grey imports and repairs advice please

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am thinking of replacing my aging Nikon D7000 with a D810, however I can only afford to pay for a grey import rather than a lovely UK one with all the proper paperwork and guarantees !!

I know most grey suppliers will offer their own warranty through some third party if you get bother, but I was wondering what would happen if say the supplier goes out of business or is just unhelpful in such circumstances - would Nikon UK carry out repairs and service on a grey import if I was happy to pay their charges or would the serial number come up as dodgy on their systems and they wouldn't touch it.


Grateful of any advice on this, to my mind the savings on a grey one are worth the risks if at worst case Nikon would charge for repairs, but I'd get an awful telling off from the mrs if I ended up with a faulty camera which no-one would repair !!!
 
Nikon or third-party Nikon repairers will always be happy to take your money for repairs :)
 
buy from H-DEW they give a 3 year warranty using the same repairers as nikon or canon ,simples init
 
I have been looking at panamoz prices they are very good for new gear and the endorsements on this thread are helping me :)
 
One year, actually. Panamoz offer three years.

HDEW cameras come with a 3 year warranty and they are UK based in Carshalton and they are very easy to contact.
I have no affiliation with them except that I bought from them a couple of years ago
 
HDEW cameras come with a 3 year warranty and they are UK based in Carshalton and they are very easy to contact.
I have no affiliation with them except that I bought from them a couple of years ago

"All products come with a standard 1-year manufacturers warranty based on the sales invoice you receive with the product. All you need is to keep the invoice. In addition we can supply extra cover with Xtendcover Limited to allow you to have the product repaired for a further 2 years under guarantee. You need to keep the sales invoice and the Xtendcover card, which comes with the product. Please that many but not all of our offers include the extended guarantee. This is clearly indicated in the titles of the products or bundles for sale.
Naturally if the product is delivered with a fault then a replacement will be supplied."

My bold added. Extra cover is paid for by the buyer.
 
"All products come with a standard 1-year manufacturers warranty based on the sales invoice you receive with the product. All you need is to keep the invoice. In addition we can supply extra cover with Xtendcover Limited to allow you to have the product repaired for a further 2 years under guarantee. You need to keep the sales invoice and the Xtendcover card, which comes with the product. Please that many but not all of our offers include the extended guarantee. This is clearly indicated in the titles of the products or bundles for sale.
Naturally if the product is delivered with a fault then a replacement will be supplied."

My bold added. Extra cover is paid for by the buyer.


http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/nikon-d810-digital-slr-body-2387-p.asp

FREE 3 YEAR WARRANTY INCLUDED

:)
 
i was more interested in what happens if things go wrong with the supplier - say when claiming under their three year warranty they say oh you must have dropped it - tough, what would my options be then, I know Nikon USA don't touch grey imports even if you are happy to pay and just wondered if people had experience with Nikon UK and grey chargeable repairs.
 
i was more interested in what happens if things go wrong with the supplier - say when claiming under their three year warranty they say oh you must have dropped it - tough, what would my options be then, I know Nikon USA don't touch grey imports even if you are happy to pay and just wondered if people had experience with Nikon UK and grey chargeable repairs.
See post #2 :D
 
i was more interested in what happens if things go wrong with the supplier - say when claiming under their three year warranty they say oh you must have dropped it - tough, what would my options be then, I know Nikon USA don't touch grey imports even if you are happy to pay and just wondered if people had experience with Nikon UK and grey chargeable repairs.

Have a look at the D750 thread as it's possibly the biggest for Nikon. There have been a few who have had to send there body to Nikon and with no problems with them being grey.

Myself, when I bought my first D750 there was a foreign body, looked like plastic swarf in the VF. I contacted Panamoz and they arranged collection for the next day and the body was back in HK within three days and a refund on the fourth day. Fantastic service IMO. I have bought five bodies from them over the last few years and I have had excellent service everytime.

As Gramps has said, providing the parts are available, most companies would be stupid not to take your money if a repair needed doing. At the end of the day, they all come of the same production line.
 
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"All products come with a standard 1-year manufacturers warranty based on the sales invoice you receive with the product. All you need is to keep the invoice. In addition we can supply extra cover with Xtendcover Limited to allow you to have the product repaired for a further 2 years under guarantee. You need to keep the sales invoice and the Xtendcover card, which comes with the product. Please that many but not all of our offers include the extended guarantee. This is clearly indicated in the titles of the products or bundles for sale.
Naturally if the product is delivered with a fault then a replacement will be supplied."

My bold added. Extra cover is paid for by the buyer.

Sorry but I'm a bit negative about 'grey' at the moment.
I've just had a bad experience with a (not one mentioned here) grey supplier and as a result of this I today bought a D800 from my local camera shop and will not be going back to grey again.
A three £300 difference but peace of mind.
I also bought a 24-85 lens from Currys, only £20 difference from the lowest grey price, but with a genuine one year Nikon warranty.
I bought a D7000 + 2 lenses from HDEW a couple of years ago which came with 3 years warranty (on the camera).
Fortunately I had no problems with the items - except the sensor had to be cleaned after a month due to the issue D7000s had and instead of the bother of going through the warranty route I simply paid £18 to have it cleaned in my local shop.
I would like to add that I have never heard a bad word about Panamoz.
I have also bought lenses from DigitalRev with no issues whatsoever.
 
i was more interested in what happens if things go wrong with the supplier - say when claiming under their three year warranty they say oh you must have dropped it - tough, what would my options be then, I know Nikon USA don't touch grey imports even if you are happy to pay and just wondered if people had experience with Nikon UK and grey chargeable repairs.
Forget Nikon for repairs they are crap! (What sort of company refuses to take your money for a repair because it's a grey import!) use Sendean or some other private repair shop mostly they are cheaper and quicker. Nikon repairs are a set of arses.
 
