I have bought 2 refurb D700's in the past. First one came from JR and had 1 actuation on it.. Not even the minutest of marks/scuffs or anything on the LCD cover.
Second one came with just over 800 actuations. Not quite as pristine as the first, but in perfect working condition otherwise
I guess it depends on whom you buy it from. If it's a reputable dealer and it's a Nikon factory refurb, then I don't see a problem. I've bought cameras like that in the past and never had a problem. I wouldn't buy from a private person who had one refurbed by their local camera store though, no matter how good they say they are.
I've now bought two refurb cameras, including a D300 for $1040. I've come to think this might be the smartest way to buy models that are still in production. Both came from Cameta Camera on eBay auctions. I've bought lenses from them also, at substantial savings.
I've purchased three Nikon refurb bodies and two refurb lenses. All were looked and operated as new. If it weren't for coming in silver boxes, they couldn't be told from new.
swnow wrote:
I plan to buy it from adoramacamera at ebay. It claims the camera is refurbished by nikon. I couldn't find detailed warranty information yet.
You'll get 90 days warranty, from the vendor.
Yes you can buy a Mack to extend the warranty anytime before the expiration of the initial 90 warranty. This batch of Adorama refurbs does indeed indicate that the warranty is direct for Nikon, shown both on ebay and their web site.. There have also been batches sold by B&H and Adorama where they supplied the warranty.
davenfl wrote:
Yes you can buy a Mack to extend the warranty anytime before the expiration of the initial 90 warranty. This batch of Adorama refurbs does indeed indicate that the warranty is direct for Nikon, shown both on ebay and their web site.. There have also been batches sold by B&H and Adorama where they supplied the warranty.
Dave
Nov 14, 2009 at 06:51 PM
Andre Labonte Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
swnow wrote:
Adorama says warranty is Nikon warranty...
Nikon demo items usually come with a 1 year and refergs ... I don't there. At least 90 days from the vendor and maybe 1 year from Nikon. I would call or e-mail the vendor with the question.
I used to be scared when Digital first came out--but think it's really smart now....I have only bought used with my View camera's & now do the same with digital....
Nikon demo items usually come with a 1 year and refergs ... I don't there. At least 90 days from the vendor and maybe 1 year from Nikon. I would call or e-mail the vendor with the question.
Other way around actually. 90 days from Nikon, and often (but not always) the balance of a 1 year warranty will be backed by the vendor.
Nov 14, 2009 at 09:37 PM
Andre Labonte Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
mikerfns wrote:
Other way around actually. 90 days from Nikon, and often (but not always) the balance of a 1 year warranty will be backed by the vendor.
I used to work for Hewlett Packard, while I was there I ended up getting to learn a lot about how the refurb process works. In many cases a refurb is a product that didn't meet initial QA off the assembly line. The other is when a product gets released with defects and is immediately returned. When this happens they go and put it into a hand processing queue where a person goes, identifies all the problems and fixes all the problems by hand. This is why all the refurb cameras generally have between 1 and 1000 shots on them. I would say that depending on the original problem there could be up to 300 shots fired in QA.
This hand processing queue doesn't accept products that are used and or abused. Those get tossed in the recycle bin.
Because of this I would purchase a refurb product from a reputable dealer any day of the week. In fact I have purchased several and been satisfied with all of them.
I too am in the same situation; want to move from the D300 to D700 for the low light / high ISO capabilities. I used a friends this weekend to shoot a fight at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and fell in love. The toy-like D300 has got to go ....
At ISO 2500, the images were crisp, clear, and popped.
A tip for those thinking about the purchase. Microsoft "Bing" is offering cash back on qaulifying purchases. If you go through Bing to your seller, you'll get 8% back on the purchase. For example, Adorama has the D700 listed on ebay for $2169, going through Bing, the cash back is $173. If you signed up for "ebay bucks" on your acount, you'll also get about $80 in ebay credit to be used later. Considering all of the discounts applied, we're talking less than $2K.
