Pixel Perfect wrote:
Why do you Americans get so hung about grey imports? Maybe if the saving were only 10% sure, but at over 30% it's a no brainer.
Well, gee...
This is now one reason...
Not sure how he could sell it down the road without full disclosure.
meesund, you only have five posts here so none of us have had a chance to know anything about you, if this was your first Nikon DSLR, or are you an experienced buyer who went for this deal with eyes wide open? There are judgement calls we all make when buying any product. "Is it too good to be true?" Or, is it a reasonable discount? Can you be happy with the camera now with the mismatched serial numbers? If so, keep it. Or will you look at it and always be justifying; but not really that enthused about it because you feel cheated? That's how I would feel. Here we have all the cheerleaders who won't buy it themselves, but they sure make it sound good. It's endless, with every product Nikon sells there's a new thread, killer deals and different cheerleaders.
Curious, was the shutter count of 1 off the exif, or from the camera picture count?
My first camera body I bought long ago was from some fly-by-night New Jersey storefront with a great catchy name.. "Wa-Wa Digital." I saved a few bucks, but I would never do that again. I could have been the one going "Waa-waa!"
Nikon exif Sn# must match Nikon label Sn# must match original box Sn# must match warranty Sn#.
Anybody that buys a grey market Nikon body good luck. There is no dealer that can get parts for your 750 even KEH will be out for any hard parts. KEH just returned another members DF due to no parts from Nikon.
So if it breaks toss it. Selling it will also be problem and with changed serial numbers it a paper weight.
I am really thinking going back to Canon. Nikon has the worst policys then any other company.
SteveS wrote:
Anybody that buys a grey market Nikon body good luck. There is no dealer that can get parts for your 750 even KEH will be out for any hard parts. KEH just returned another members DF due to no parts from Nikon.
So if it breaks toss it. Selling it will also be problem and with changed serial numbers it a paper weight.
I am really thinking going back to Canon. Nikon has the worst policys then any other company.
Not sure why you seem to be taking it so personally. They make it clear they will not service grey market cameras. People are not entitled to "deals" from unauthorized sources. They still make better cameras at retail price than Canon.
meesund wrote:
Here is another interesting thing I found out about this gray market body. I went to Nikon service advisory website to check if my D750 is affected, I noticed the serial number in the camera is 8 digits not 7 like normal Nikon serial#s. Advisory website also rejected my serial number saying it is not a valid serial. So I looked up the internal serial # from the jpg uploaded to exif viewer website (http://regex.info/exif.cgi). From the EXIF the internal serial # is different from the one in body tag and it is 7 digits starting with#8. Service advisory cleared the serial number saying this camera is not affected. It is clearly evident that the serial tag on the body is altered for whatever reason. You can simply tell how the tag sticker is not aligned properly and the low printing quality of tag itself. Anyway, it takes great pictures and Nikon USA is not going to touch this anyway. I just wanted others to know this.
Image of the tag is in the link below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/5w3mrjzxzulk8mn/IMG_0333.jpg?dl=0...Show more →
The D750 I received from the same seller has the same issue.
stevez32 wrote:
Not sure why you seem to be taking it so personally. They make it clear they will not service grey market cameras. People are not entitled to "deals" from unauthorized sources. They still make better cameras at retail price than Canon.
I do take it personal. I got burnt on a Coolpix 990 when they first came out. I had no clue back then what a usa Nikon was. I bought one at a NY internet store for 999.00. Months later it would not turn on. Sent it to Nikon. Came back as grey market. I told them I had no clue and would gladly pay for the repair. They would not. I called corporate office and told them. I had no clue what grey market was. I also told them it should give a warning on the box. Corporate told me buyer beware and they dont care and wont fix it.
The worst part of the whole thing was. I could not get a third party to repair the camera. Nikon refused to sell parts. Camera was a 1000.00 paper weight.
Yes this hits me hard to this day. Hard to support a company with these type of business policys.
Canon's 5dwhatever (50mp model) is selling for $2200!!! grey market. What a drop in price!! That's how badly Canon is willing to forfeit to win over the high MP market. Just kidding. Hell, 1,300 for a D750 is so low that no one should be upset. I am pretty sure SOMEONE in the world will fix it if repair is needed. should it ever need parts or repair, that is, which I have been lucky with my 8+ DSLRs comprised of both Canon or Nikon
Regarding serial numbers, I am pretty sure someone can sell you a replacement serial sticker and badge that IS legit. Nikon USA is a different animal -- albeit more sales totals than any other country BY FAR, I am guessing -- so they are run with different rules. Just like Honda Japan and Honda USA were probably different animals, and perhaps still are.
I know you can get almost any part, serial number plate/badge included, from Nikon UK. But...shipping address must be in UK to have parts sent there. Anyone have family over there?
Furthermore, you can probably reprogram data to change serial if it is such an issue so that they match. I have a hard time believing someoone like KEH, who does repairs too, correct, would care too much. They just have contracts to buy parts......and Nikon doesn't give two craps if it is selling parts, right?
meesund, you only have five posts here so none of us have had a chance to know anything about you, if this was your first Nikon DSLR, or are you an experienced buyer who went for this deal with eyes wide open? This is my 3rd Nikon after D50 and D90. I went for this deal knowing the risk assuming this will be an import from a different region but didn't expect the fake tag. Shutter count was 1 from the exif. Thank you
ckcarr for taking the time to respond.
