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Nikon's policies
for honoring warranties can be somewhat confusing, and many online and
mailorder retailers offer two types of Nikon products: official warranty
or gray market (sometimes also called "parallel import").
Here are
the relevant details for US purchasers:
- If you
purchase a gray market import, you won't get any Nikon warranty.
The only warranty that will be honored is that which the retailer
provides
(B&H, for example, provides their own one-year warranty on gray
market imports). Moreover, outside of warranty, the product will (usually*) still not
be repaired by NikonUSA--you'd have to find a third party repair shop
to fix it once the warranty expired.
- If you
purchase an officially imported product, you get a warranty that
your
NikonUSA honors. Moreover, once out of warranty, NikonUSA will repair
the equipment (and charge you for the cost of repairs).
*in early 2007 I began receiving emails from a few folk that have successfully gotten NikonUSA to repair a gray market product. However, their official policy still appears to be the same.
Outside
the US, things are similar, only sticker. I understand that new EU
laws make it near impossible for Nikon Europe to disclaim gray product
warranties, so Nikon Europe's policies are more embracing than those
of NikonUSA. Still, where Nikon owns the distributor, the rules I list
for the US, above, are the usual practice. In particular, Canada seems to be a real stickler with not wanting to repair anything that wasn't purchased through them (a real problem due to the proximity of US camera shops to many Canadians).
Over the
years, Nikon has slowly tightened its policies. This has coincided
with
their acquisition or creation of Nikon-owned distributors in much of
the developed world. Moreover, ever since the F5 was introduced, Nikon
has
stopped providing third party organizations repair equipment, manuals,
and parts to currently manufactured products. At least
that's been true for the more elaborate products,
including (but not limited to): 35mm camera bodies, digital SLRs, Speedlights
introduced after the SB-26, AF-S lenses, and VR lenses. Remember,
NikonUSA
has an official policy of not accepting for repair (at any price!)
items that weren't purchased through official import channels, so
that means that the non-supply of parts makes third party repair options
limited, if available at all.
Before you
get all anti-Nikon on me, note that most of the Japanese electronics
manufacturers
have similar policies. Switching to Canon or Pentax or Sony isn't necessarily going to get you
any better deal...
Here's
what I believe happens under current Nikon policies in the US:
If
you purchase a gray market (parallel import) item (new or used):
- NikonUSA will
not repair these items, under any circumstances. (Though see footnote, above.)
- Software
upgrades or hardware fixes won't be possible (unless there's a do-it-yourself
option, as in downloadable software updates).
- The retailer
where you purchased the product may repair or replace defective
products, if they provided a warranty at the time of purchase,
and if the warranty provider is still in business (some retailers,
such as B&H, appear to self-warranty, others use third-party companies).
- The value
of your equipment when you sell it may be less, especially if the buyer
is savvy about warranty policies.
- Rebates
are not paid.
If
you purchase an officially imported item (new or used):
- NikonUSA will
repair these items for no charge to the original owner under warranty,
for charge after the warranty expires or to subsequent
owners. Note that the term "officially imported item" refers
to where the product was purchased. If you travel to Canada and purchase
an officially imported item there and get an invoice that shows that
you did so (preferably with the serial number on it), NikonUSA should
honor the warranty when you return to the States. Note further that
Nikon may require that you show the
warranty form that came with your product
(which has
the serial number and part number on it) along with the proof of valid
purchase (digital camera bodies don't come with this--the dealer sends
information about the camera sold to Nikon).
- Software
upgrades or hardware fixes will be possible. Nikon has even been known
to notify registered owners of specific problems.
- The value
of your equipment when you sell it may be more, especially if you can
prove the official import status to a savvy buyer.
- Add-on
warranties (for example, the 4 years of extended service coverage for
Nikkor lenses in the US) are only honored if the appropriate registration
card is filled out and returned to Nikon within the prescribed time
period.
- Rebates
are paid if the correct information is provided to Nikon within the
prescribed time period.
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How
Does Nikon Know?
How
does Nikon know whether you bought an official import or not? For products
bought over 10 years ago, they may not be able to tell (except for 35mm
SLRs with N prefixes in the US), as Nikon wasn't doing anything special
to track products. More recently, however, Nikon has gotten very good
at tracking serial numbers to import countries, and in a few cases, marking
products, as well. Here's the things I know Nikon looks at:
- N
prefix. A 35mm camera body with an N prefix was originally imported
into the US.
- F prefix.
Outside of the F, F2, F3, F4, F5, and F100, an F prefix denotes a camera
body imported into a country outside the US.
- US prefix.
Many Nikkor lenses now have a US etched prior to their serial number
for US imports.
- Serial
number. Nikon keeps a serial number register of which numbers were imported
into which country. For instance, with most digital SLR bodies, the first two digits of 30 indicate US. Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect guarantee, as this numbering policy has a number of caveats.
- Warranty
Form. Most Nikon equipment other than DSLR bodies in the US now comes with a multipart
warranty
form that has both the serial number and part number printed on it.
In the case of digital cameras, Nikon at one time had the dealer fill out and
send in this information, but now appears to not use a warranty form at all.
- NikonUSA
sticker. In a few cases, bodies that were imported into the US have oval, yellow NikonUSA stickers (usually inside the
battery compartment).
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