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dean ,i speak from experience ,the service from h.dew is above and beyond whats needed .i have no connection to them at all just when things have gone wrong in the past its been dealt with properly and fairly and refunded in one particular case of a bad lens (after 6 months of use)
 
What sort of company refuses to take your money for a repair because it's a grey import!

A company that doesn't want to be a part of anything illegal, or potentially illegal.

A company that's not keen on having its profits cut by smugglers and is willing to forgo the tiny profit it might make on a repair.
 
What sort of company refuses to take your money for a repair because it's a grey import!
I think you'll find that Nikon UK probably will take your money to repair a grey market import. I've just bought a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 from a retailer in the Netherlands and I was assured by Nikon UK that there wouldn't be any trouble if it ever needed servicing, either during its warranty period or afterwards.

It's the black market ones they really don't like. And as we all know, many of the retailers described as grey market are really black market.
 
A company that doesn't want to be a part of anything illegal, or potentially illegal.

A company that's not keen on having its profits cut by smugglers and is willing to forgo the tiny profit it might make on a repair.
So they just take the camera one of the many independent repairs and Nikon lose more money.LOL. Barmy Nikon as usual.
 
A company that doesn't want to be a part of anything illegal, or potentially illegal.

A company that's not keen on having its profits cut by smugglers and is willing to forgo the tiny profit it might make on a repair.

Eh, grey market importing is not illegal, so why would Nikon refuse to service a grey imported item on legal issues, how would Nikon know if it duties were paid on such imports or not

And as far as i am aware, non of the grey market imports i have bought have been smuggled into the country o_O
 
Nikon UK, or any other large manufacturer, could ask for the purchase receipt to prove it was bought from them.
 
Nikon UK, or any other large manufacturer, could ask for the purchase receipt to prove it was bought from them.
They could, but unless it's a warranty claim they won't, they will take money off of you the owner or off of the repairer who sends it to them on your behalf ... I suspect they would also take repair money from the likes of HDEW, DigitalRev, Panamoz and the like :)
 
Eh, grey market importing is not illegal

True. However, we all know that some of these 'grey' importers rely on the fact that they don't pay import duties and VAT to make a profit. Of course, they aren't doing anything illegal as they aren't the importers - it's the final user who officially imports the goods. If UK Border Control don't ask for the taxes then it's the legal duty of the importer to volunteer them. To do otherwise is smuggling - which is illegal.
 
They could, but unless it's a warranty claim they won't, they will take money off of you the owner or off of the repairer who sends it to them on your behalf ... I suspect they would also take repair money from the likes of HDEW, DigitalRev, Panamoz and the like :)
agreed, my post was in reply to Rich "how would Nikon know if it duties were paid on such imports or not" and I should have quoted him
 
It's the black market ones they really don't like. And as we all know, many of the retailers described as grey market are really black market.

Can I ask what the difference is? My understanding was that grey market means supplied from outwith the local regional supply chain.
 
Nikon will repair it free, if you lived abroad when you bought it ;) or were working there when you bought it ;)

I had an issue with a D3, I was working in the states, UK Nikon repaired it FOC.
 
Can I ask what the difference is? My understanding was that grey market means supplied from outwith the local regional supply chain.

That's correct. A grey market importer will source the goods from an alternative supplier but will pay all the relevant duties and taxes. HDEW are such a supplier as they will supply you with a VAT receipt - but only if you ask for it. Many of the other suppliers do not pay duty and taxes - and their T&Cs place the onus for doing so on the purchaser. They are in the clear legally, but the purchaser is not if they do not voluntarily declare their purchase. That's when it becomes a black market operation - when taxes are avoided. It's exactly the same as going to Tenerife and bringing 5000 fags back with you and going through the 'Nothing to Declare' channel - then selling the fags down the pub.
 
That's correct. A grey market importer will source the goods from an alternative supplier but will pay all the relevant duties and taxes. HDEW are such a supplier as they will supply you with a VAT receipt - but only if you ask for it. Many of the other suppliers do not pay duty and taxes - and their T&Cs place the onus for doing so on the purchaser. They are in the clear legally, but the purchaser is not if they do not voluntarily declare their purchase. That's when it becomes a black market operation - when taxes are avoided. It's exactly the same as going to Tenerife and bringing 5000 fags back with you and going through the 'Nothing to Declare' channel - then selling the fags down the pub.
I've bought from various grey importers, and on occasion been "stung" with VAT, duty and charges, which the supplier has reimbursed me for. I'm not running a business so a VAT receipt is of very little use to me.

I was recently searching for a body, and every single retailer in the UK had the same price, right down to the pound. This is price fixing, and is unfair to consumers as it eliminates competition. Sure, this is legal, but is it fair?

I'm sure these arguments have been had before, but little old me saving a few hundred quid on a camera doesn't even compare to the state-allowed tax avoidance regimes that large multinational companies are permitted to utilise.
 
no-one would repair !!!

My local repair man says that "if it's made by humans he can repair it"
He replaced the shutter on my a7s for £66, I was quoted £350 from Sony. Third party repair places are likely cheaper than you think

Generally grey imports will just give you a whole new camera rather than repair
 
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