In June 2020 I bought a Nikon Refurbished D7500 from Adorama (a very reputable company). In my various photo walkabouts the camera has worked fine. Recently (passed any warranty period) I noticed the battery compartment door was missing. I don’t know where I lost it. I can’t believe I tore it off. The comparable door on my old much used D90 seems quite sturdy, and I haven’t torn it off in over 10 years of intensive use on my various trips. Maybe this begs the notions of:
• Are refurbished items as sturdy and the new off the shelf items?
• Refurbished buyers beware?
• Inspect your refurbished item VERY carefully.
Do you in your collective wisdom think this is worthy of repair at a reasonable price (<$200)?

In June 2020 I bought a Nikon Refurbished D7500 from Adorama (a very reputable company). In my various photo walkabouts the camera has worked fine. Recently (passed any warranty period) I noticed the battery compartment door was missing. I don’t know where I lost it. I can’t believe I tore it off. The comparable door on my old much used D90 seems quite sturdy, and I haven’t torn it off in over 10 years of intensive use on my various trips. Maybe this begs the notions of:
• Are refurbished items as sturdy and the new off the shelf items?
• Refurbished buyers beware?
• Inspect your refurbished item VERY carefully.
Do you in your collective wisdom think this is worthy of repair at a reasonable price (<$200)?

$6 repair (not $200)...

https://www.ebay.com/i/254253204871?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=254253204871&targetid=934793863376&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9032191&poi=&campaignid=10897343920&mkgroupid=108910250562&rlsatarget=aud-497631946031:pla-934793863376&abcId=9300403&merchantid=118847279&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwuD7BRDBARIsAK_5YhVBxfSyI5wClzjiiL2Ib_Z_zH_w3G4RIdd-omu3asFxmvfkNsYhnPMaAuNkEALw_wcB

https://parts.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/dslr-parts/1h998-703/d7100%2c-d7200%2c-d7500-battery-door.html

Many battery doors are designed for easy removal, so that a battery grip can be installed on the camera. However, there is no battery grip for the D7500 and it's not designed to accommodate one, so I don't know if the door for it is as easily removed or installed. But typically Nikon only directly sells "easily installed" parts to the general public, so I would guess it either just clips in or is an easy installation.

There are no differences between "refurbished" and "new", when it comes to design, build quality, materials etc.

An authorized dealers such as Adorama can only advertise "refurbished" if it's actually been refurbished by Nikon USA's own facilities. Same with B&H and other "authorized" dealers.

But beware of those that aren't legitimate dealers, because there "refurbished" might be done by anyone, involve nothing more than dusting off a used item and calling it refurbished. Sounds better than "used"!

Actual "factory refurbished" should be put through basically the same testing and full inspection process as done by quality control at the time of manufacture. The difference is that factory quality control probably only fully inspects one camera out of every X number of cameras, while the rest get a more cursory check. So in a sense, with the more thorough inspection and testing, a "factory" refurb might be even better than many new.

Not sure what warranty Nikon USA gives on refurbished. Last I heard it was about the same duration as what many used equipment dealers offer... the difference being that with the refurb it's a "factory/Nikon USA" warranty, where if it's an actual used item it's only a "store" warranty.

Refurbs can be a good value because often they are little different from new, aside from the warranty (if it's different... Canon gives their refurbs the same warranty as new).

Refurbs might just be returned overstock... or they may be demo cameras that can no longer be sold as new but saw little real use. They may be cameras that Nikon showed at a trade show, where they also would have seen little use. They even can be cameras that are actually new, but the boxes are shop worn or have cosmetic shipping damage and were returned. Of course, some refurbs may have been sold, developed a problem, exchanged under warranty, and the refurbished by Nikon USA repair facilities.

Nikon USA "fired" all their authorized repair facilities not long ago. They also have a policy that they won't sell repair parts (other than simple stuff like battery doors and rubber grip covers). Between these two things, you can pretty much rest assured than any "refurbished" camera being sold by an authorized dealer was refurb'd by Nikon USA's own facilities. You only need to worry about "unauthorized" dealers, if you see them advertising any refurbs.

Nikon probably has a list of authorized dealers on their website somewhere. The unauthorized are strictly "gray market" sellers.... (ahem "AbesofMaine" ahem)... though they now call it an "international warranty" (which basically means no warranty at all). I haven't seen any of them offering refurbs lately... but ya never know!

EDIT: I just found Nikon USA's authorized dealer list, with close to 300 names on it. These are folks authorized to sell Nikon products, who might also sell factory refurbs. I would imagine Nikon USA mostly provides those to their largest dealers (because they also reserve quite a few for sale direct from the Nikon USA website). There appear to be two types of dealers: NPD and NID. Dealers designated NPD are Nikon Photo Dealers, while those designated NID are Nikon Imaging Dealers. The latter might be more limited in what they can sell, such as only the non-interchangeable lens cameras, while the NPD can carry the full line including DSLRs, mirrorless, lenses and accessories.

https://cdn-6.nikon-cdn.com/where-to-buy/nikon_img_auth_dealers.pdf

I wouldn't buy a "refurb" from a store that's NOT on the above list.

In June 2020 I bought a Nikon Refurbished D7500 from Adorama (a very reputable company). In my various photo walkabouts the camera has worked fine. Recently (passed any warranty period) I noticed the battery compartment door was missing. I don’t know where I lost it. I can’t believe I tore it off. The comparable door on my old much used D90 seems quite sturdy, and I haven’t torn it off in over 10 years of intensive use on my various trips. Maybe this begs the notions of:
• Are refurbished items as sturdy and the new off the shelf items?
• Refurbished buyers beware?
• Inspect your refurbished item VERY carefully.
Do you in your collective wisdom think this is worthy of repair at a reasonable price (<$200)?

In June 2020 I bought a Nikon Refurbished D7500 from Adorama (a very reputable company). In my various photo walkabouts the camera has worked fine. Recently (passed any warranty period) I noticed the battery compartment door was missing. I don’t know where I lost it. I can’t believe I tore it off. The comparable door on my old much used D90 seems quite sturdy, and I haven’t torn it off in over 10 years of intensive use on my various trips. Maybe this begs the notions of:
• Are refurbished items as sturdy and the new off the shelf items?
• Refurbished buyers beware?
• Inspect your refurbished item VERY carefully.
Do you in your collective wisdom think this is worthy of repair at a reasonable price (<$200)?