USA would repair a camera under an international warranty if you had international proof of purchase (receipt from authorized Nikon dealer in foreign country). However, I see no mention of that in their current warranty FAQs, and I think they closed that loophole. Which would mean that you would have to ship the camera to a Nikon repair center for the region where you bought the camera.

Recently, they have allowed some international or gray market cameras to be repaired by third party repair centers, but only for older models. So a D800 can be repaired by a third party repair center, but a D750 cannot.

You can save a lot of money, but the risk is high with digital cameras that you will need repair. If that happens before Nikon USA authorizes third party repair, then you may have to ship the camera to a Chinese repair center. Which will cost some money and substantial time.

In my opinion, the risk of buying international or gray market Nikon cameras is too high. For lenses, not so much. But I would rather buy a used USA Nikon than a new gray market Nikon. As long as the used Nikon had proof that it was a USA model.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Now to the conversation about 'import duties' and tariffs.
If you import items into the USA for..resale..they are subject to duties and tariffs per US trade regulations. This is a Federal, not state and local law.
When you typically purchase online from abroad, and it is for your own use; duties and tariffs are not an issue. Your home state or state into which it is delivered is the issue. Most states require that you 'declare' the value of the item and pay part of the state's sales/use tax. Now who has voluntarily done that? Or you could by a Nikon Z7 during your trip to China, and bring it home with you. Guess what? The cost will exceed your allowance when declaring for US customs. You will pay 'duty' on the difference. 3%? There are many exceptions..but the point is there may be a cost if you are honest. And to top it off...when you declare with US Customs..they automatically notify your home state..so they can send you a tax bill!