Lens Warranty

[photoham]

Hi all - my first post here in the forums. Was wondering what the general experience was with getting warranty repairs for lenses. AFAIK all lenses carry an international warranty, not so for bodies & flashes. When I used to own Canon gear (prior to it being stolen - which is why I've gone Nikon ) never had a problem with Canon Aust getting warranty on stuff bought o'seas.

Reason I ask is that I'm thinking of getting a 80-20 2.8 and the HK pricing seems to be massively cheaper than over here. But I'm quite loathe to mail a faily heavy lens back to HK for repairs. PS how can I get in touch with HK supplies to get a price?

Thanks!!
Cheng

[gstark]

Hi Cheng,

Hi all - my first post here in the forums.

Welcome.

A couple of housekeeping issues need to be addressed.

Please read the FAQ. it will tell you the answer to many of the generic questions that you have asked ... and I'll touch on the specifics below.

Was wondering what the general experience was with getting warranty repairs for lenses. AFAIK all lenses carry an international warranty, not so for bodies & flashes. When I used to own Canon gear (prior to it being stolen - which is why I've gone Nikon ) never had a problem with Canon Aust getting warranty on stuff bought o'seas.

For lenses that come with an international warranty, you should be able to take them to Nikon Australia and they should be covered by that international warranty.

However, goods purchased from HK Supplies (seeing how you asked), and from many other vendors, carry a seller's warranty. In those instances, you need to return to product to the vendor for warranty claims.

Bottom line is that you need to understand what your vendor's policy is with regard to warranty, and deal with them as appropriate.

Reason I ask is that I'm thinking of getting a 80-20 2.8 and the HK pricing seems to be massively cheaper than over here. But I'm quite loathe to mail a faily heavy lens back to HK for repairs. PS how can I get in touch with HK supplies to get a price?

Ok ... housekeeping again.

In order to be able to use the forum's facilities to deal with HK Supplies (and benefit from the very favourable pricing that we get as a result) you need to be an active member as described in the FAQ, and then - as described in the FAQ - ask for access to the members' grouping.

This is, of course, covered fully in the FAQ, which is why I commend it to you as a valuable document.

The FAQ also covers many other important points, including the entry of a valid location in your profile. "Sydney Sydney" is neither valid nor acceptable, and so I'd respectfully ask that you bring this into line with our requirements. As a side note, not having a compliant location listed in your profile will also prevent you from qualifying as a full member ...

[photoham]

Thanks for the reply and the pointers.

From reading a number of posts it does seem to me that mail order purchases are transacted by forum members on the basis of 'local' or seller warranties, which I assume is part of the reason for the low prices. Presumably, getting an international warranty could tilt the cost / benefit relationship the other way? My experience in buying from Singapore and Malaysia while on holiday was that authorised dealers would always provide international warranties on lenses (and film SLR's). In Hong Kong one can either get the cheaper so called 'water' versions (grey market) or 'authorised' versions with proper warranties.

Yes, I did read the FAQ with regard to special access, my question was actually more along the lines of purchasing from HK supplies (seeing as they have a good reputation here) without the benefit of the reduced prices enjoyed by members (which I should have clarified). I'm not sure how long it would take me to make 50 posts , although coming to a meet would be great to meet others with the same hobby.

As for my profile - done!

[gstark]

Cheng,

From reading a number of posts it does seem to me that mail order purchases are transacted by forum members on the basis of 'local' or seller warranties, which I assume is part of the reason for the low prices.

Not entirely.

There is a significant discrepancy between local official pricing and the oficial pricing in other markets, and there is no way in hell (AFAIC) that the pricing differential can be justified. The distributors might muble something about they need tol market the products and provide support such as warranty etc ...

That is true: we see rich evidence of the wonderful marketing efforts of Nikon Oz (and formerly Maxwell) ... er, um .. ah ... er ... ....

And the bountiful supply of products and spare parts is ... er, um ... er ...

underwhelming?

So, yes, they are certainly entitled to earn a fair profit for their efforts, but their efforts are IMHO sadly lacking, and their charges ... far from fair.

So, in the first instance, we are hamstrung with distribution channels with policies and attitudes that seem to be stuck in the 80's. Add to that the issues of service and stocks on hand, whereby the manufacturers, quite correctly, see Australia as being a rather small - dare I say insignificant - market, and we start to see that we are not quite at the top of the pile when it comes to having stock sent to us.

I think it's probably far more effective to send stock to a larger market - say HK - and let us buy from there, rather than buy from a local distributor. With air frieght and distribution systems being as sophisitcated as they are, you can have an item shipped from HK and in your hands within about 36 hours.

I daresay that were you to order an item from a store in downtown Sydney or Melbourne, and that item needed to be ordered in, you would not get it any more quickly, and in fact it would probably take a lot longer to be in your hands.

And at a significantly greater cost.

Warranty is certainly an important point, but I don't think it's a primary concern.

I think it's fair to say that the majority of mail-order purchases by forum members would be made from HKS, and through the forum facilities, and thus a seller's warranty applies. I don't know what other vendors do, but I don't think it would be very much different.

Presumably, getting an international warranty could tilt the cost / benefit relationship the other way? My experience in buying from Singapore and Malaysia while on holiday was that authorised dealers would always provide international warranties on lenses (and film SLR's). In Hong Kong one can either get the cheaper so called 'water' versions (grey market) or 'authorised' versions with proper warranties.

Well, your question uses the term "authorised dealer", and therein lies the problem: a dealer is authorised only in one particular market.

I can buy something - in person - from an authorised dealer in the US. What's my warranty? And where? Nikon Oz have indicated to me that they would honour a bona fide warranty claim from a traveller visiting Oz from, for instance, the US.

Of course, getting them to admit that was more difficult than extracting teeth from a hen; pity the poor traveller who might be relying upon a them for a prompt repair while they're waiting for a delivery of parts!

I personally believe that the whole issue of warranties and regions is a big load of bullshit. If the product is made by Nikon (or Canon, Pentax, Sony ... whomever) and it fails, it is of no import at all from whom I purchased the product: it needs to be fixed, and they need to fix it.

It is that simple!

Yes, I did read the FAQ with regard to special access, my question was actually more along the lines of purchasing from HK supplies (seeing as they have a good reputation here) without the benefit of the reduced prices enjoyed by members (which I should have clarified). I'm not sure how long it would take me to make 50 posts , although coming to a meet would be great to meet others with the same hobby.

Post a couple of images for critique ... join in the discussion of your images, and those of others ... you will be very surprised at how quickly (a) your post count will increase and (b) - and this is the important point - how quickly your photography will improve.

And (c) is important too - you'll make a surprising number of new friends too.

To contact HK directly ... just go to their eBay store. A search for Nikon on eBay should yield a link to them ....

As for my profile - done!

Thank you for this. It is an important point for us, as it allows us to help direct you to resources that we know may be local to you.

[photoham]

Hi Gary

Appreciate the time you took to reply to my questions - sufficed to say that we are in complete agreement on the points you made. I regularly purchase software from the US either via direct download or from vendors with associated savings of up to 50% on the local price. Notwithstanding the same arguments are trotted out by this industry as to the lack of any pricing parity I've never made use of local support - google is your friend in most cases.

Anyway, I do look forward to participating when I can.

Cheers!