Thanks all of you for the response, I have decided to keep the body and not worry about the serial number issue anymore.
Best regards,
MK
SteveS wrote:
Can I ask how changing the serial number is legit. What would be the reason to change it?
I never said it was legit, but seems to not be illegal if you owned same product from same market originally. I think pieces get destroyed like barrels and such (on lenses), or bottom plates on DSLRs. They have to place new number on there corresponding with new part, since each serial # is likely never printed out on new sticker past the first time.
And exif/BIOS in camera firmware is likely reprogrammed with new #
lsutigerfan wrote:
Regarding serial numbers, I am pretty sure someone can sell you a replacement serial sticker and badge that IS legit. Nikon USA is a different animal -- albeit more sales totals than any other country BY FAR, I am guessing -- so they are run with different rules. Just like Honda Japan and Honda USA were probably different animals, and perhaps still are.
I know you can get almost any part, serial number plate/badge included, from Nikon UK. But...shipping address must be in UK to have parts sent there. Anyone have family over there?
Furthermore, you can probably reprogram data to change serial if it is such an issue so that they match. I have a hard time believing someoone like KEH, who does repairs too, correct, would care too much. They just have contracts to buy parts......and Nikon doesn't give two craps if it is selling parts, right?...Show more →
Your very first sentence says (IS legit) and you put is in capital letters. Just saying!
SteveS wrote:
Your very first sentence says (IS legit) and you put is in capital letters. Just saying!
haha, Yes, I screwed the pooch there. Semantics, hey, who needs them? I guess legit as used in my first sentence indicates that the part was indeed sold at one time to Authorized Repair Centers. Along with Lens Plate Badges and SLR name plates. Anyone could have logically turned a D2 into a D3, or a D3 into a D3X for that matter. Let's hope no one ever tried pulling such an ridiculous move! (Rolls eyes)
I'm sure every move has been attempted with expensive merchandise. Although I did suggest a shady method previously, I did not actually think: 1) Nikon will press charges for fraud, or 2) Nikon would actually honor a serial number they can't collect your butt-print along with it. And they have economic reasons to refuse service, let's agree its not just to be an ass about it. Most likely, their answer would still be: Hell No, we can't fix this sh!$ !! In other words, Nikon certainly has a tracking system on which camera's exact serial numbers have been sold/issued either by retailer or used by authorized service center in replacing parts, etc.
I guess my point was that the consumer can buy whichever part that Nikon is willing to sell. Whether or not it is honored is quite different. Perhaps that is why overseas versions of most items are not honored for service here in USA -- even for upfront payments. Nikon USA is protecting its bottom line, along with brick and mortar stores around the country. There is SOME nobility in the big picture of capitalism and good 'ole free enterprise. I am going out on a limb here -- The service centers in other countries around the world are probably not as tightly run...hell the corp offices are not as tightly run I would be willing to bet. USA is by far the largest and most important customer. If Nikon UK will sell you any part, quite literally without asking questions, is it hard to imagine they will repair whatever you bring to them, as long as money is involved? Totally different business, completely different world. And in Nikon Asia, where each part is generally produced, does anyone really believe that they have a lock-down policy on which items get repaired for a fee? The factory workers are probably allowed to purchase parts freely and without question.
When I see a Nikon product label with serial number for sale, my first thought is not that someone bought a spare serial number from Nikon. I may be wrong, of course, but my guess would be that someone printed a fake label.
Whether or not these labels are authentic, counterfeiting has grown more sophisticated over the years. There was a time when a fake was obvious. These days it can be very difficult to tell. I unwittingly bought some fake Sandisk SD cards a few years ago, complete with fake packaging that almost exactly matched the real thing. Minor color and font differences were there, if you knew to look closely for them. I'm pretty sure by now even those differences are gone. I've bought Nikon lens caps that looked pretty good, but that were missing the country of origin on the back. I think they were knock-offs, but the seller denied it and I could never prove it.
I don't know of any outright fake Nikon camera bodies, but it would not surprise me if they exist or soon will. But a product label with serial numbers is hardly beyond the capabilities of current "imitators".
I might be less concerned about fake Nikon products than I would about stolen items that had their serial number labels replaced causing the mismatch that's already been discussed, but that's just me. Or perhaps gray market items where the serial number has been changed to make them look like "official" authorized products.
So from what I've read here, an eBay seller with nearly 25,000 feedback rating is selling D750 bodies in kit boxes, minus the kit lenses, for USD $1299. Their eBay listing shows 511 sold, and two FM forum users have reported receiving bodies with serial number labels that do not match the internal serial number. In the past month the seller has received one negative feedback on eBay for a D750 sale, and multiple positives. It isn't clear to me what's going on here. On one hand, the deal seems good enough to justify taking some risk, but on the other hand, the alleged serial number issue raises a pretty big red flag.
