USA vs. Imported?

[Indigo November]

What is the real different between the Nikkor lenses labeled "USA" and the lenses labeled "Imported" on B & H?
Are some Nikkor lenses actually made in the USA? And is it worth the extra price for the USA version?

Thanks.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by Indigo November

What is the real different between the Nikkor lenses labeled "USA" and the lenses labeled "Imported" on B & H?
Are some Nikkor lenses actually made in the USA? And is it worth the extra price for the USA version?

Thanks.

5 year factory warranty

[autofocus]

Are some Nikkor lenses actually made in the USA?

No..all off shore (like everything else we buy)

[ravncat]

The USA ones have been imported to the USA market from Japan by Nikon - and have gone through retail channels. The retail channels are basically, those from a Nikon usa dealer. These are subject to Nikon warantee and are usually subject to the guarantees of the seller.

The ones marked import (which is also known as grey market), have come outside of such channels, for example, if you`re store can`t get one from the USA Nikon dealer and may choose to import by themselves. Because they are imported via unofficial channels, they will likely be without the Nikon USA warantee. The import items may still have a kind of limited warantee.

Nikon will not service grey market items. (I don`t know if there are cases where items marked import are not grey market) Nikon does not consider a lens you purchased outside of the country from an official dealer and moved to another country as grey market, and will service the lens if you can prove you purchased it there. Many people wish nikon would change it`s stance on servicing grey market items...

[Doug Pardee]

The ones labeled "USA" were intended by Nikon for sale in the USA. The other ones were intended for sale in other countries, where prices are lower. These have been bought at the lower prices elsewhere and brought into the US for resale, a practice called "gray market".

I can't speak to Nikkor lenses, but for some products the warranty is void if bought outside of the company-approved market. Thom Hogan says that it is indeed a problem, and he's pretty knowledgeable about all things Nikon: Nikon Warranties by Thom Hogan

I can't imagine it's an issue with lenses, but sometimes with cameras they're delivered set up with menus for the language of the country they were intended for sale in; that's usually an easy change if you know where to find the "menu language" item in the menu. Not always easy if the camera's set up for Katakana or Thai or something.

[LMAshton]

I live in a grey market area - nearly everything bought and sold in this country is grey market, including my Nikon D90. I have no idea which country my Nikon D90 was supposed to be sold in. But everything was in English, including the manual that came with it, so I had no problems there.

My understanding with Nikon products is that every product is destined for a specific country, and if you're outside the country the product was intended for, you can't get it repaired under warranty.

[ffscj3562130]

This brings up another question: How does B&H ( and others) who are licensed Nikon dealers sell gray market products?

[Indigo November]

Thanks all!

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by ffscj3562130

This brings up another question: How does B&H ( and others) who are licensed Nikon dealers sell gray market products?

FInd out where the item(s) youre looking for are cheapest. Take a "business trip". By a literal crapload of them at the lower price. Bring back to US. Sell at slightly lower than US prices. PROFIT.

[LMAshton]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

FInd out where the item(s) youre looking for are cheapest. Take a "business trip". By a literal crapload of them at the lower price. Bring back to US. Sell at slightly lower than US prices. PROFIT.

Yup. That's what businesses here do. The owner/manager/another trusted person flies to Singapore/Dubai/Hong Kong/wherever once a week, buys up as much as their suitcases can carry, fly back and sell it in their stores.

Whether they declare the items at customs or not is another issue, leading to seizures when they're caught, or bribes.

This is also a country with a very high piracy rate. There are very few places that sell legal movies and software - I could probably count them all on one hand.