lol whittingham Loc: near liverpool .England

Hya all.....I've been looking on ebay at cameras, and noticed I can buy a brand new Nikon with warranty for a lot cheaper than in the shops....Are these 'imports' and what's the downside of buying one (from a supplier based in my home country ) ?
Love to hear your views and experiences ..........

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

Not sure about England, but if grey products, you have to send back to where product was made.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Here in the United States if you purchase gray or import Nikon will not service it, now some dealers will warrant it for a period of time. I'm not sure if in the UK if it's the same. You can certainly save lots of money for sure it's up to the
Buyer to decide? Best of luck on your decision!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I think you mean where the product was sold rather than made. Not that many general purpose cameras are made in England anymore. People get fed up with oil spots on the drive way, or in Nikon's case oil spots on the sensor every now and again!

Ooops, did I just say that? :oops: :twisted:

lol whittingham Loc: near liverpool .England

Thanks

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

More seriously, there are good vendors on ebay and total charlatans. You can definitely get good deals on ebay, but if the vendor is not an authorized brand dealer then you may not get service from Nikon at all, and certainly warranty can be an issue.

If you trust the dealer, then it can be a decent deal, but there is always risk and it is caveat emptor. It depends how you evaluate the risk.

If it is a new camera, then your risk is probably low, but you may have to ship it back to it's original point of sale, which can be inconvenient and costly.

Good luck

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

You're living in England and want to buy a camera from a different country where you were born. I would call Nikon in England and ask them. What happens if you buy a Nikon in you're home country and go to another country for work or school what would Nikon do about a repair??

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

When buying new on ebay look carefully at the supplier on an offer like this. One or two of the Asian companies state UK based but they are importing to their UK shell from their main operation overseas. Lead time for delivery is also a good indicator on this. The warranty on this will not be valid in the UK.

Where the product is sold as new, with warranty, and the price difference is substantial (more than say 10%) this is almost certainly the case as the main part of the saving is VAT and duty.

On the subject of grey market the UK is a little easier than Nikon in the US who are basically manic about this. While the warranty may not be valid the service department does not refuse to repair or service as required provided it is paid for (don't have a Nikon camera go wrong when visiting the US....). There are also third parties such as Fixation who provide excellent levels of support.

There are some companies on ebay, such as DigitalRev, who sell what is referred to as grey market and also supply post sales warranty but this does mean return to country of sale.

One of these days these camera companies will work out that sales on the internet mean that this compartmentalisation of warranty is working against them.

Capn_Dave

I think all Nikons are imports as are Canon,Panasonic, Sony and most of the other brands

Witzendwizard Loc: Wells, Somerset, UK

Do what I did.
Buy a "refurbished" Canon SX50HD from a UK retailer. They explained that it was a display model (most camera shops have loads of cameras on display), came with everything and had a full warranty. Downside, non really, the box had obviously been opened - otherwise not a mark on it. That's the way to go!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

No warranty, no ability to get it fixed ever - Nikon will not support it or allow its authorized network of repair facilities to repair it. And best of luck selling it when you upgrade. I, along with a large number of photographers would never touch a camera or lens suspected of being gray market.

The few pennies saved is hardly a benefit. If you want to save money, buy used, refurbed or open box. It will be as cheap as gray or import, and you won't have any of the hassles associated with buying through the wrong channels.

However, if you buy directly from an overseas retailer, you "may" be able to get it serviced here, as long as you have a receipt to prove that you bought it from a legitimate authorized reseller. It's kind of arbitrary and they may or may not fix it.

Again, the pennies are not worth the hassle.

AlMac Loc: Newcastle Upon Tyne - UK

A few year ago I bought a Nikon SB700 flash from China (from a UK based outlet). Looking at the price and postage cost it seemed a no brainer; after all, what are the chances of a genuine Nikon flash going wonky in 12 months.
When it arrived, the smile was soon knocked off my face when I had to pay the courier £48 import duty before he would hand it over. Would have been cheaper going to Jessops

craggycrossers Loc: Robin Hood Country, UK

Lol - all cameras of one particular make and model come out of the same factory, no matter to which country they are then dispatched.

Here are two of the most well-known and respected companies offering cameras as per your description. Both are well-known in this country and well-respected, even by professional photographers, despite the comments of one US - based photographer in this thread who, as so often happens, may not have noticed in which country you live.

Read their website info fully (especially regarding their warranty protection, payment and delivery) and call / talk with these companies directly about any concerns you might have. Their customer service is excellent and they "care" about their image and standing in the market place.

http://panamoz.com/index.php/faq/

http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

Gene51

What you say may be true in the US. In Europe, Africa, India the Nikon support is a lot less bloody minded. You may not get warranty but they will most definitely service and repair for payment.

After all the product is Nikon and we do live in an international world where travel, relocation and even gifts (I would like to be so lucky) mean cameras can come from outside the country you live in.

It cannot be beyond the capability of Nikon to set up a cross charging system for warranty? Buy in the UK, need to get it fixed when visiting the US, Nikon US charges Nikon UK? Or if I come to spend a year in the US am I expected to buy all my equipment from Nikon US in order to get the manufacturers support on my products? Patently absurd!

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

In the US, any grey market Nikon must be shipped back to the country that it was originally intended to be sold in for repair under the warranty. Unfortunately, this will require the owner to pay duties on the camera both ways which essentially blows any savings made by purchasing grey market in the first place. When I worked for Hartford Insurance, we were having a conference in Vancouver, Canada. I was told to check into sending a couple of laser printers (HP Laserjet 5) there to support the sales conference. After checking, it was less expensive to purchase the 2 printers there and then turn them over to our Vancouver office after the conference. Duties on the 2 printers were going to be almost as much as the printers after having to pay duties both ways.