I'm not sure if this is any help but here in NYC there's a shop that is authorized by Nikon to do repairs. I was told by Nikon to go there when I had a problem which saved me from shipping.

It depends where you purchase your next camera. When I started shopping around for my first dslr I was going to B&H or Adorama, especially since I live in NYC. But I found out that Feb.-Mar. are the best months for shopping for a dslr. So I checked out the big electronic stores and found Best Buy had a better offer. When I got there I found out they were having a special sale (only shown in their flyer). I ended up getting a Nikon d3100 kit and a 55-300mm telephoto lens for the same price as the other places were giving with a smaller telephoto. Hope this helps.

I had the same problemo with the same camera. Called Nikon and after a long discussion, was told where I could get it fixed in NYC which would alleviate shipping the camera. The tech at the authorized repair shop said he would have to open up the whole viewfinder area to clean it. Told me it has no effect on my pics so don't have it cleaned out till the camera has a real problem.