Buying from Hong Kong Grey Import?

[Ming1388]

Hi Guys,

I'm heading over to Hong Kong and looking to get a Nikon lens. I know there were some threads about this but can't seem to find them. Could someone point me to where this is.

Main question really is I know HK has Water/Grey import products which can sometimes be 10-20% cheaper. Could someone remind me if I bring this back to Singapore, would I still be covered by the Nikon 1 year warranty?

Many thanks Again

 

[daredevil123]

Hi Guys,

I'm heading over to Hong Kong and looking to get a Nikon lens. I know there were some threads about this but can't seem to find them. Could someone point me to where this is.

Main question really is I know HK has Water/Grey import products which can sometimes be 10-20% cheaper. Could someone remind me if I bring this back to Singapore, would I still be covered by the Nikon 1 year warranty?

Many thanks Again

If it is Grey set bought in HK, there is no warranty whatsoever, regardless whether in HK or SG or anywhere.

If it is a local full warranty set bought in HK, for Nikon lenses and flashes, you get international warranty for the same warranty duration. Make sure you have a proper receipt from the store you bought from.
Canon equipment no longer offers any international warranty, only local warranty. So it means you will only get warranty service in the country you bought the equipment.

 

[Blur Shadow]

Certainly not. If it is not covered by the local (HK) warranty, why would Nikon Singapore cover it? It is called gray goods for a reason.

 

[Ming1388]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the quick response. I think I will stay away from the grey imports for sure then.

 

[Octarine]

Thanks for the quick response. I think I will stay away from the grey imports for sure then.

Why? Don't you trust the Nikon quality? Buy the stuff at the first day, try it properly, bring back to the shop if it fails. Whatever fails after 1 year will have the same status and get the same treatment everywhere: you pay parts and labor.
Warranty is a betting game.

 

[Ming1388]

Hi Octarine,

Thanks for your input. I'm not the most familiar with the concept of Gray/water products but got the impression that they could be risky due to the lack of Nikons actual warranty. I've had/got a number of Nikon lens and never had any problems with them but usually like having the piece of mind that its fully covered under warranty.

I imagine only real issue is lens calibration or VR issue with lens. I have no idea the cost of labour and parts but if the saving on say a 70-200 2.8 was around 200-250 SGD. Do you think if something went wrong it costing less to repair than buy the one with local warranty?

 

[NikF601]

Hi Octarine,

Thanks for your input. I'm not the most familiar with the concept of Gray/water products but got the impression that they could be risky due to the lack of Nikons actual warranty. I've had/got a number of Nikon lens and never had any problems with them but usually like having the piece of mind that its fully covered under warranty.

I imagine only real issue is lens calibration or VR issue with lens. I have no idea the cost of labour and parts but if the saving on say a 70-200 2.8 was around 200-250 SGD. Do you think if something went wrong it costing less to repair than buy the one with local warranty?

Other choice is getting from Malaysia... You can send to the shop and they can help to send to KL if your lens having problem...take longer time for the service but still with warranty except from Malaysia Nikon/Canon.

 

[Octarine]

I imagine only real issue is lens calibration or VR issue with lens. I have no idea the cost of labour and parts but if the saving on say a 70-200 2.8 was around 200-250 SGD. Do you think if something went wrong it costing less to repair than buy the one with local warranty?

The $250 for warranty (to use your example) are an average value on top of the actual lens costs for the respective servicing in Singapore. This figures includes a lot of considerations, statistics, cost for local service center location, people and other costs .. The actual costs per case might vary between a few bucks up to complete lens replacements. Hard to predict your case.
But what I can see from the various cases described here in the forum: either it breaks down / shows flaws immediately or only after warranty expired. That's why I recommended getting the lens there, using it a few days and if something breaks returning to the shop immediately for exchange as long as you are there. If it breaks 15 months later it doesn't matter at all where you got the lens from.

 

[leeteckseng]

End of the day when you we choose to buy from a particular place that is cheaper, we got to factor in the risks involved. Actually I think no harm buying from Hong Kong even if gray set. If the savings amounts to a substantial figure, for example a 70-200mm f2.8 lens, I see why not. And like Octarine mentioned, I would definitely buy and try that few days I going to be there and return should there be any issue.

For me, I do have friends who frequent Hong Kong on a regular basis. Worse come to worse, I just tagged them to help me send back to shop for a small token or meal. Personally, I think is about the same if we send to our local service centre, pay for parking, fuel, erp and etc.

 

[Ming1388]

Hi guys, thanks for the advice.

I travel to Hong Kong around once every two months so its not too much of an issue if something goes wrong. I guess my worry (hope I understand gray imports correctly) is that you only have shop warranty and not directly with Nikon. So if something does go wrong, and the shop is funny then I would have zero cover at all since Nikon doesn't cover this? I heard stories about some shops selling refurbished or demo units etc and passing them off as new and water stock so that was my only real reservation regarding buying these.

Looking at price.com I see http://www.onestop-digital.com offers a saving of around 250SGD on the local HK price for the water model which makes it extremely attractive as its in total of nearly 600sgd compared to Singapore. Wonder if anyone had experience of this store? What are the main things I should look out for to try and identify if a set is brand new?

 

[Octarine]

I guess my worry (hope I understand gray imports correctly) is that you only have shop warranty and not directly with Nikon. So if something does go wrong, and the shop is funny then I would have zero cover at all since Nikon doesn't cover this? I heard stories about some shops selling refurbished or demo units etc and passing them off as new and water stock so that was my only real reservation regarding buying these.

First, check with Nikon HK about how HK local warranty looks like (e.g. receipt only or warranty card?). In Singapore, only the receipt matters. in Other countries it might be different. So www.nikon.com.hk is a good starting point.
Secondly, here in the forum (Consumers Corner, if I'm not wrong) we have discussion threads about reputable shops in HK. Many people use the price advantage of HK. Check them out.

 

[trd2970]

What lens are u getting? Can do a google for common faults of the lens to see if it's worth taking the risk for water goods. Eg if it's the Canon EF 501.4 notorious for AF motor failure, I won't take the risk.

 

[Ming1388]

Hi all,

thanks for all the advise. I'm looking for the Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR2. I've got some idea on the pricing so will decide and see if I can get these prices when I do visit Hong Kong as I know a lot don't display fixed prices so its the bargaining game.

 

[Octarine]

Here the link to sticky thread about HK shops (in case you didn't find it already):
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1058898